Remember way back in 2003?
Coke still doesn't get it - Julmust rules.
Yes, it's that time of year again. And Coke is selling us Christmas again.
For those who can read Swedish, Kontaktmannen is also ranting about this, with a few well chosen swearwords this year "Släpp musten för i helvete". Because yes, Coke still doesn't get it and they're still trying to make Coke synonymous with Jul in Sweden.
As kontaktmannen so eloquently puts his point - Coke is the most drunk soft drink for 365 days a year, how can you even expect that this will suddenly be synonymous to an Xmas feeling, which most people only have for two weeks a year ? (And how do you become synonymous with Christmas when you're synonymous with summer fun love, friendship, cinemas and whatever else?)
That's so true, whenever I see the new ad (Thanks Coke for shutting down the re-run of that horrid Christmas trucks commercial we've seen every year since 1989), I shudder for two reasons.
One, there's a flippin' world war style B-52 airplane dumping boxes of Coke over small Swiss looking towns. That's just creepy. I really don't like the connotations this brings up.
Is it like that bomber that flew over east Berlin and dropped chocolate for the kids, if so what is Coke saying about Europe in general here?
We're stuck in commie-land and only US Coke will help us?
The symbolism is likely not even spotted by an American but over here it's borderline offensive.
Then, Coke is the hero in the ad, gleeful happy people holler "It's Christmas!" when a coke vending machine turns on and they can drink that brown softdrink... that .. they can drink all other times of the year. WTF?
That makes no sense in a country where I throw myself at the first bottle of Julmust available only in late November. These bottles are not in the supermarket the rest of the year, so when you see them, it really means "holy shit it's Christmas!"
You can't copy that when you crud is available all year round. No matter how many jolly santas that you put on the bottle.
Coke even tried for a few years to make their own Julmust, with the very Swedish looking label and name "Bjäre julmust", but Swedes didn't fall for it, last year it was only available at McDonald's and this year they didn't bother making it at all.
But then, In the UK it seems to be going well, there some fool want to save the trucks, that is see that naff trucks advert every year until forever.
That's my version of hell, folks. Coca Cola Christmas Commercial 2008 "It's Christmas" is available under the link below folks.
Twitter update: People are twittering to #Coke that julmust rules or "Leave Julmust alone!"
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I have to add that the comment at kontaktmannen are funny, as they rail against Coke's version of Santa as well "Nicking the nice red-clad Jenny Nyström tomte and making him fat.... because he drinks too much Coke?" - oh yeah, we're picky about our Yuletide traditions over here, Santa is not fat and he has a goat, not reindeers. Unlike the Dutch St. Nick who travels by steamboat from Spain. The Dutch are funny folks.
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PermalinkWell, us Americans (actually, those of us from the USA - we often forget that we only have 35% or so of the Americas! :-)) have been thinking of Santa Claus as fat since the Clement Moore poem "Twas the night before Christmas" (which has the line about his "round little belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly". The next line is "He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf"). He is also called St. Nick in the poem. Basically, Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, St. Nick are all the same to us here. And he is fat! :-).
I know that Saint Nicholas and Father Christmas and Sinterklaas, etc., are other images and names found in other countries, all with their own legends and stories.
And what's with the Dutch and Santa[aka Sinterklaas]'s helper, Zwarte Piet (aka Black Peter)???? They KIDNAP THE BAD CHILDREN and FORCE THEM TO WORK FOR A YEAR IN SPAIN?????!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, WTF?
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PermalinkI agree on this years coke ad, it's just a tad too much on the topic of WW2.
"Oh, its Christmas, lets turn ON the lights and get air raided with gifts instead of bombs"
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PermalinkHaha! Yeah it's the reverse air raid! Even the guy in the nuke-reactor control room gives me extra creepy Chernobyl (Чорнобиль) vibes "shoot I forgot to turn on the cooler".
In the early nineties a UK airlines ad campaign bombed (forgive the pun) because the whole campaign was based on the shadow of airplanes over fields, villages and children playing. When you see the shadow, you're dead is pretty ingrained in the backbone even in kids several generations away from the bombings. DUH! Londoners may keep calm and carry on but they don't have short memories.
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PermalinkMy theory is that Coke have a hidden brand that pops out on Jul and on Påsk when we drink must. Coke of course won't admit it. They just play the game of "our sales on jul is suffering so much and we are so losing money..." and so on when in fact they managed to control the market with their hidden brand that doesn't look like Cokes usual beverages.
This is at least what I think. And still I might be wrong.
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PermalinkFound this poster, which I reckon is a contender for worst pun of the year. A "must" for christmas. Hahahardy-har-har. Tellingly, someone has tried to set fire to the poster with a lighter (see the smudge over "for") before coming to their senses/getting caught.
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PermalinkI want to try this Swedish Julmust. I wonder, can get it here in Canada?
I gather Coke trying to replace Julmust in Sweden is like Coke trying to replace Egg Nog in North America.
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PermalinkI bet you can get some at Ikea, this guy found his at "The Ikea in Red Hook, Brooklyn.". He also reckons that if this is what Swedes are into for "I’m pouring out all my egg nog and moving to Stockholm." ha!
Oh, and while Nygårda is a fine blend, Apotekarnes is considered the classic. Why is that name larger than the flavor (the guy asks in his blog)? Why is a brand of beer (example MILLER or BUDWEISER) larger than the word "lager"? ;) Julmust's are carefully cooked blends, just like beer, and people can be fiercly loyal to their chosen brands.
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PermalinkFrom Coke's own website: " Coca-Cola® advertising actually helped shape this modern-day image of Santa."
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html
Or haven't you noticed he wears the same shade of red as the Cole bottle? (Me, I drink Cherry Coke from a darker red can or Dr Pepper from a brown can - did you know that here in California, Coke and Dr Pepper are bottled by the same company but Dr Pepper Corporation's other brands aren't? Apparently a grandfathered contract from 40 years ago. But I digress.)
Anyway, in the USofA, Coca-Cola is the Official Drink of Christmas for anybody who doesn't get drunk on well-spiked Egg Nog. And when a flying Coke truck passes over, we don't think of the Blitz, we think of 9/11.
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PermalinkFrom Coke's own website: " Coca-Cola® advertising actually helped shape this modern-day image of Santa."
The USofA's version of Santa. In the Czech Republic the baby jesus delivers gifts and they are pretty miffed with the red-clad santa, so much they have the Anti Santa website. ;))
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PermalinkAnd the Santa that AntiSanta is Anti is the Americanized Coca-Cola version. I should have clarified that the Coke Santa is very much USofA-centric.
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Permalinknp, I got that. :) I eat reindeer meat on christmas eve #antisanta
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