Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Innocent Smoothies: All Aboard the FAIL Train
If you've been following Internet trends then you'll know that before the thing about Amazon celebrating 'dead guy on stick' day by hiding all the queer stuff before Jehova comes round the thing was about Innocent Smoothies deciding that goodwill and customer loyalty doesn't mean nothing in a recession and selling thirty percent of their soul to Coca-Cola. They've been very open about it, and if you email them you too can get the largely pro forma response that they send to everyone.
Geordie Monkey has most of the relevent points here, including Mark Thomas's response.
I also wrote to them, got the standard response, replied criticising the standard response and asking about the research they claimed they did that told them that it was all right to sell out to Coke (although being all ex-advertisers they... (and you can all work out the humorous joke based on the double meaning of Coke for yourselves)) and was told:
I was an idiot and made a dumb and inappropriate refrence to 'people that write books' about coke (I think in just one email) which I regret, have apologised for, and will certainly not write again...
In terms of due diligence, I spoke to leading members in the ngo sector, consulted with independent CSR representatives and yes, read up on coke's side of the story at www.cokefacts.com.
I didn't press the point which I sort of regret now of asking exactly which NGOs they talked to (it'll be useful to know what NGOs if any support Coke) but it just goes to show, when money is at stake, people accept their prejudices over alternate viewpoints. After all, why pay attention to what people who do research and write books say?
So yes, another disappointed ex-Innocent customer signing in here...
Geordie Monkey has most of the relevent points here, including Mark Thomas's response.
I also wrote to them, got the standard response, replied criticising the standard response and asking about the research they claimed they did that told them that it was all right to sell out to Coke (although being all ex-advertisers they... (and you can all work out the humorous joke based on the double meaning of Coke for yourselves)) and was told:
I was an idiot and made a dumb and inappropriate refrence to 'people that write books' about coke (I think in just one email) which I regret, have apologised for, and will certainly not write again...
In terms of due diligence, I spoke to leading members in the ngo sector, consulted with independent CSR representatives and yes, read up on coke's side of the story at www.cokefacts.com.
I didn't press the point which I sort of regret now of asking exactly which NGOs they talked to (it'll be useful to know what NGOs if any support Coke) but it just goes to show, when money is at stake, people accept their prejudices over alternate viewpoints. After all, why pay attention to what people who do research and write books say?
So yes, another disappointed ex-Innocent customer signing in here...
Labels: Coke, Innocent Smoothies, Mark Thomas
