Ice marketing is hot (and eco-friendly)

Ice is the hottest thing in experience marketing at the moment. I know it sounds like oxymoron, but there is actually an interesting coincidence worth checking out, as two soft drink brands, Coca-Cola and 7UP have both recently opted to use ice to bring some innovation into their product marketing. The most recent initiative is made in Colombia, where Coke launched the first ever bottle made out of ice.

Same flavor, same refreshing experience less the plastic or glass waste when you are done drinking. Pretty smart, especially if served in a bar on the beach. You might wonder how clean and good for your health an ice bottle might be… I hear you! But let’s make a choice here, do you want to save the planet or not? (Just kidding of course…) The agency here is Ogilvy & Mather Bogota.

The second idea came out of Argentina a few months ago, where BBDO created the first vending machine made out of ice which melts down under the sun giving away free 7 Up drinks to passer-byes. And once the vending machine was fully melted no waste was left behind, there was just the memory of the experience in a puddle.

Love the fact that there wasn’t much technology involved here, the tools for the installation were provided by Mother Nature, and the interaction was bringing together both fun and service during hot summer days. The only (nice) geeky twist was in the possibility of guessing at what time the vending machine would have melted. By sending a tweet out tagged with #meltingmachine, consumers were able to submit their bets for the chance to win a 7UP six pack.