What’s in a name? Lots of money…A snappy and memorable product name is critical to commercial success. It’s not just the brand name, the recent Coca-Cola “share-a-Coke” campaign created a Pavlovian response in people, writes Moensie Rossier.
Coca-Cola
Africa famine … campaign to name and shame governments
A new campaign led by 12 NGOs and a slew of African musicians is breaking this cliché by proposing a string of concerts that will take place on the continent over the next five years, writes Adrian Craddock, a freelance journalist in London
Crikey Says: How fast food hijacked sport
New research from the University of Sydney claims the vast majority of Australian elite athletes are unhappy about sports stars promoting junk food and alcohol. And then there’s Coca Cola.
Just Chew It: how sport is super-sizing our kids
Crikey launches a special investigation into how fast food marketers use sport and sporting stars to sell their wares. Today, the Big Daddy of them all — McDonalds.
The funny business of high profile faux pas
While warming up the crowd for Chinese President Hu Jintao’s only policy address in the US, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent made a big boo-boo by ending his toast with the Japanese word “kanpai,” reports Michael Forsythe.
Drink down the marketing, but don’t choke on Coke’s lies
Surprise, surprise Vitaminwater doesn’t have any health benefits and its maker Coca-Cola is being sued for false advertising. But according to Coca-Cola, no consumer would be dumb enough to think the beverage was actually healthy.
Dr Pepper prescribes porn on Facebook
A viral campaign for Dr Pepper went bizarrely wrong when a 14-year-old girl’s Facebook status was changed to a porn movie reference, curtsey of Coca-Cola’s marketing department. The offending campaign has been pulled.
World Cup: Soccer in the supermarket: undies selling fast
Leading supermarket brands are going head-to-head for extra sales that comes from love of the Socceroos. But just ‘cause its green and gold, doesn’t mean it’s official merchandise.
Taking your brand to rehab
Tiger Woods isn’t the first ‘brand’ to be sent off to rehab after an embarrassing scandal. But, as Martha Stewart, Coca-Cola and JetBlue have all found it, brand rehab doesn’t have to be the end as long as the relaunch is good.
$1 Coke? Still a rip-off
Soft drinks dispensed from fountains and machines (like you get at pubs and the movies) are an absolute price-gouge, Wallet Pop explains: it costs Coke $2.60 to manufacture enough syrupy goop for 50,000 drinks.
The 500 most powerful brands in the world
Brand Finance has released its annual list of the most powerful brands on the planet. Walmart comes in at number one, but Google has knocked off Coke for the number two spot, whilst Woolies, Telstra and Australia’s Big Four all make the cut, too.
Coke searching for a corporate-spinning ambassador
Coca-Cola has decided to be an environmental saviour and is looking for an “online ambassador” to help spread their new environmental community sharing messaging. David Gillespie knows just the man for the job…
Coke searches for a better bottle
Coca-Cola is on a quest to create a 100% renewable and recyclable bottle. The company’s latest effort — a 100% recycled, 30% plant-based bottle — is a good first step, but an entirely carbon neutral container remains elusive.
Coke brands buskers
This Christmas in London, out-of-tune hippies torturing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and little girls squealing Jingle Bells on their recorders will be brought to you by icy cold can of Coke.
Why fructose-laden drinks when there’s a healthy option on tap?
In the name of getting enough water, Australia’s school canteens are selling kids a drink sweetened with 21g of pure fructose. When did we become a nation requiring constant hydration, anyway?
Drinking with the enemy: the soft drink marketing wars
Soft drink giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are locked in a neck-and-neck battle to become new best friends of public health. It’s what you do when your industry is facing flak as an enemy of public health, writes Melissa Sweet.
The world’s most valuable brands
Interbrand has released its annual report [PDF] on the world’s most valuable brands. Coke came in at number one for the ninth time running, while Google and Amazon have shot up the list.
Video of the Day: The soft drink supermarket
Meet John Nese, the man who stocks 500 soft drink flavours, including cucumber soda. Now that’s freedom of choice.
Do you like your milk flavoured and fizzy?
Coco-Cola is trialling a new carbonated sweet milky drink in the US called a Vio, something they call “a refreshing sensory experience”. Will the idea be a fizzer for the beverage barons?
Delivering more than just soft drink to the third world
ColaLife is a campaign to get Coca-Cola to utilise their vast distribution powers in the third world to deliver medical supplies along with soft drink. After 20 years, Coke is finally taking notice — thanks to social media.
The Gatorade-Powerade showdown
Coke’s Powerade and Pepsi’s Gatorade are locked in an epic courtroom battle over the former’s advertising. Which drink will reign surpreme?
Whingers and rentseekers owe taxpayers billions in wasted time
What’s the cost to Australians each year of the time spent reading press articles and hearing news bulletins based on biased “independent” modelling generated by whingers and rentseekers?
The world’s most enduring brands
Each year a brand sums up the zeitgeist — think Lego in 1960, Coca-Cola in 1971, Levi in 1985, Guinness in 1999 and Google in 2000. But which is the most iconic of them all?
Fluoride: The mother of all band-aids
Government and now Big Sugar are carpet bombing the water drinkers rather than laser targeting the sugar drinkers, writes David Gillespie.
