CocaCola ditches the RED cans for Xmas

[Tim Budong]

I found this quite interesting. And since I love their Polar Bear ads, this makes a lot of sense

By Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Coca-Cola Ltd. is changing its iconic can — and pledging millions of dollars — to help scientists plan how other icons such as polar bears can survive in Canada's melting Arctic.

Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Fund have announced a project called Arctic Home, to which the global corporate giant has committed $2 million over five years, with another million promised to match donations from the public. The money is to fund research programs in the High Arctic related to habitat and wildlife survival, particularly with regard to polar bears.

Arctic experts say it's vital work that governments aren't doing as they increasingly focus on research directly related to development.

"This is probably the way we need to go," said Andy Derocher, one of the world's leading polar bear scientists from the University of Alberta.

"We need to find these private partnerships with non-governmental organizations that want to work with northern communities to try to establish long-term conservation monitoring programs. We are not seeing that leadership come from the federal government."

Some of the money is to pay for ground-level conservation, such as migration research or polar bear fences in communities that have lots of nearby bears. But Arctic Home also has larger advocacy goals, said WWF Canada CEO Gerald Butts.

"What we're after is looking at all of the change that's going to take place in the Arctic over the next 25 to 60 years and getting ahead of it by predicting where the last permanent sea ice is likely to persist and protect that area, not just for polar bears but for every ice-dependent species in the Arctic.

"The best way to think about it is a chain of networked conservation areas."

Those areas are most likely to be found in the High Arctic north of Baffin Island, said Butts.

Arctic sea ice, vital to polar bears as a hunting platform, has been rapidly shrinking due to climate change. Global warming will also make it easier to extract Arctic resources, a goal that is increasingly important to federal research efforts.

Coca-Cola Canada president Nicola Kettlitz said the project is a chance to do something for an animal that's been closely associated with the soft drink's image for years.

"It's part of our overall campaign of how we interact with the communities in which we operate," he said. "It will continue to get stronger over time and better."

An indication of how seriously the company takes the campaign is that Coke cans in Canada and the United States will change starting Nov. 1 until Jan. 15 from the well-known red to white.

"Branding is connected to colour and to walk away from your primary colour is an important step," said Kettlitz. "It makes a very big statement of support."

The only other time Coke has changed the colour of its Canadian cans was during the last Olympics, he said.

Kettlitz added the public will be able to participate by making donations through the company's website.

Both he and Butts acknowledge that getting local people and governments to join in the effort will be crucial. Environmental groups are often viewed suspiciously in the North.

"There's no doubt there's sensitivity," said Butts. "Our perspective is to be very respectful of those views in northern Canada."

Said Kettlitz: "We need to fully respect the wills and traditions of the local communities."

Preliminary talks have begun with Inuit groups and the government of Nunavut, said Butts. The federal government is also talking with WWF.

Derocher said the money isn't enough to transform northern research, but will be useful in expanding existing programs. A scientist surveying narwhal, for example, could add belugas to the research design.

But Arctic Home's greatest value, he said, is its long-term approach.

"It's a proactive perspective," said Derocher. "More and more, when we look at the pace of development that will come in the North, having this longer-term vision is absolutely essential."

Coke changes can, offers millions to protect polar bears - Yahoo! Canada Finance

[adambomb]

I do love white coke...

[q0192837465]

This looks refreshing
Posted via RS Mobile

[Psykopathik]

I hate coke, but love the way it smells.

[spoon.ek9]

wow, that looks pretty damn awesome

[spideyv2]

Originally Posted by adambomb

I do love white coke...

Originally Posted by Turbo E

I hate coke, but love the way it smells.

[fliptuner]

Before I clicked the thread I thought it was going to be a permanent thing and thought "Great, this is going to be as epic as Coke II."

Limited cans are always cool. Going to have to buy a few for the collection. I still have an unopened case of gold cans somewhere around here.

