VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS
Jones Soda Co. unveiled a new novelty line that allows consumers to cast their presidential vote long before November. Campaign Cola features three varieties: Capital Hillary Cola for Sen. Hillary Clinton, Pure McCain Cola for Sen. John McCain or Yes We Can Cola for Sen. Barack Obama.
Each sells for $14.99 per six-pack or $23.99 per 12-pack and www.campaigncola.com will track purchases as votes, but all consumers that participate in the campaign will get the same thing inside the bottle: Jones’ Pure Cane Cola.
Is Jones saying that all politicians – on the inside – are the same?
WENDY THE ?VOICEOVER LADY
Wendy the Snapple Lady is now just Wendy. The long-time spokeswoman and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group parted ways recently over a contract disagreement, according to Newsday.
Wendy Kaufman told Newsday that she couldn’t accept the contract because it was one-sided, paying her based on appearances, with no guarantee that the company would schedule any.
Greg Artkop, spokesman for DPSG, called the contract “fair,” saying it offered payment for work performed instead of a guaranteed fee. He said it was her decision to leave the company and wished Kaufman “nothing but the best in whatever she does in the future.”
That future will continue to include pitching products, Newsday reported. Kaufman told the paper that she will do voice-overs for cellular phone maker Motorola.
ZOTA’S BACK
Zota Green Tea Soda. Is it green tea? Is it soda? Is it an excuse to rehash a Jerry Seinfeld shtick?
It’s all three, and its back. The organic soda brand entered the market by using green tea as the base for a carbonated treat, but the original company couldn’t endure its own growth. It boomed then folded before Tom Eggers resuscitated the brand last year.
Now he’s returned the product to shelves in a few hundred stores, and aims for national distribution in about a year – after a rebranding that will roll out around the end of the summer. The updated line will feature fair trade certified tea, six flavors – RazzBerry, Ginger Pale Ale, Mandarin Grapefruit, Island Pineapple, Bling Cherry and Pear Dragonfruit – and come packaged in mix-and-match-able four-packs. Each four-pack box features a character that wraps around all four sides. Put all four boxes together to form one continuous picture, or jumble-up the boxes to create your own character.
Eggers offered a preview of the new packages at April’s All Things Organic show in Chicago, where he said he also started chatting with Texas grocery chain HEB.
ADULTS ONLY
Expect the shape of beverage marketing to change in the next few years. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, along with the International Council of Beverage Associations, have declared that they will use new voluntary guidelines to restrict advertising to children.
Under the new plan, beverage companies agree to eliminate advertising and marketing of a wide range of beverages – including CSDs – in venues that are predominantly populated by children 12 or younger.
That rule cuts across all media outlets including TV, radio, internet phone messaging and movies – so there will be no Pepsi deal for Hannah Montana.
As part of the guidelines, ICBA says it will review other forms of marketing, including sponsorships, presence in schools, and point-of sale promotions by the end of 2009.