The bizarre Android Kit Kat tie-up this week has sparked controversy, with many calling for a boycott of the new operating system. Viv Cole, head of E-learning at Digital Strategy Consulting, looks at why Google’s latest confectionery theme could leave a bad taste in the mouths of consumers… As someone who remembers student unions banning […]
The bizarre Android Kit Kat tie-up this week has sparked controversy, with many calling for a boycott of the new operating system. Viv Cole, head of E-learning at Digital Strategy Consulting, looks at why Google’s latest confectionery theme could leave a bad taste in the mouths of consumers…
As someone who remembers student unions banning Kit Kat in protest against Nestle’s aggressive marketing tactics with milk formula in the third world leading to increased disease and poverty (not to mention Nestle’s destruction of virgin rainforest for palm oil used in making Kit Kats), this is final proof that Google’s “do no evil” is about as convincing as an estate agent saying “trust me”.
For an organisation that knows a vast amount about our digital footprints, Google seems to have little insight into how their actions will be perceived. Whilst I value the privacy of what happens in the space between my ears, this has shocked me enough to make my concern public.
The formula is pretty simple for Google. Nice brand that has got more toxic over the years + toxic brand = toxic brand. My only comforts are that no money has changed hands and that pretty soon Google will have a new Android operating system which surely can’t be so badly named.
By Viv Cole
Vice President of E-learning
Digital Training Academy
www.digitaltrainingacademy.com
