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!?

MrsRickman - first of all, I'm so sorry your daughter has to deal with this crap. Kids want to join in with what their friend do online not be exposed to pornographic filth and groomed to look for more!

The company knows it's in the wrong because otherwise it wouldn't have offered you compensation. Do not delete this thread but if I were you I would not add to it either.

Your best bet is to upload the screen shot to several blogs to ensure that if Mumsnet are forced to take it down, it's still up in other places. If you need some help blanking out the personalised bits for your daughter, let me know and I'll help you photoshop it. I can also upload it to my blog if it helps.

The advertising standards office would be interested. However the police are unlikely to be - CEOP would like the report obviously but probably would not do much - much as they can't close down nuts.com. The media of course would love this and you could leak this through a third party agency without having to have your identity revealed. I can help introduce you if you like.

Do NOT let this go. You are doing the right thing raising this, it is shocking and wrong.

just to add another shout of support to you OP. This beggars belief and is a monumental fuck up obo Coke and their agency. Good work in taking the screen print.

I was just telling OP what the status ment & I nearly vomited just saying the words. Not funny for an adult, for a child or teenager ..........what on earth were they thinking?

I'm vey rarely a Coke customer but they have gone the way of Nestle as far as I am concerned. Land of never seeing another penny that I have earned.

I hope you don't delete the thread and you keep us all posted. Kia kaha (stand strong)

the actual advert for the status game on facebook includes suggestions such as 'watching porn'. I guess this is the result if you chose the 'high embarrassment' option. Is it right then that this is aimed at users as young as 14?

OMG, I am so shocked. 2 girls one cup is a fairly well-known phenomenon. I have never seen it and never intend to, but I know what it's about and I think a lot of internet users do. If they don't, a quick google will tell them, and I'm sure that is the case whether there's a parental filter or not. To think that Coca Cola can make reference to this on anyone's fb page, 14 yr old girl or not, is hideous. It is demeaning, embarrassing and downright dangerous to put this on someone's status. There is a whole world of difference between entering a competition which means something embarrassing is put on your status and making reference to 2 girls 1 cup and I just cannot believe that this has got through the net. But the truth of the matter is that it has got through and heads have got to roll at the highest level. It is demeaning to women and dangerous and the idea that a huge multi-national are making jokes about it is terrifying and horrific. Please OP, take this to the highest level and if you aren't willing or comfortable to then I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who will, including, I hope, MN towers.

I am beyond horrified at this.I had no idea what it meant and I am 46! I would have been really upset to have this on my page and if it was my dd-well,i think that police,and legal advice,would be the way I would go. It is completely horrible and shocking,and heads should roll I think.

Just so you all know, the agency responsible is called 'Lean Mean Fighting Machine' confirmation here

Just a typical marketing/advertising agency who is cut off from the real UK audience. Demonstrates a real warped departure from reality.

agree with everyone saying call the police

This is astonishing and just absolutely awful.

Please do make a fuss about this, I am sure there are ways to protect your identity.

Terms and Conditions of the Dr Pepper Status Takeover state clearly over 14yo.

Btw, it does state that those between 14 and 16 need parental consent.

Does anyone know the legal side of this?

But you'd give parental consent to part of coca cola, wouldn't you? You'd expect to be able to trust them.

Good Lord, this beggars belief! I'm a bit of a Diet Coke addict, I could easily have entered this competition. It would be bad enough for me, as a fully grown adult, to have that put on my status without my knowledge, but for a 14yo girl? For all her friends to see?

What the fuck were they thinking putting a reference like that into a competition open to minors??

I'm boycotting Coke from tomorrow. Does anyone know their other main UK brands?

Depending on the T&Cs and the explanation of the messages which would be posted would determine whether parental consent could be given in an informed way. I doubt really whether parental consent could be given without the parents being contacted or clearly confirming - perhaps with a confirmation email being responded to to their email address - that they were happy for their child to proceed.

Even if you were 17 and didn't need parental consent, then talking about 2 girls 1 cup is still waaaaaay out of line.

Nowhere does it say that Dr Pepper relinquishes responsibilty in cases of personal distress caused by the updaties - nor does it proceed to define what things like 'properly embarrassing' exactly means. They will probably say that the participant is free to delete the updates from their news feeds if they find them unacceptable. But participants are obviously pressured to go for the maximum level of embarrassing for the sake of the best chance to win the cash prize. £1,000 is an awful lot of money, especially to a teenager.

This whole thing was badly thought out, from an initially promising and fun idea.

But does it say anywhere that status updates may contain sexual references? How can a parent give meaningful consent without knowing that?

Nope. No mention of sexual references.

Is your dd the only participant to have received this random embarrassing status? I have looked at a facebook page containing lots of them and the participants seem to be complaining about the status updates being repetitive.

I'm 30 and I like porn but I wouldn't want lesbian scat fetish porn references on my facebook page.

It is wrong for an adult, it's beyond disgusting for a child.

Aww, not Appletiser! I've only just re-discovered that after the MN trial thingie. Won't be buying it now though

Good grief. Agree re. report to CEOP (assume the local cop shop may well not be experts in online crime). And the ASA (if they don't cover online marketing they can tell you who does). AND your MP. Ask your MP to take it up with whoever is minister for children these days.

How on earth could Coke get it so wrong, fgs? Was there really no-one in their in house comms team or PR or marketing agencies who thought 'ooh, is this REALLY appropriate, what about the obscenity laws and don't we need to be careful about minors?'.

I'd be horrified to see this on my facebook status and I'm several times your daughter's age. The idea of it being on a child's page is just horrific. Nowhere on that FB page that someone posted where you sign up does it suggest the messages will be this extreme.

It's all well and good the age of the comp being for 14 and over, but facebook users are from the age of 13 and may well see the status.

Obv, there are a lot of younger children on there, but legally i mean. Another reason why my 8 year old is going to not go on for a few years, bad enough most of her friends do.

I am not easily shocked at all but this is appalling.

Good God. I will be warning my friends with older children.

The fact that there are sexual references is wrong. The fact that the sexual references are so utterly degrading and demeaning is horrifying. I fail to see why anyone would engage in such an act unless they were being abused and if I had children I definitely wouldn't want them knowing about such abuse.

I am genuinely sickened.