Whenever I hear the words ‘Ad-funded’, I normally associate it with non-tangible things such as digital content like Spotify or services such as Facebook. According to this article from 2007, it applies to food and drink too.
Japanese vending machine operator Apex Corp has come up with a system that will give customers the option of watching an advert instead of paying their drinks. A 30-second video commercial plays while the drink is poured into a ad covered paper cup.
The total saving is about 70 -120 Yen per cup, about 80p in the UK.
However not all drinks will be free and some ads only get you a discount off the price of the beverage, but it’s better than nothing right?
The first thing I thought of was how quickly I could take as many free drinks as possible. I would have no qualms about standing in front of the machine for 20 minutes filling up several flasks. Perhaps consumers attitudes are different in Japan. Or maybe I have a problem.
Either way I don’t see this catching on. I love the idea and I wish it would benefit the advertiser as much as the consumer but it’s just going to burn through their money with no results. I’ll take my free tea though, thanks.
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