Does "Good stuff" mean "Good for you"?

Coca-Cola brand insulated neoprene can sleeve

According to the Coca-Cola website, Coca-Cola is made with "CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL COLOR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS, CAFFEINE". (Source: https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/brands/coca-cola/products/original#accordion-c55f229edc-item-93131ee8b3) 

I'm not 100% sure that everyone would agree that the ingredients listed above are all "good stuff".

While everything listed on the label has been approved for human consumption, many people feel that an ingredient like high fructose corn syrup is an inferior sweetener to cane sugar. 

Most consumers would be surprised that 90% of the phosphoric acid production ends up in fertilizers, and yet it is still an ingredient in products deemed safe for human consumption. 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categorizes caffeine as "generally recognized as safe".  Hardly an overwhelming endorsement.

As American poet John Godfrey Saxe said in 1869, "Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made".   (The quote is most often attributed to Otto von Bismark and reported as, "Laws are like sausages. It is best not to see them being made". But there is no evidence that Bismark ever said it.) 

I'm sure if we looked hard enough at many things we consume, we'd change our eating habits.

Only 10 more months to Christmas

Christmas Coca-Cola can, Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, BC

Last week I stopped by to visit a friend at the Hotel Vancouver. I was thrilled to see that it was still Christmas. When I opened the minibar fridge I was that Santa, that jolly old elf, was smiling out at me trying to entice me to spend $6.00 on a can of Coke.

This can is probably at least two months old. Not quite as bad as the Soccer (Football) World Cup can I saw last year that was at least six months old.

Given the age of much of the contents of these fridges, and the prices, I wonder who spends their hard earned month on such overpriced beverages? Whoever they are, they must not be very observant.

Stuck in a time warp

Coca-Cola Truck, Vancouver, BC

Coca-Cola Truck, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

The 1985 introduction of "New Coke" was either a recognition of failure in the face of a loss of market share to Pepsi, or a brilliant strategy to reinvigorate a brand that had grown old and stale.

From the introduction in 1985, until its final demise in 2002, "New Coke" was never a brand that got much love from the public. Consumers were overjoyed with the reintroduction of "Coke Classic" and it took until 2009 for the word "classic" to final be removed from Coke's packaging in North America.

So why does the Coca-Cola van still bear the "Coca-Cola Classic" brand on the side?

Making an effort

Coca-Cola recycling container, Horseshoe Bay, BC

Coca-Cola recycling container, Horseshoe Bay, BC (Detail)

Coca-Cola sells almost 2 billion servings a day. That is a lot of bottle and cans. In its earlier history Coke was sold in refillable glass bottles. Today, in most countries, Coke is sold in single-use aluminum cans and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles. 

The huge volume of empty Coke containers represents a consistent potential PR problem for the Coca-Cola company. 

Recycling containers, such as this one, serve two purposes. They position Coca-Cola as an environmentally responsible company, and they also serve to at least partially eliminate empty containers from the waste stream. 

So, regardless of whether you like Coke, providing recycling bins is a good things to do. (And the fact that the bins are in the iconic Coke bottle shape is just an added bonus for Coca-Cola.)

By your shape shall we know you

Drinks menu, Central City, Beatty Street, Vancouver, BC

The shape of the Coca-Cola bottle is one of the most recognizable and recognized pieces of packaging in the world. And the shape of the Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whisky bottle and the distinctive font are also quite easily recognized.

So the combination of the two bottle silhouettes on the cover of this drinks menu should tell customers what to find inside.

I'm just a bit surprised that Jack Daniel's and Coca-Cola would permit the use of their logos together.

They go together like Coke and crackers?

Christie and Coca-Cola display, Rexall Drugstore, Royal Centre, Vancouver, BC

Christie and Coca-Cola display, Rexall Drugstore, Royal Centre, Vancouver, BC

I'm not saying these two brands are a bad fit, they are just not two that I would normally put together.

For me the obvious connection of a soft drink and junk food would be Coke and chips. But either way, it is too much fat and sugar (Or fat and aspartame) to be good for you. Best to steer clear of Coke, Ritz and Triscuit.

