I kind of love this idea from Coke:
(Can’t be bothered to watch the video? Here’s the recap: Coke created an extra-large vending machine with the coin slot and buttons located too high for a person to reach on their own. The idea was that you’d enlist a friend to help you reach the buttons, then you’d get 2 containers of a Coke product for the price of one.)
It’s a nicely art-directed and edited spot with a good soundtrack, and it’s got the typical Coke feel-good vibe, even if the punchline does make it clear that ultimately it was more about sales (“1074% more sales than a regular vending machine in the same time period!”) than about actually making the world a better place.
However, I found myself wondering how the hell this idea ever made it out of the brainstorming phase, given that vending machines kill more people annually than sharks do. (Neither of them kill a lot of people in any given year, but as we all know, popular factoids trump actual data every time when it comes to killing creative ideas quicker than you can say ‘ripomatic‘.)
Think about it: If a creative type suggested you build a promo item which required your customers to stand on each other’s shoulders on a cement floor, wouldn’t your first thought be L A W S U I T?
Someone was brave here, and I for one am doing the slow clap.