By Denis Sheehan, Publisher, H&C News
That headline is our prediction and could be wrong, as we have been unable to establish if The Coca‑Cola Company and Molson Coors latest collaboration, launching their new 5% ABV flavoured alcoholic beverage, ‘Simply Spiked Lemonade’, yes you read correctly, ‘Simply Spiked Lemonade’ is destined for the UK market.
The launch of 5% ABV ‘Simply Spiked Lemonade’ was announced yesterday on The Coca‑Cola Company website.
We checked the US Merriam-Webster dictionary assuming spiked was not used in the same way in the US as it is here in relation to spiking drinks, but it is. In fact it is defined clearly alongside a usage reference “The Arlington County Police Department is issuing a warning to residents after receiving multiple reports of possible spiked drinks in the month of October”.
At this point you begin to doubt yourself, how could a world renowned brand even dream of naming an alcoholic drink ‘Simply Spiked Lemonade’. Was I over reacting? I called some friends and asked them, one woman thought I was joking, three others wholeheartedly agreed with her that it was sheer madness. One said that as she had once fallen victim to a spiked drink, she found the launch extremely offensive.
The announcement also comes at a time when drink spiking is being widely reported to have reached “epidemic” levels in the UK.
On The Coca‑Cola Company website announcing the launch of ‘Simply Spiked Lemonade’, Michelle St. Jacques, Chief Marketing Officer, Molson Coors said: “Now, we have a huge opportunity to leverage the power of Simply—a brand known for great flavours—to disrupt the full-flavour alcohol segment in a way that’s never been done before.”
If the intention is to bring ‘Simply Spiked Lemonade’ to the UK market, I have her right on her prediction of disrupting the market as has never been done before, just not in the way The Coca‑Cola Company and Molson Coors might hope.