Glass of water and an apple; much better together.

One month on and one month older (Would you drink old Coke?)

Can of Coca-Cola in the minibar, Hotel Vancouver, BC

I was at the Hotel Vancouver last week and noticed a few odd things. (Lots of fodder for future postings.)

The last time I was at the hotel, February 2015, I noticed that the can of Coca-Cola in the minibar was a commemorative can from the 2014 Football World Cup in Brazil. I mentioned this to someone working on the concierge desk and they said that they'd look into it.

The rule at the Hotel Vancouver must be look but don't touch, because there are still cans that are at least nine months old in the fridge.

Perhaps not everyone is as observant as me, but the age of the in-room food and beverages should make anyone think twice. I'll be back at the hotel in July. I wonder if the can of Coca-Cola will enjoy its first birthday.

A nice campaign, but perhaps lost on today's youth

Coca-Cola advertisement on bus shelter, 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC

The iconic Coca-Cola bottle is celebrating it 100th year. To mark the occasion, Coca-Cola is using images of historic figures drinking coke.

While this is a great idea and a nice campaign I fear that demographics may be the undoing of it.

Marilyn Monroe died in 1962. I wonder how many of today's Coke drinkers know who she is? I would think that they might be more familiar with Marilyn Manson. But that is probably a person that Coca-Cola does not wish to be associated with.

A special glass for drinking Coke?

Riedel Coca-Cola glass at William Ashley, Toronto, Ontario

I was familiar with Riedel glassware for wine. The company makes special varietal-specific glassware that is designed to help maximize the taste characteristics of different varietals. The Sauvignon Blanc glass is not the same shape as the Chardonnay glass. The firm's Vinum series includes 28 different glass shapes specifically designed for almost every conceivable wine and spirit beverage.

This is a far cry from the array of wine glasses that was available thirty years ago. You were doing well if you had three different shapes; red, white, and sparking.

So it is not a huge stretch that the different shapes for different drinks concept should extent to non-alcoholic beverages. This glass is a modern take on the traditional Coke glass. Will it enhance the taste of a bottle of Coca-Cola? Could the same glass also enhance the taste of Pepsi? I'm not a cola drinker, but I'm sure that some people would notice the difference, and Riedel will give them the chance to pay for the experience.

McDonald's is getting ready to disappoint customers

McDonald's billboard, Vancouver, BC

It appears that McDonald's is intent to take over all of our food requirements. In addition to ground coffee, McDonald's want us bring home the "Holiday ShareBox".

With chicken nuggets, fries, cookies, and a couple of soft drinks, this would appear to be competing head on with offerings from Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

So, if I buy this I will get everything in the picture. Right?

Well actually I don't. The two Coke glasses in the background are not part of the offer. So, if they are not part of the offer, why show them? Why not show me the paper cups that you are going to give to me?

McDonald's is not showing the fires on a plate, or the chicken nuggets in a bowl, so why show the Coke in a glass? My guess is branding. The glasses are obviously Coke glasses and are embossed with the Coke logo, and because the glasses are transparent we can assume that the beverage inside is Coke. (Although from a photo would you be able to differentiate Coke from Diet Coke, root beer or even Pepsi?)

I wonder if any pedantic customers will complain that they are not getting the Coke glasses with the "Holiday ShareBox"? Given the litigious times we live in, I suspect it will happen sooner rather than later.

Why did the lawyers agree to this?

Coca Cola water bottles, cafe at Vancouver International Airport, Richmond, BC

This is one of the oddest pieces of licensing that I've seen. The Coca-Cola company is notoriously protective of the of the brand. The firm also sells both the Coca-Cola soft drink and Dasani brand of bottled water.

So why would Coca-Cola license its name for reusable water bottles? If consumers buy and use these water bottles, then the sales of Dasani are likely to go down.

I just don't understand it, unless of course Coke would rather make the $20 sale of one of these bottles than the $2 sale of a can of Coke or a bottle of Dasani.

