ATLANTA (AP) _ Coca-Cola Co. launched a defensive advertising blitz to rescue its $100 million promotion for cans that spout prizes instead of soda.
The soft-drink maker ran full-page ads around the nation containing a detailed list of dos and don’ts for customers in search of its ″MagiCans.″
As part of a campaign announced in March, random cans of Coca-Cola Classic are equipped with mechanisms to eject cash or prize certificates when the cans are opened. The ads acknowledge that in ″a small number of instances, the prize mechanism may jam.″
″Also, the mechanism in a very small number of MagiCans detaches from inside the can and your prize won’t pop out.″
MagiCans contain no soda. Instead, the prizes are stashed in vials, which are suspended in chlorinated water to give the cans the heft and gurgle of the real thing.
Randy Donaldson, a spokesman for Coca-Cola, said the company has received 22 complaints since the cans reached shelves and vending machines earlier this month. He stressed that the water in the prize cans, though it tastes bad, is harmless.
The ads warn consumers against drinking the water and include a toll-free telephone number to report bad cans.
Coke planned to distribute a quarter-million of the prize cans through the summer. Prizes include cash - up to $200 - and certificates good for such things as tickets to theme parks and sporting events.
Emanuel Goldman, who follows the beverage industry for PaineWebber Inc. in San Francisco, said Coca-Cola is acting wisely in addressing the problem before the big soft-drink selling season starts over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
″The key thing is to fix it early, and everyone will forget it ever happened,″ Goldman said. ″This is not the Hubble telescope. It’s not that difficult to fix.″
Donaldson said the mechanical problem has been corrected and prize cans shipped beginning this week should have no problems.
Though the trouble was detected in a relatively small number of cans, Donaldson said, ″we’re just being extraordinarily cautious. We don’t want any of our consumers to be disappointed.″ He said he did not know how much the ads cost.
The quick damage-control initiative recalled the company’s now-legendary reversal when it retired, and later then reintroduced, the classic formula of its flagship drink, Coca-Cola.
Despite the problems, the campaign has been successful with about 60,000 prize winners so far, Donaldson said.
″Our plans are to continue the promotion,″ he said. ″Obviously, we’ll continue to monitor the situation.″
It's been a year since President Trump moved to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA. The program is still afloat, but remains on shaky ground, leaving roughly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants in limbo.
It's an issue that weighs heavy on "Dreamer" Victor Santos, a CEO and co-Founder of Boston-based start-up Airfox.
"Since the Trump administration, it's not quite clear on what will come of DACA in the next few years," Santos said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
DACA allows certain individuals who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to receive permits to avoid deportation on a two-year, renewable basis and eventually become eligible for a work permit.
Reneging on this policy ultimately precludes these people from contributing to the economy, which could have a big effect on the country, Santos said.
"As an entrepreneur, having Trump cancel the start-up visa and making it harder and harder for H-1B entrepreneurs [to come] into the U.S., it's been an impactful experience for myself, but also for engineers that we bring on from other countries," he said.
"DACA is creating billions in terms of output for the economy, these kids are doctors and entrepreneurs; they are people that considers themselves American."
Airfox, a mobile bank, has 20 employees and provides financial services for emerging industries like mobile microloans to "unbanked" users in Brazil, where interest rates chart upwards of 200 percent.
The immigration debate will inevitably rage on, and may very well head to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Texas, there was a surprise ruling in which a judge kept the DACA program in place, a decision that may undergo federal scrutiny.
The future is further in question as the U.S. awaits confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
The conservative judge, who faced four days of Senate hearings last week, will most likely vote with right-leaning colleagues to squash DACA.
The confirmation process, Santos said, is detracting from the real-life ramifications of killing the program.