Jake Shane and Poppi.Photo:Jake Shane/TikTok; Cindy Ord/Getty
Jake Shane/TikTok; Cindy Ord/Getty
Drink drama is spilling over.
Controversy over the popular prebiotic soda brand, Poppi, has been bubbling up online since the launch of its latest campaign during Super Bowl weekend.
As part of the campaign, Poppi sent personal full-sized branded vending machines to stock with the carbonated drinks to influencers. The content creators then made videos flaunting the machines on social media.
Backlash ensued thereafter, with users bashing the brand for gifting lavish vending machines filled with the product to people who (presumably) can afford it — rather than putting the money toward other more useful areas, like donating the sodas to places that would benefit.
Read on for everything to know about the Poppi drink controversy.
How did the Poppi controversy start?
Rach Sullivan Poppi vending machine.Rach Sullivan/TikTok
Rach Sullivan/TikTok
Poppi sent dozens of influencers a full-sized Poppi vending machine stocked with the prebiotic drink as part of a campaign during Super Bowl week. Among the creators included wereJake Shane, Rachel Sullivan andAvery Wood.
The content creators made videos showing off the lavish gift from the brand in various ways. For example, Sullivanposted a skitthat highlighted the vending machine she was sent, captioning the post: “This is my Super Bowl.”
The video saw the influencer waking up in the middle of the night, walking downstairs and getting a Poppi. “When I get thirsty in the middle of the night and remember I have a Poppi vending machine,” the overlaid text reads.
Shane’s content was straightforward, posting aTikTokof himself operating the soda vending machine while looking in disbelief while he pushed the buttons to get himself a can.
“We got a Poppi vending machine,” reads the video’s text overlay. “Not even kidding,” he captioned the post.
Why are people upset?
Kaeli Mae Poppi vending machine.kaeli mae/TikTok
kaeli mae/TikTok
“This is cool but I wish Poppi was sending this [to] customers like teachers, nurses, etc,” wrote one user on Emilie Kiser’sTikTokpost. “I bet hospital workers or school teachers would have loved that <3,” wrote another.
TikToker Isabella Lanter created a nearlythree-minute-long videoexplaining where she thinks Poppi went wrong with its campaign and how it could’ve been done better. “Lets stop with the out of touch bs please!” she began in her caption.
“We can absolutely have iconic marketing if we put in EFFORT,” she continued. “Friendly reminder that as a consumer and content creator I have a right to discuss this as do others on the internet. I can say I don’t like this idea and they could do it better.”
How was Olipop involved?
Avery Woods' Poppi vending machine.Avery Woods/TikTok
Avery Woods/TikTok
“For the record, those machines cost $25K each lol,” the Olipop account wrote under Lanter’s video. On a different TikTok video, Olipop commented, “32 machines times $25K per machine yikes.”
However, Olipop’s claim was reported to be untrue.Adweekreported that the cost is false and that $25,000 is “more than double” the actual figure for a single vending machine.
Did Poppi address the backlash?
Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer at Poppi Allison Ellsworth.Vivien Killilea/Getty
Vivien Killilea/Getty
On Feb. 11, Poppi owner and co-founder Allison Ellsworth created a video addressing the controversy around the Super Bowl campaign with aTikTokof her own. She acknowledged users' feedback and debunked Olipop’s claim about the cost of the machine.
“This vending machine campaign was put in place to bring awareness to the biggest soda moment of the year, the Super Bowl,” she continued. “We wanted to share Poppi with creators across the U.S. who are hosting Super Bowl parties for their friends and their family.”
“Creator marketing has always been a staple of Poppi’s brand since we launched in 2020. But I know that it’s you, our community, that has been the biggest part of our success,” she said. “It’s always been a big passion of mine to get Poppi to as many people as possible.”
Later in the video, Ellsworth said on behalf of the brand that they will also listen to their consumers, “learn and do better.” She explained, “These vending machines will be a part of the brand for years to come and we want to work with you guys to get them out to places you’d like to see them out.”
source: people.com
