Consumers are confused, frustrated, and maybe even a little angry by Coke’s latest seasonal marketing campaign that turned classic red Coke cans into a winter wonderland of trickery.
The cans were given a white wash for the holidays as part of a seasonal marketing campaign, but consumers just aren’t having it.
According to an article on Yahoo this morning, “[Coca-Cola] initially said it would distribute more than 1.4 billion white cans in a press release that did not mention the red cans. The company now says red cans will be in the majority by Christmas and that there likely won’t be any white cans on store shelves by the time February rolls around.”
The seasonal white cans were part of a marketing campaign to drive holiday sales, but they also featured polar bears to bring awareness and charitable contributions for polar bear conservation efforts. The red cans will also feature the polar bears and the company will still contribute $3 million to WWF.
So what was the problem? Apparently the white cans looked too similar to Diet Coke’s silver can, confusing people and causing frustration among buyers. Some buyers even claimed that Coke tasted different in the white cans although Coke maintains the recipe never changed.
Here’s what a few Twitter users had to say about Coke’s white cans:
“My world has been officially turned upside down by these confusing white Coke cans.”
“Just had a blonde moment in front of Alexa’s family. Couldn’t find the Coke cans when they were in front of my face. They’re WHITE cans, WTF”
“Dammit! I bought regular Coke thinking it was Diet. Screw you WHITE CAN!”
“They say the white cans are the same recipe as the red coke cans but it tastes different. IT TASTES DIFFERENT!!!”
Clearly the white cans, or ‘decepticans,’ if you will, have caused major confusion amongst consumers who are used to the classic red cans. Well, never fear, because the majority of the cans should be back to normal by as early as next week when they begin shipping back into stores.
All I have to say is sheesh, Coke buyers, who knew brand loyalty went that far? If there’s one thing to learn from Coke’s seasonal marketing fail is that people want their Coke in a red can. Period. At least Coke has another seasonal marketing campaign, “Shake up Christmas,” to fall back on.
What do you think of Coke’s white can debacle?