Who owns red?

Food Bank Donation Bag, Okanagan College, Kelowna, BC

Soup is one of the staples of food bank's list of suggested donations, along with pasts and tinned tuna. So it is not surprising that Campbell's is sponsoring this "Food Bank Donation Bag". And how do we know that is sponsored by Campbell's? Red!

In the automobile world red means Ferrari. For soft-drinks it is Cola Cola. And if I am looking down the soup aisle of my local grocery store, red means Campbell's.

So good on Campbell's for supporting food banks, and very smart of the company to use red.

What if I don't drink Coca Cola?

Sign in a classroom at Okanagan College

Coca Cola glass
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtreinik/1434096809/sizes/o/in/photostream/
 

The curves of the Coca Cola bottle and glass are among the the most recognized commercial shapes in North America. And so what do I see on the poster in the classroom warning me that eating, drink and smoking are not permitted, but a glass that looks just like a Coca Cola glass. Does that mean that I can drink beverages that are not Coke?

Given that the poster is prohibiting smoking, I'd guess that it has been up on the wall for quite a while. And while I'm not keen to have a desk covered with sticky Coke, I also don't think that teaching in a smoky room would be much fun.

I do have another question. Is that cigarette a Marlboro?

What does red mean?

What does the colour red "mean"?

We've just past St. Valentine's Day, and the unavoidable connection to love. Red is also associated with other emotions including anger and rage.

In branding the colour is associated with Coke, Ferrrari, and HSBC, among hundreds of others.

But since when has it been associated with down? I saw this light on the elevator at the library and wondered why the down arrow was red. (By the way, the up arrow was green.)

There are hundreds of associations with the colour red. Stop signs, a whole host of brands, warning etc., and now the down elevator. I wonder how much this confuses people? And if it does confuse people, why is red still such an appealing colour for brand identity?

Who owns the colour purple?

No, I'm not talking about the movie. (I've never even seen it.)

I'm talking about the use of purple in logos and on marketing materials. In freight purple, along with orange, belongs to FedEx. (FedEx uses purple to identify the company and orange to identify its air freight division. The ground freight division used a purple and green logo, with the "Fed" in purple, and the "Ex" in green.) In chocolate most people in North America associate it with Cadbury. (Although a few smaller companies also use it and there has been at least one lawsuit in Australia over chocolate firms using purple.)

But the biggest firm to use purple in the chocolate business is Cadbury. And when I saw this page in a McDonald's flyer I immediately thought of Cadbury, even before I saw the logo.

That sort of brand/colour linkage is rare and very valuable. Only a few companies have built that level of consumer understanding. Some important ones are Coke = red, Pepsi =blue, Tide = orange, and UPS = brown. There are hundreds and hundreds more, but the most important issue is that if a company can establish the linkage in the customers mind, then there can be huge savings in the marketing budget.

As John Wanamaker is supposed to have said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." If you don't need to spend money to get the customer to recognize the colour of your product, then you can either just save the money, or use it for something more persuasive.

The problem with red

Colour is one of the key ways that organizations brand themselves. If they pick a weird colour they will not have to compete for the consumer's attention. However, if they pick a popular colour, such as red, then they will have to compete in a very crowded segment.

In addition to the three organizations listed above, I've made a short list of another fifty or so other organizations, from Coke to Air Canada, that also hang their identity on the colour red. I'm sure that with a bit of research I could come up with another couple of thousand organizations who've also "hitched their wagon" to the colour red.

In lots of cases you have more than one company in the same category using the same colour. In mobile telephones in Canada both Virgin and Rogers use red. The Bank of Nova Scotia and HSBC also both use red.

For political parties the colour red has different associations depending on the country. The Liberal Party in Canada, the Republican Party in the United States and the Labour Party in the United Kingdom.

So, while red may be popular and a safe choice with consumers, it very popularity means that consumer may have already made a number of potentially competing associations with the colour.

To avoid competition, you could always go with brown. When you think of brown, do you think of any other brand apart from UPS?