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SAUCY LICENSING DEALS
Continuing the great Southern tradition
of cooking with cola, Cadbury
Schweppes has entered into
a licensing deal with Vita Food
Products Inc. to produce Dr. Pepper,
7Up and A&W Root Beer barbeque
sauces.
We’d have tried them ourselves,
but as regular readers of the Bev-
Blog know, we were a bit busy pulling
together energy drink can barbecued
chicken. In other barbecue
news, now it can be told: the secret
recipe for steak tips is 1 part Italian
dressing, 1 part ketchup, and 1
part Coca-Cola. Awesome.
THE AD GAME:
THE KIDS ARE OFF-LIMITS
Count PepsiCo among those beverage
companies who are reconsidering
their ad strategies – the company
has stated that it will not be
advertising soda or high-fat
or high-sugar snack foods on
shows aimed directly at the
12-and-under set.
There have been major
questions about a link between
advertising and child obesity,
especially in the wake of a recent
Kaiser Family Foundation report that
showed the barrage of junk food ads most
kids see in their early years, But some groups, particularly the Center
for Consumer Freedom (CCF), would rather that PepsiCo not
buckle.
The CCF recently trumpeted a study in the Archives of Pediatric
& Adolescent Medicine that attempted to debunk any links between
childhood obesity and food advertising.
Regardless of the finding, PepsiCo isn’t the only company feeling
the heat; General Mills and Kraft are also pulling ads. Whether the
changes move into licensed beverage brands is more of an issue for
retailers – promotions or product lines related to child-centric entertainment
are time-honored sales tools, and any reduction in those
kinds of products would likely affect the bottom line for retailers.
File Under: Shrinking Shreks!
SPYKES SPIKED
The Spykes saga has finally ended.
Anheuser Busch, bowing to
pressure from watchdog groups –
as well as the Connecticut Attorney
General’s Office – is pulling the 2
oz. flavored malt liquor “shots.”
Criticism of the manufacturer
erupted after it appeared that
young drinkers had begun to favor
Spykes due to its fruity flavor profile and caffeine content.
Bud Chairman August Busch
IV told investors he was pulling
the product during a a shareholders’
meeting.
DIET COKE TURNS 25
It might go down in history as the most successful sequel ever
(although we’re still partial to Godfather II).
Debuting with an upbeat “Just for the Taste of It” campaign
that carried it through into prominence, Diet Coke is now the
world’s top-selling diet soda.
Coke unveiled a silver Diet Coke slimcan in Atlanta just for
the event. The product’s addictive qualities are famous and celebrated
– with just a touch more caffeine than its full-calorie predecessor,
the stuff has seemingly always managed to rope in people
who do things all day long.
We don’t know that we necessarily agree with Coke spokeswoman Katie Bayne
that “Since its launch, Diet Coke has been synonymous with stylish sophistication,”
given the fact that we know a lot of less than stylishly sophisticated folks who
drink it with robotic regularity. Nevertheless, it was certainly a piece of innovation
that showed a sophisticated understanding of the marketplace.
Coke’s nod to its own history isn’t just restricted to the low-cal side, however. The
company also rolled out a Coca-Cola Classic can with a cleaned-up appearance,
one that brings it back to an earlier, redder time. With a single white ribbon and
a lack of background illustration, it stands in contrast to the wildly varied versions
of Pepsi Cola that have been appearing as part of PepsiCo’s year-long promotion of
fast-changing can designs.