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!?

Hello everyone.
My internet connection has been down for the past 4 hours so I've been unable to keep you up to speed
Well, finally today I feel I am getting somewhere.
I've received an email from the Director of Corporate Affairs, and it would appear that Coke are now accepting full responsibilty for the reference. I'm actually shaking as I type this.
Thank you all for supporting me on this, I am so glad I ran it by the MNers first, as I really was angrier than I have ever been in my life over this and it was so helpful to me to hear your likeminded opinions.
I'm not naive enough to believe for a second that the Coca Cola Corp. give a stuff about me and my little family, but I'm glad I've hopefully prevented more of our children being exposed to this depraved filth.
I think it's going to take a long time for me to get over this, thank you again for supporting me.

"and somehow found this thread?"

Someone put a link on Twitter. However, there are other ways...

EG site 1 has page A ... Page A links to site 2, page B ...

When checking views on site 2, tech staff can see that page B was "most popular". Viewers of page B came from site 1, page A.

Tech staff visits site 1, page A and sees what is written. Contacts management for damage limitation.

I did a quick search on Google (yuk!) and this thread was item 7 when searching for Dr Pepper and a few other keywords.

They'll know what it means, as did I before this thread. But they wouldn't include reference to it in an ad campaign - they are not that stupid! This is what I cannot comprehened, the sheer lack of understanding of the requirements of the client, and the lack of a heirarchy of approval until the update was "signed off" and allowed to go live.

[round of applause for mrsR] and especially for the turn of phrase "depraved filth" which sums it up perfectly.

On facebook page the Dr Pepper comment is thus

'Hey, the Status Takeover competition is ending early - but to make up for it, two lucky people will win £1000. Two of you will be drawn at random from everyone playing this week, so check back here in a few days to find out who has won.'

Almost 162,000 people have 'liked' the Dr Pepper page so a proportion of that must have been joining in with this. That's up to 162,000 people - probably mostly teenagers, potentially making their profiles public thus putting them in danger of being approached by dangerous individuals or having access to their contact details (and I personally know a young girl who was approached by someone posing as a teenage boy who turned out to be a paedophile because she left hers open in an unrelated case) and also potentially having a reference to hardcore porn posted on their pages and leading them to google it and be introduced to a very sick world.

Thank you Mrs R for your action. Even though Coca cola does now seem to be taking it seriously, there still needs to be a fuss made. I really hope the Guardian does an article.

@network guy. AHH! Thanks, now I understand!

@dittany. What happened to the pepsi ad?

Well done MrsRickman

at this entire thing - just joining to watch for link and further news. Well done, MrsR.

I just looked back at the "Lean Mean Fighting Machine" (which itself seems an overly testosterone fuelled name for a web site) and read the initial comments...

Just for you Lauren Branston, Director for Corporate Affairs, Coca-Cola Great Britain...

You've got balls. Nice.

What kind of sicko aims a marketing campaign at teenagers aged 14 and over with that opening line?

It's one thing to acknowledge they're rebellious teenagers, but that's almost encouragement to be the more so, and to go for the highest level of embarrassment (strictly for the extra points they get). Pathetic.

Perhaps you could come back, Ms Branston, and confirm whether this was dreamed up by Coca Cola or some "creatives" and if the latter, then please name them, so others can avoid the sewer some employee has made of that firm.

Yes, well done. Admit I'd never heard of this before this thread

Yep there is a need to do some articles on all this stuff, a backlash against the base filthy stuff advertising agencies keep pushing out there.

I don't think the apology is enough, I wouldn't feel satisfied with that. MrsR I hope you are ok. I would still be upset too. I'd also want action wrt to the crap agency that decided to do it.

I suppose one of the good things to come out of all this, OP, is some really pertinent and relevant material for your Phd on not prematurely sexualising children.

Also, to my shame, have to admit I had not seen the Pepsi ad with high-fiving as being what it was, an encouragement for "lads" to not respect girls, but to treat them as sex objects, only.

Maybe MNHQ had better keep a record of Ms Branston's e-mail address, the next time a Coca-Cola Great Britain product uses dubious marketing from even more dubious "creatives".

Have been lurking since the beginning. Well done MrsR, for taking this on and not being fobbed off

Lauren Branston I think it may be a good idea for you to contact all the people who signed up for the competition, apologise to them for suggesting their profile be made public, and suggest they set their security at a suitable level .

Even had the scat porn not been part of this, making a load of teens make their details public is appalling in itself

Well done Mrs R, I am sick to death of the normalisation of porn and the exposure of it to our children. The fact that a brand like CC has become linked with this is just appalling.

Well done, MrsR (and others).

And well done for getting angry and not rolling over.

Hope you have a good summer.

Yes, one of the key things Coca Cola could do now in reparation is launch a publicity campaign about how to stay safe on the internet.

The campaign could feature a big ol' point about how making your FB profile public is NOT a good idea.

Ach Lauren Branston's apology just makes mr feel crosser, I feel for you MrsR.

Comment on Lean Mean Fighting Machine blog announcing the Status Takeover comp:

Armando Alves Says:
May 23rd, 2010 at 10:34 am
You are aware that goes against facebook Terms Of Service ? (chapter 4)

So i guess the worst it could happen is get your application banned ?

I don't know what the T of s it goes against, can someone techie enlighten us?

Lean Mean Fighting Machine is also on Twitter where they also proudly announced on May 20 'Hundreds of ways to stitch yourself up with our new Facebook competition for Dr Pepper'
twitter.com/fightingmachine so you can let them know directly if you don't care for your teenagers being 'stitched up'