Coca-Cola pulls Dr Pepper Facebook Promo
Coca-Cola has withdrawn a Facebook promotional campaign for Dr. Pepper after complaints by parents that it targeted children with references to a porn film, according to a report on The Guardian’s website.
The promotion, which was launched at the end of May, featured a ‘Status Takeover’ app, whereby supposedly embarrassing messages would appear in participants’ status boxes to be viewed by their Facebook friends.
Users racked up points depending on the level of embarrassment – mildly embarrassing, embarrassing or properly embarrassing – they picked, with a prize of £1,000 for the top scorer of the week.
The Guardian reports, however, that the promotion was pulled after “a parent protested after finding that the profile of her 14-year-old daughter had been updated with a message that made direct reference to a hardcore pornographic film”.
Coca-Cola has reportedly apologized and announced an investigation. It said it had approved the line (which hasn’t been reported), without realizing its true meaning.