I've never liked seeing kids getting bullied. Something eventually told Warner Bros that Harry, too, doesn't like seeing children being bullied. The company has issued a contrite statement, admitting it may have been over-zealous with its letters and offering to talk to Potter fans about their sites. The Coke deal represents one of the largest global marketing programs ever. Yet, while the Australian-born chairman of Coke, Mr Douglas Daft, seems assured that things will go better with Harry, the contract places heavy restrictions on the manner in which his company can use the character's name and image.
Harry dolls are out of the question.
Ms Rowling has often stated her intense dislike of action figures, among items of Hollywood schlock. That was part of the reason she decided to go with Coke and not McDonald's, which was also vying for the contract. Ms Rowling was looking for something with more of an educational bent, and found it with Coke when the company agreed to fund a raft of child literacy programs as part of the deal. For Coca-Cola, the bespectacled boy wizard seemed the perfect character to help it revive its flagging share price by securing it a better foothold in the youth market. Though Coke will be allowed to slap Harry's face on its cans, Ms Rowling is adamant there will be no scenes of him slurping the sponsor's product in the film.