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!?

Have logged complaint with ASA, FB and Coke via links above - would encourage everyone to do the same.

BTW, not sure what the police would do about this, don't see what the actual crime is (apart from extremee bad taste and breaking lots of codes of practice), so wouldn't waste your time there.

dittany - please don't generalise about people working in advertising, we're not all like that and everyone I know in the industry would be horrified at this. have already contacted several people in the marketing community to flag this with them - in general, we're a fairly decent bunch of people with no desire to expose young girls to this kind of filth. And really not sure why you think PR agencies are any different! IME, much the same type of person works at both.

Morning everyone.
Ok, I have sent off another email this morning re the phonecall I received from CocaCola yesterday, more or less expressing my concern that I wasn't satisfied with their response to my complaint and that therefore I shall be taking it further.
Thanks for all the links, CEOP will definitely be hearing from me today as after researching they seem to be the most appropriate channel.
I've only had about an hour's sleep as I just seem to be getting more and more wound up by this and I am extremely grateful for all the support. It's really helped me focus on how serious a matter this is, in this day of liberalism it's easy to think you're over reacting. Your opinions have really helped.

Just lending my support MrsR - keep us posted.

MrsR - do contact the ASA and FB as well. The ASA in particular have powers to levy fines and to require the companies to have all future advertising/promotional content pre-vetted to ensure suitability. IME, its an ASA complaint that tends to put the fear of God into marketing depts.

I'm really gobsmacked at the response from CC, TBH - really inadequate and failing to understand the seriousness of the matter. I suspect the person you spoke to (the brand manager) must have been very junior and is hoping you will be fobbed off with the response, and is probably praying that this doesn't go any further. Please make sure it does, for the sake of all our DCs.

you're doing the right thing, good luck! (I get the feeling we'll hear about it on the news at some point!)

Truely shocked and saddened that this sort of thing is creeping into our everyday lives. My 9yo neice has a FB account (I know she shouldn't) and the thought of her, or indeed anyone, seeing that status makes me feel sick. CC have A LOT of explaining to do.

Oh my goodness, am late to the thread but just wanted to post my support and say you are absolutely doing the right thing taking this further, I am absolutely appalled (and wish I hadn't been eating my breakfast whilst reading). Hope you manage to sleep better tonight.

"In these days of liberalism, it's easy to think you're over reacting"

I think a lot of us think like that. But this laddish, disrespectful, offensive way of thinking is totally unacceptable. We, as both consumers and parents, need to make a stand and say that this is NOT appropriate.

Otherwise, what message are we giving our daughters (and, more importantly, sons)?

Well done for taking action, OP. I can fully understand why you are so upset over this. I am sorry that this caused you to have an unsettled night.In your shoes I would feel exactly the same and I would be complaining to every possible avenue. Every person who has posted on this thread is in agreement that the way your daughter has been taken advantage of is both sickening and unacceptable. Have faith that we are all supporting you.

Report it to David Cameron. No 10 aren't too happy with Facebook at the moment anyway, because of the Raoul support page.

Actually, let's just boycott Coca Cola and Dr Pepper.

What's the worst that could happen?

This is disgusting. And as for them saying that it's nothing to do with them - well, if you engage an agency to do something for your company, something in the name of your company - then the buck stops with you and you are ultimately responsible for ANYTHING that agency does.

MrsRickman - just adding my voice in support of you taking this further.

You are absolutely right to do so.

I am horrified that they could think this was acceptable.

Let us know what happens.

Hi MrsRickman, juat a thought in terms of your follow up with Coca Cola, if you haven't already been in contact with them do see if you can copy your correspondence to Coca Cola Enterprises - see here www.cokecce.co.uk/ - CCE is the corporate company who own and manage the entire Coca Cola business rather than the individual "brands".

Even if a dimwit brand manager for Dr Pepper/Coke cannot grasp the severity of this situation, I would expect someone at CCE, particularly in their press office, to respond quickly and provide a more appropriate response (which for me personally would be to do nothing less than to pull the campaign and sack the agency as well as a full and appropriate apology and commitment to ensure this never happens again).

Interestingly enough, the main news item on the front page of the CCE website above is a clarification to an item on Facebook (unrelated) so clearly they monitor and respond to these things.

Good luck with your efforts to get this dealt with. FWIW, I work in reputational PR in a completely unrelated sector, but if I got a phone call about something like this I would be going absolutely BALLISTIC and would expect it to be escalated to senior management with hours and taken extremely seriously.

Just adding my support MrsRickman

Mrsrickman, I have a 14 year old daughter myself and am absolutely appalled by this.
Please let us know what CEOP say.
Good luck, I feel as if you are fighting a campaign on behalf of all our teenage children.

MrsRickman, if you can, please don't delete the thread.
I'm another one who is angry about this - on your behalf and on my own.

I have a son and a daughter and I am so looking forward to having to add to the "birds and bees" chat a little homily on the fact that the images and practices in (extreme) pornography are ... extreme and anti-women. And I suppose I'll have to have that chat because of idiots like this and their actions.

So, I don't think you're over-reacting either.

Easy to forget when something appears like this as a "jokey" thing, endorsed by someone like Coca-Cola, but this is extreme, and unacceptable to a lot of us, for very good reasons. But that is exactly why it's so important to resist its encroachment.

Good luck OP, am marking my place as I want to see how this unfolds, I am sickened

Just read the thread and think this is disgusting. I hope you get some sort of sensible response to this, but really, it shouldn't be down to one mum to pursue this in order to get a result. Someone should be all over this

Mrs Rickman - let Private Eye magazine know about this, they're big on exposing wrong doing in the media, they have a section about advertising (Ad Nauseum). They'd be all over this appaling campaign. I can find a contact for you if you wish?

Good luck with what you're doing, it's beyond belief what's happened.

Dear God, I am horrified Well done for taking action MrsR - I can see why you would want to keep your daughter out of the media (I would not want that either) but I am sure it could be done anonymously if you contacted one of the respectable broadsheets.

oh bloody norah, had just decided to allow ds (12 and a half) a fb page after 2 years of pleading...
Will have a rehink now. Because of this sort of crap.

I have to say, that 1 cup thing is so abhorrent, I cannot see how it is 'mainstream'? And I have a high tolerance for smut and sex.

Mrs Rickman - I don't know what to say as this is sickening. I had no idea what scat porn was and am horrified that children have possibly been exposed to this.

Such a huge corporation should have been far more vigilant and protected the 'target age' of the Dr Pepper campaign.

For what it is worth, Vittel mineral water is also one of the Coke products.

(I am also very disappointed to realise Appletise is a Coca cola product...we try and avoid Coke inc for other reasons.)

Yes, I was sad to discover Rose's is a coca-cola brand. 'Bye 'bye Lime cordial ... .

Just to be clear - I know the application didn't provide a link or images from the internet clip in question. For me, this issue is that the "joke" brings this into the currency of the cultural conversation, and so normalises something I find politically offensive.

As well as implicitly encouraging the googling of the term if previously unknown.

How the people this was run past could have OK'd it is just ... worrying.