[StylinRed]

looks nice

always enjoy the holiday cans even though i dont drink pop nemore

[Psykopathik]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Before I clicked the thread I thought it was going to be a permanent thing and thought "Great, this is going to be as epic as Coke II."

Limited cans are always cool. Going to have to buy a few for the collection. I still have an unopened case of gold cans somewhere around here.

caffine free coke?

[JKam]

Originally Posted by Turbo E

caffine free coke?

gold medal cans

[Sky_High]

How about paint-free

[JesseBlue]

marketing at its best and people will fall for it...

[AzNightmare]

I bought one of these

Not a can though. Just a glass cup with the same dimensions...

[TheKingdom2000]

Originally Posted by Sky_High

How about paint-free

This is bad ass!
Though, I think it would cost them too much to make it like that.
ie. to machine it with the indents?

[murd0c]

I still have a round bottle from last year I should open it

[Tim Budong]

ouch good thing I put one aside
A Frosty Reception for Coca-Cola's White Christmas Cans - Yahoo! Canada Finance

The end is near for a white can that has many Coke drinkers seeing red.
Coca-Cola Co. is switching back to its time-honored red just one month after rolling out its flagship cola in a snow-white can for the holidays. New seasonal cans in red will start shipping by next week, as white cans—initially expected to be in stores through February—make an exit.
While the company has frequently rung in the holiday with special can designs, this was the first time it put regular Coke in a white can. Some consumers complained that it looked confusingly similar to Diet Coke's silver cans. Others felt that regular Coke tasted different in the white cans. Still others argued that messing with red bordered on sacrilege.
James Ali, who owns Wall Street Deli in an Atlanta food court, said about half a dozen customers have returned opened white cans in recent days after realizing, too late, that they weren't drinking Diet Coke. He lets them take unopened diet cans without charging them again.
[More from WSJ.com: Video: Coke Drinkers See Red Over White Holiday Cans]
Coke regularly tweaks its packaging to create buzz and has a long tradition of holiday marketing, and says it helped shape the image of Santa Claus in his red suit with its 1930s advertising. Other Christmases past have featured snowflakes and polar bears, which appear on this season's cans.
Coke says this year's campaign is part of a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to highlight global warming's threat to bears' Arctic habitat. Coke is contributing up to $3 million to conservation efforts.
"The white can resonated with us because it was bold, attention-grabbing'' and "reinforced'' the campaign theme, says Scott Williamson, a spokesman for the beverage company. Coke's marketing executives wanted a "disruptive" campaign to get consumers' attention, he says.
The can-color debate pales next to the uproar of 1985, when Coke replaced its flagship cola with New Coke by changing the recipe, only to re-launch "classic'' Coke a few weeks later amid a consumer revolt.
Atlanta-based Coke says that it's happy with the campaign and that critics of the white can represent a minority. "The can has been well received and generated a lot of interest and excitement,'' says Mr. Williamson.
[More from WSJ.com: An Airport Worth Flying To]
Coke says it will distribute more than one billion white cans and roughly the same number of seasonal red cans, which also include polar-bear images. The special red version is "a way to maintain the excitement'' until the campaign ends in February, added Mr. Williamson.
But the company initially said it would distribute more than 1.4 billion white cans in a press release that did not mention the red cans. The company now says red cans will be in the majority by Christmas and that there likely won't be any white cans on store shelves by the time February rolls around. A spokesman said a red holiday version was always part of its plans but wouldn't comment on whether the timing had changed.
Coke said it became aware of consumer complaints through Internet postings and some telephone calls to the company. Many Internet comments have been critical of the white cans. "PEOPLE! Don't be a victim,'' wrote one consumer on Twitter, warning that mixing up Coke and Diet Coke is "a SHOCK to the palate!''
Another person accused Coke of "trickery,'' and still another called the white cans "blasphemy,'' among hundreds of tweets. Some Coke fans emailed the company's official blog to complain about the company wading into the issue of climate change.
It isn't clear exactly how big the consumer reaction to the white cans was. One couple posted a video on YouTube in which the wife claims to be able to recognize whether Coke is in a white or red can during a blindfolded taste test. "This is the funky one!'' the wife shouts after drinking out of a white can.
Coke says it hasn't tweaked the taste of its cola and that protecting polar bears is a worthwhile initiative. It recently added a "fact sheet'' on its website highlighting how white Coke cans are distinct from silver Diet Coke cans. Among the differences: Regular Coke is labeled "Coca-Cola'' and states the calories at the front of the can, while Diet Coke's holiday can—silver as always—is labeled "Diet Coke'' and features snowflakes.
Most of the confusion seems to arise at small stores, where consumers grab single-serve cans from coolers. At supermarkets, packs of 12-ounce white Coke cans are wrapped in red cardboard, and packs of 7.5-ounce cans have a red plastic band announcing "RED CANS TURN WHITE.'' Coke bottles also have kept their red labels.
[More from WSJ.com: In China, IKEA Is a Place for Senior Romance]
Mel Cyr, a 17-year-old Coke drinker from Sheboygan Falls, Wis., said she and other teenagers attending this week's National 4-H Congress in Atlanta scratched their heads after seeing the white cans. "You can't change something that's classic,'' said Ms. Cyr.
4-H delegates from Wisconsin said their chaperone was mistakenly served a regular Coke on the flight to Atlanta from Milwaukee after requesting Diet Coke. "The flight attendants were really frustrated'' and apologized for the mix-up, said Sara Harn, 17, of Brooklyn, Wis.
But Ed Rice, the 81-year-old chief executive of Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Company, a longtime Coke distributor in Springfield, Mo., thinks the white can was innovative and engaged consumers. He downplayed confusion between the cans.
"If you put the cans side by side and blink, you might have to take a second look,'' said Mr. Rice, who loaded his first Coke truck in 1945. "But I think there's a distinct difference"

