Sweet Business

Posted by: Helen

Kenyans love sweet things.  Three sugars in your tea, lollipops available at every kiosk in every town and - the ever-present sodas.  Even I call fizzy drinks ‘sodas’ now.  They’re loved everywhere, sold everywhere, bought everywhere.  Generally drunk where they’re sold, the glass bottle carries a deposit so is returned and recycled.  Fanta, sprite, and the rest are all universally adored: a treat for children, a joy for adults and not yet linked in the public consciousness to obesity and rotting teeth.  Often the only soft drink available, when all I want is some drinking water – I’m given a soda.  I suspect I’ve drunk more sweet fizziness in the last 9 months than in my previous 30 years.

No surprise then that Coca-Cola is one of the most widely available brands in Africa.  It’s the largest employer in the continent with 65,000 employees.  Its market share in Africa and the Middle East is 29 percent, which adds up to a staggering 9.1 billion litres of beverages a year (thank you Business Week).  But with coke sales flat in developed countries, Coca-Cola will need to push its product hard on some of the poorest nations to generate the growth investors expect.

Coca-Cola’s latest campaign is called ‘Billion Reasons to Believe’, and they’re launching it country by country.  The marketing is ruthlessly clever.  The national launch in Kenya this month saw Coke bringing together a host of celebrities and nationally loved musicians in Nairobi, to deliver a youthful, inclusive, positive message.  The newspapers here reported the launch almost as a peace and advocacy summit rather than a brand exercise for a sugary beverage:

‘The Pan African campaign is geared towards inspiring Africans to see the brighter side of their continent and use their capabilities to fuel positive change’.  

The Star newspaper, 9^th April.

Big claim for a soft drink, eh?

At the centre of the campaign is the TV advert, which was shot in Kenya but now shown all over the continent.  We saw it first in Uganda, we were hooked, not realising the brand.  Smartly targeting all the demographic groups with football, fashion, music, business, politics and love, this slick advert is sure to appeal to all ages and all countries whilst making it personal for everyone.  Is this clean happy place real?  It doesn't matter, because we all want it to be.  Aspirational marketing at it's best.


I’m ashamed to admit I really like it.


It’s cheesy, it’s selective, it’s manipulative; but it effectively channels the central psychology of the continent: optimism. It’s totally joyful.  Plus it captures the global moment, using footage from the UK riots to ride a wave of African pride all the way to the local kiosk.  Directly comparing itself to the west - Africa comes out on top.  It feels like a very easy way to win African customers, but I like it because it’s achieving what we try to do with this blog; depict the Kenya we find, and fight the 'wars and famine' image of Africa.



Take a look.  It should be an ad for the African Union, promoting traits that would heal ethnic wounds: harmony and a shared identity.  But instead, it’s just for a soda with no nutritional value.  Luckily, the message is so tasty it will be shared by the most cynical of bloggers...

Horrible manipulative whitewash by an evil global corporation?  Or a welcome relief to the relentless negative images, reminding Africans why they should be proud?  Or should I just stop giving free ad space to a company that really doesn't need the help...?


What do you think?