Flogging backfires for Coke's 'Zero Movement'
January 12, 2006

Beware while surfing through the blogosphere. As in the real world, blogging is full of clandestine marketing, where corporate marketers pose as supposedly real bloggers bantering about this and that while sliding in the odd product nudge.

The most recent case in point is a blog called The Zero Movement. The author comes off as a “guy’s guy” (Coke’s chief target for Coke Zero – it’s newly named diet product. Apparently guys don’t like the word “diet”). He rants like a typically predictable “guy,” about such novel subjects as: sex, women, sports, bad bosses, blah… blah… blah…

Trouble is, keen watchdogs have unleashed a biting analysis, and their determination is the blog’s a fake, created by Coke to flog its product -- complete with supportive fake comments but devoid of any acknowledgement that the company is behind it.

Tsk tsk.

This week, after Coke was called out for its patronizing marketing tactics, the blog was updated and it's now clearly branded with a Coke Zero bottle. But the move might be a little too late. As Adrants puts it:

"Following backlash after backlash, it baffles that marketers still attempt to pull wool over people's eyes with these lame cool-hunting endeavours. It's as if Coke is purposefully stupid just so they'll get press on this idiocy."

Um… I guess they got something out of it then.

via: Adrants

related murmur: Beware corporate blogs: ‘Flog’ hunters are on the prowl

murmur categories: advertising/marketing, branding/logos

tags: consumers consumer news consumerism advertising marketing branding

posted by Tessa | 12:31 PM (ET) | Permalink