Need help with a very sensitive complaint against a massive multinational!

[MrsRickman]

Ok, here goes.
Coca Cola are running a promo via their Dr Pepper brand just now on facebook. It is called 'status takeover' and involves the application putting an embarrassing or funny status on your FB page.
My 14 yo dd participated and I was HORRIFIED to log into FB and see that her status read - 'I watched 2 girls one cup and felt hungry afterwards'. For anyone who doesn't know what this means, please stay ignorant, for those who do, you can imagine how I felt. This was compounded later on when a quick search through dds internet history revealed she had tried to find out what it was for herself. Thankfully, our ISP has a wonderful child filter!!
So, after various emails and phonecalls to CocaCola marketing I have been offered (quite offensively) as way of compensation, a night in a hotel and theatre tickets for the West End. Fat lot of use to me, we live in Glasgow.
So, how do I proceed? ASA? I am absolutely fizzing with rage and disgust, and want a full apology and explanation. CocaCola are saying they use outside marketing teams for different brands and it's outside their jurisdiction. Help!?

My name is Lauren Branston and I am Director for Corporate Affairs at Coca-Cola Great Britain, with Dr Pepper being one of our brands.

We received an email complaint on Thursday with regards to an offensive and inappropriate status update posted as part of the Dr Pepper Status Takeover competition. We completely agree that this is not acceptable in any form and apologise fully.

As soon as we became aware we immediately removed this line from the promotion. We have taken the decision today to remove the promotion. This has now been done.

We were unaware of the meaning of this line when the promotion was approved, for which we accept full responsibility ? there is no excuse. We are reviewing our internal processes as a result to ensure that nothing like this can happen again.

We are in no doubt as to how offended the lady who contacted us is and the seriousness of the situation. We have been in touch with her again today.

If you wish to contact us directly our contact details during working hours are 0800 22 77 11.

Shocked, and disgusted. Hope this gets deleted quickly and that a few heads roll . I find it hard to 'police' the internet, when DCs have ipods etc. Have protection on the PC. Its all too much.

The facebook page has a wall post from DrPepper (about half an hour ago) saying that the promotion has ended.

MrsRickman, I am utterly shocked that any business would be so irresponsible, and I am furious on yours and your DD's behalf.

Cokespokesperson - "We were unaware of the meaning of this line" - bollocks were you. It is a very specific reference, and you can be damn sure that the person who included it as an option in your promotion knew exactly what it meant. Did you have no QC checking of the possible statuses that might be posted on children's pages? There is something very, very wrong here, and heads should be rolling.

X posts with 'cokesperson'

For now, at least, the link Status Takeover still shows the promotion complete with 'chance to win' and inviting people to go ahead.

Look forward to a "Sorry, promotion has been suspended, due to unforeseen circumstances" wherever it gets a mention.

NetworkGuy, the facebook page is being inundated with confused people wondering where the app has gone - I suspect MrsR is why! I wonder what DrPepper's explanation is going to be...

MrsRickman Could you come back now Lauren Branston from Coca Cola has been in touch and let us know what she said?

Out of interest, can you let us know if the have tried to get you to keep any of your dealings with them confidential?

So CC and Dr Pepper know about it now (and somehow found this thread??)..has it hit the media yet??

I hope they still dish out the prizes though

Waiting with interest to see how this develops.

Well done MrsR and MN!

hi

I am a reporter from The Guardian newspaper, probably writing a story about this tomorrow.

If Mrs Rickman could email or call me, we have some news about all this.
I'm on 07979 707176 or [email protected]

Mrs R, Did they get in touch like they said?

I know this is a little off-side, but is anyone else chortling at the HUGE irony of this campaign?

It's just so apposite that the whole idea behind it is massive, self-inflicted, public embarrassment.

Oh Coke. "What's the worst that could happen?" Well, probably this.

Upthread someone pointed out that in order to enter the comp you had to make your profile public (precumably something that young people are often advised against?) and then the porn references in the statuses will attract loads of utter freaks to the profiles of these children.

I mean what on earth???

On top of the fact that this particular status will have incited loads of underage teens to google hardcore scat porn.

I mean for gods sake.

I am not in any way anti-porn for consenting adults who are interested but I have just read this entire thread and it has actually bought a tear to my eye as the mother of young children when I think of what this kind of cynical, jaded, marketing ploy means for their chancesof having some emblance of an innocent childhood. Truly appalled (and believe me, I am very much a liberal).

I am glad you have had a response from Coca Cola and that the media are taking interest. I think it is appropriate here.

Coke/Dr Pepper took far too long in taking this seriously and stopping the competition in the first instance. I saw this last night and thought the competition would have been stopped by this morning but it's only just ended an hour ago. Were they hoping it was just some random woman complaining and they could just ignore her and carry on regardless? Were they really so stupid to think this wouldn't blow up in their face.

I hope the guardian do print a story about this. And point out all that people have mentioned on this thread re the other updates that are inappropriate.

If they do, can someone link to the article please. Would ike to see if CC comment to the guardian and how much 'spin' is put on the article. None I hope!

I quite literally could not believe this story was true. Because for it to be true would mean the most monumental fuck up by the creatives, who are paid £millions to promote their brands like Dr Pepper. Am still astonished that it went "live" as it were. Makes the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand excesses seem positively tame in comparison.

Presumably several heads will roll over this.

Just had a thought - the OP may have been told not to comment further on this by CC or lawyers (or someone else concerned with the stuff up) and so may not return to the thread. Hopefully she is still watching it though and sees the guardians request.

Should MNHQ tell her there is a media request?

It isn't that much of a closed world, surely. I count amongst my friends many senior people in advertising, some with their own agencies, they are middle aged and pretty sober and I would have thought utterly repulsed by some of those status hijacks.