I was starting in on a relaxing coffee break with a friend, when I noticed something amiss with my beverage. My latte was fine. The problem was the mug. It was advertising a popular soft drink. A product not associated with a mug. A product generally served cold.
I wonder what the martketing genius was on when he thought of this odd juxtaposition. Or am I now doing exactly what was intended; shilling a product by dissing its presentation?
As I'm sure you are aware Dan, the aim of marketing is to maintain product awareness in the mind of the public. Putting this product in an unusual, almost inappropriate, place could be seen as a very smart move.
When we continually see advertisements in the same places we become immune to them. This shakes things up a little.
"Coca cola on a MUG?? What a moron!"
But you and your companion noticed and…even commented on it, whereas if that ad was in an "appropriate" place you would have tuned it out and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Well, molybdenum! I've been pwned by a mug of marketing!
This mug might also foster a sense of brand-loyalty. The cute, calming image of the coca-cola polar bear may imbue in you (or lesser consumers) a sense of familiarity. That warm fuzzy feeling eventually translates to preference for the drink over competitors. Familiarity breeds fondness, after all. And brand loyalty seems to be the name of the game when it comes to colas. The world is split into "Coke People" and "Pepsi People", who identify with their chosen cola and abhor the heck out of the other brand.
Of course, as in any choice-limited two-party system, there remain some apathetic holdouts who drink water.
Part of the success of the Pepsi/Coke brand war is covering up the actual plurality of flavors of brown syrupy water. There are other popular cola brands.
My cola candidate is "None of the Above". I'm more of a Dr. Pepper fella. I must go through a case of that liquid confection every year (counting restaurant sales as cans).