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

1408 replies

MrsRickman · 16/07/2010 17:58

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!?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
edam · 16/07/2010 23:09

Stretch - that's an extremely good point. Hadn't thought about facebook users who see the status as well as those who inadvertently end up with such a nasty, demeaning status as their own.

MathsMadMummy · 16/07/2010 23:10

haven't read whole thread, OP what are you going to do?

am utterly sickened

NonnoMum · 16/07/2010 23:15

Report. Report. Report.

ASA. Police. Facebook. Daily Mail. Child protection people (?)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

nowherewoman · 16/07/2010 23:18

I can hardly believe this
Police!

HalfTermHero · 16/07/2010 23:26

Really good point, Stretch. Coca Cola will surely be mortified whenever it does actually stop and think through what it's name has been associated with. Pedaling and promoting hardcore pornography to children has got to be a obvious no no for any corporation I would think????

monkeysmama · 16/07/2010 23:32
Angry
LadyBiscuit · 16/07/2010 23:33

I would do press, twitter etc. Call Max Clifford. FFS this is entirely unacceptable

dittany · 16/07/2010 23:44

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giraffesCanDanceInTheSun · 16/07/2010 23:48

Just adding my support - totally unacceptable

dittany · 16/07/2010 23:56

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LadyBiscuit · 16/07/2010 23:57

dittany - if the PR company doesn't think there's an issue then Coca Cola sure as hell will. And WTF was their brand manager doing not checking all this before it went live? Heads are going to roll ...

Stretch · 17/07/2010 00:04

2 girls was even banned from lots of sites on the internet. It takes a good bit of searching to even find the video. (We had a thread last year about it)

dittany · 17/07/2010 00:07

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dittany · 17/07/2010 00:10

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LadyBiscuit · 17/07/2010 00:25

I don't think PR agencies are always whiter than white dittany. The lines are increasingly blurred. What I do care about is that the company appears to have had so little oversight over what the agency were doing. (and that the agency are utter dickwads but that goes without saying).

Parents trust multinationals to protect their kids from this sort of shit.

cordelia28 · 17/07/2010 00:28

Horrified

differentnameforthis · 17/07/2010 02:16

janeite, it is an automated application. Every so often it changes your status. So no, they don't 'encourage' anyone to use those phrases, but by using the application you give your permission for the application to post a random status.

My sister had it, usually harmless, not funny at all IMO. But this OTT!

funkychunkymunky · 17/07/2010 02:26

I agree that this is totally unacceptable.

differentnameforthis · 17/07/2010 03:03

I just added the application (and removed it) and nowhere does it require actual parental consent. The T&C state it, but there is nowhere for a parent to add consent & no mention of emails being sent.

I think they have just put it there to 'cover' themselves.

BaggedandTagged · 17/07/2010 03:46

I have to ask- why would anyone sign up for this application? Am I just being a FB control freak, or am I being reasonable to think that no sane person would want someone updating their status at random?

However, agree that this is all very weird. Bet it's in the papers tomorrow.

TheBossofMe · 17/07/2010 05:00

MrsRickman - this contravenes all kinds of guidelines, and you need to complain (anyone who has seen this can complain, not just you and your DD, so come on MNetters!):

First of all, to the ASA who regulate anything like this:

www.asa.org.uk/Complaints-and-ASA-action/How-to-complain.aspx

Second, to Facebook themselves, because this is also in direct contravention of their code of practice and promotional guidelines:

www.facebook.com/help/?page=858#!/help/contact.php?show_form=ad_report

By the way, Facebook's own guidelines prohibit any promotion which is marketed to those under 18 (so CC have already broken that one by making it open to 14 year olds), and anything that is pornographic or has sexual content likely to offend.

And finally, to Coca Cola themselves (that brand manager should get into a whole heap of trouble - its their job to check what's being done in their name, and saying it was a 3rd party is absolutely unacceptable and irrelevant if it was a 3rd party hired by them, which in this case it is. I'd personally go straight to the top - the European President is:

Dominique dot Reiniche at coca-cola dot com (I think). There is also contact us site here :

www.coca-cola.co.uk/contact-us/

jumpingjackhash · 17/07/2010 06:51

This is SHOCKING! I'm struggling to believe that a major brand owned by one of the world's biggest companies, with such a wealth of experience in successful marketing campaigns could be so stupid with this one!

Either Coca Cola has made such a basic but monumental error in allowing a third party to take ownership of its own brand's identity (by way of uploading these updates without checks), or they approved the phrases and somehow seem to think they are appropriate. It will be interesting to see which of these situations Coca Cola owns up to.

MrsR, I'm and for you and think you have a responsibility to take this further (if only to stop it happening again / getting worse), you'll have our support.

I hope your daughter is OK.

weblette · 17/07/2010 07:02

I would get in touch with CEOP today if you can MrsRickman, what's ironic is that they've just launched a campaign with Facebook to promote internet safety - I'm sure this is just the sort of thing they want to target.

Absolutely appalling what has been done by the agency, this needs to be sorted by someone seriously high up in CC.

borderslass · 17/07/2010 07:05

bloody hell dd2 is 14 and has a habit of adding apps on facebook need to warn her not to add this one.

LeninGrad · 17/07/2010 07:10

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