Where has all the orangina gone?

"I likey the orangina" by Roboppy

Growing up I was more a Fanta Gal than a Coke Chick. I think this also meant I was a little more pop than rock. While my Coke drinkin’ step-sisters listened to Kiss (who honestly scared the shit out of me) I was more into Abba, Olivia Newton John and and had a poster of Cliff Richard on my wall…I wanted to marry him (happy birthday by the way Sir Cliff.)

Now I am older my soft drink poison is Chinotto – sharp tasting and dark. I still have a soft and (highly) sweet spot in my heart for Fanta. I drank a lot on my recent visit to Bangkok, where you can still drink from those great long tall refillable bottles.

But when I am in France IT IS ALL ABOUT THE ORANGINA. I drink litres of the stuff when I am there. It’s real tasting, it has “bits” in it. It has the best bottle shape.  As we emerged out of the tunnel on the eurostar and into France I got the taste for it. “We are in Orangina Country!” by tatstebuds declared.

Now back to Coke…the one thing I love about Coke is that it understands what many companies don’t. If you want to get people to buy your stuff, make sure they can buy it. Make sure your product is on the shelf, when they want it. Their distribution system is the best in the world. From vending machines at the top of Mt Fuji, to their sophisticated supply chain in Africa which is being used so cleverly by Cola Life as it is better than aid organisations, Coke shifts their units! But in France they have now gone too far!

I hadn’t been to France in about three years, but I was amazed by how much presence Coke and therefore Fanta had in Paris.  Orangina used to be everywhere, but now it was fanta that sat on top of display counters. You had to ask for Orangina by name as it wasn’t visable.  Whoever has been looking after Orangina distribution in France (Cadbury Schweppes??) should be ashamed. A great French icon has been moved literally “under the counter”.  Sacre bleu!

 

Update: I’ve just been doing a little searching on orangina and came across this link from The Telegraph on complaints about an orangina TVC. I had wondered what the freaky animals in bikini’s on the can where about when I was in Paris, but now I see the link. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to take a brand that I see as a drinker as being pretty sweet and innocent at its core and make it into some sexy, breast squirting, pole dancing brand? This ad is takign things too far. No wonder people are putting orangina under the counter – it’s too risque for the kids!

But just maybe the Cliff Richard fan in me is coming out?