[fliptuner]

Admittedly, I've been confused briefly at restaurants when I get a white can. It only takes a second to remeber they changed it. I'm looking forward to adding one of each to my collection.

[subordinate]

Figured this would happen.

Funny, I would have thought Coke would have done their marketing research on this. They had some blunders in the past where they confused the Pepsi Challenge as Pepsi gaining a larger market share. In reality, people were only drinking a sample and Coca Cola didn't factor this in when they decided to change their formula and cans. After consumer out roar and complaints, they reverted back to the original formula, with the can's labelled as Classic Coke.


I was surprised Coke even decided to do this white label thing, as appearance is everything, even influencing our taste perception.

If one thing, these white coke cans are collector items. Damn.....I need to scope some out!!!

My 2 cents......

[rsx]

I think I opened up a diet coke 3-4 times thinking it was regular. hate the white!

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by rsx

I think I opened up a diet coke 3-4 times thinking it was regular. hate the white!

First world problem.

[zulutango]

The fact that the Polar bear population has increased 500 % during the "global warming....whoops...climate change" makes this a political statement. I wrote them a letter saying I would not buy any more until they stopped playing politics. Seems that I'm not the only one.

[subordinate]

Originally Posted by zulutango

The fact that the Polar bear population has increased 500 % during the "global warming....whoops...climate change" makes this a political statement. I wrote them a letter saying I would not buy any more until they stopped playing politics. Seems that I'm not the only one.

I'm thinking it was more of an ignorance thing. :noob:

[donjalapeno]

Once they make carbon fiber wrapped cans I will start drinking they're product

[drunkrussian]

silver reminds me of diet coke. i predict sales dropping.
Posted via RS Mobile

[MG1]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Admittedly, I've been confused briefly at restaurants when I get a white can. It only takes a second to remeber they changed it. I'm looking forward to adding one of each to my collection.

How big is the collection?

I also collect Coke stuff.