So many upsetting events, so little time. Accordingly, one must choose one’s causes with care. But what to choose? Human rights? Environmental concerns? International policy? No, no, none of these.
Instead, it’s got to be something of even greater concern. Something universal. Orange juice containers.
The PepsiCo Americas Beverages division of PepsiCo is bowing to public demand and scrapping the changes made to a flagship product, Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice. Redesigned packaging that was introduced in early January is being discontinued, executives plan to announce on Monday, and the previous version will be brought back in the next month. …
The about-face comes after consumers complained about the makeover in letters, e-mail messages and telephone calls and clamored for a return of the original look.
Yes, numerous complaints about…wait for it…an orange juice package. Endless war and sanctioned torture are okay. Just don’t mess with our orange juice.
Perfectly understandable.
.
So this info won’t reach the median household in the Americas.
I have been through an experience that I never thought to encounter in my darkest nightmares. Before this ordeal, “torture” was an abstract word to me. I could never have imagined that I would be its victim.
It is still difficult for me to believe that I was abducted, hauled from one country to the next, and tortured in medieval ways — all orchestrated by the United States government.
While I want to recover, and put it all as far in my past as I can, I also know I have an obligation to the people who still remain in those torture chambers.
My own despair was greatest when I thought that everyone had abandoned me. I have a duty to make sure that nobody else is forgotten.
I am grateful that in the end I was not simply left to my fate. I am grateful to my lawyers and other staff at Reprieve, and to Lt. Col. Yvonne Bradley, who fought for my freedom.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."sounds to me like two kinds of fruit, some rice pilaf, and orange-glazed chicken ain’t worth shit if your OJ comes in the wrong box.
but … but … but .. those people had a “deep emotional bond” with the old packaging.
It’s touching. Really.
wait…this is Kos’s fault. Right?
Without a doubt.
Two things
1) There’s no telling what qualifies as “pressure”. It could be something on the order of just 50 people calling or writing.
The FCC regularly investigates and imposes fines on “indecency” based on complaints by just 1 or 2 people.
There is a theory in modern advertising that what we think of as the New Coke “debacle” was actually a tactical masterstroke because sales went THROUGH THE ROOF afterwards.
In other words, Pepsi may be just adopting a miniature version of the same thing, only in this case with their orange juice. Release new re-design, customers notice it (whether in favor or against), it creates hype, then they go back to old product with the result in sales going up a notch.
What the case may be, don’t believe the hype! 😉
Pax
Re:
That may be so, but I doubt that somebody who is only able to identify a product by the picture on the carton is going to have much success finding his or her way to the company’s customer service department to lodge a complaint.
I can’t read one freaking word in Arabic but I can read numbers in Arabic countries.
Furthermore, every foreign language I’ve ever learned (by living there), the numbers were the first thing I mastered.
That’s because reading and interpreting numbers in any modern society is absolutely vital on a daily basis. You have to read the price on every single good you ever buy and interpret that (is it expensive? do I have enough money to buy it? etc). Not to mention things like bus numbers and schedules, etc.
Every package I’ve ever seen on a high selling food product in the USA has a toll-free number on it somewhere to call. I believe (and I could be wrong) that Pepsi’s CR department is in Plano, Texas for example.
As I speculated, it really could be on the order of 50 to 100 people in a nation of 300 some million called or in some other fashion contacted the CR division to complain.
Pax
I’m sure that they expected a certain number of complaints, as with anything new. Assuming that this wasn’t a stunt, it must have been more than just a few cranks to result in a reversal of what surely was a change of not inconsiderable cost.
Settle down. Now let’s talk.
Consider, a moment. You’re assuming that the people you’re talking about can’t tell that the new Tropicana carton is a Tropicana carton. And they’re upset about this — presumably because they can’t find what they recognize to be a Tropicana carton!
So, they’re going to grab some other orange juice carton — the unfamiliar one, that doesn’t look to them like it’s from Tropicana — and write down the first number they see on it that begins with “800” — and call that number to complain? And that will turn out to be the right one?
Please, follow through on the implications of your initial suggestion. They make no sense.
And no need to be strident, or to give fatuous instruction on the practical necessity of recognizing numbers as compared to words. No desirability to being strident, either. It only undermines your closing “Pax”.
I thought this was going to be about a big fight at dKos.
There is room in my head for outrage about war, famine, poverty and injustice…..and just a little bit of annoyance at consumer products. How about those boxes of $4 cereal that appear to be as tall as ever but now they’re only about an inch thick? Do they think we’re stupid? They hardly stand up on the shelves anymore. And the “organic” eggs that come in a hard plastic carton, with a THIRD layer over the eggs to protect them! Way to go green, fellas.
That said, I agree with Oui, it may be that they got a few emails and realized it was not a good marketing decision.
Oops, I mean soj. Hey it’s early, and I knew it had three letters in it….
Fifty people or one relentless old woman. I like to think that I can have that kind of effect.
Code Red! It’s her again! Activism can be fun.
And child psychology can work both ways. Let’s call it orange rage.
Thanks boran2.
But have you seen that carton?
I heard it had a picture of Dick Cheney in full frontal nudity.
I sort of liked the new cartons. I think I may need to fly off the handle into an uncontrollable rage in order to try to preserve them.
and … in a moment of supreme irony, this diary of yours has evoked more comments than most of your diaries on environmental concerns.
Lately it seems that BooMan’s popculture posts evoke astounding numbers of comments, compared to most of the political posts. Go figure. Maybe we’re just fatigued.
Heh.