Babies Drink Coke Too

I was at the airport and I saw a mother "bottle-feeding" a baby (or I guess you could say young toddler) Coca-Cola from a can. The kid could not have been more than 10-months old.

I was SHOCKED. Unfortunately I don't have a photo for you, because I think that would require permission from the parent. And what parent would want some random stranger at the airport taking a picture of your kid drinking Coke. Yes, because it does reflect badly on you as a parent. Don't try to deny it.

But the baby is only 1 in 1 billion cans that are supposedly consumed each day. Is it Coca-Cola's fault that people aren't educated? Or are they just the most genius marketing company ever? Hook 'em in early cause darn it, it tastes good. In fact, Coke has people choosing it as the preferred beverage over water. Many times this is because Coke is CHEAPER in certain countries because of the scarcity of water. Also, it is cleaner and safer and more widely available than water.

Some (negative) side effects from drinking Coke:
1) What I thought were obvious health negatives
2) Destruction of water resources
3) Bloodshed and warfare

and drumroll...
4) Life as we know it since it destroys sperm

Don't let that stop you though. Drink up! It definitely is the Coke side of life.

Social + Viral Marketing: TOMS

Check out TOMS Shoes' holiday season project:



Companies are finding that doing good is good for business. This is definitely not a new concept. There is something compelling about a company that is engaging in service for customers--it makes the customers look good when they buy from the company. Everyone wins. Posting a video about it is also genius--it's the best way to spread the word (hey, that's what I'm doing right now!) and it's already gotten 66,000 views. Though I have to say that 66k views isn't very much nowadays, when we're talking about a couple million within a week...yep our standards are much too high now sadly.

Look at all the advocacy that's present from the comments on the page:

"heck just buying a pair to help someone who needs a pair is worth it enough! Please support this company :)"
"GOOD JOB YAY WHOEVR STARTED THIS"
"YES!!!! I LOVE TOMS!!! this is awesome!"

For several pages, all the comments are similar. For once (in a lifetime it feels like) YouTube users haven't posted snarky, douchey, dirty comments on a video. Yay! We're improving!!!1111one!!!

In all seriousness though, TOMS has it down. They aren't a ding dong ditch company as their goal is sustainable donations. They're not just doing this promotion as a holiday gimmick but have run donation campaigns all year round with their motto "buy one, donate one" to groups such as Katrina victims, children in Argentina, and other countries.