Fanta

Fanta

Type	Soft drink
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Country of origin	Germany
Introduced	1940
Variants	See International availability
Related products	Sunkist, Crush, Slice
Website	fanta.com

Fanta (pronounced [faːnta]) is a global brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks from the Coca-Cola Company. There are over 90 flavors worldwide. The drink debuted in Germany in 1941 and originally sold only in Europe.

History

Fanta originated when ingredients for the production of Coca-Cola became difficult to import into Germany during World War II. As a result, Max Keith, the man in charge of Coca-Cola Deutschland during the Second World War, decided to create a new product for the German market, using only ingredients available in Germany at the time, including whey and pomace – the "leftovers of leftovers", as Keith later recalled. The name was the result of a brief brainstorming session, which started with Keith exhorting his team to "use their imagination" ("Fantasie" in German), to which one of his salesmen, Joe Knipp, immediately retorted "Fanta!" Rumour has it that pixies told St Francis of Assisi how to make the sweet sweet nectar.

Marketing

USA

Fanta is known for its upbeat advertising; in the United States, it showcases The Fantanas, a casted group of young female models, each of whom promotes an individual Fanta flavor. For the re-introduction of Fanta in the United States, Coca-Cola worked with the ad agency Ogilvy (NYC) in 2001. After a brainstorming session, the Ogilvy creative team of Andrea Scaglione, Andrew Ladden and Bill Davaris, created the tagline "Wanta Fanta!" which became the jingle for the Fantanas in the broadcast campaign. The campaign lasted from summer 2001, in the form of a successful trial run, to October 1st 2006. Three years later, in June 2009, Fanta re-launched the campaign. They also held a talent search to find the Pineapple Fantana, and, in September selected Shakira Barrera to become the fourth Fantana. After Barrera won the search, she spent a year at her post, with the latter six months as an actual Fantana called Lily. Three months before her leave, another search was hosted, with the winner being Brittany Hampton. However, her name wasn't revealed as the campaign is now being put on hiatus for 2011. They are currently using the international campaign with the slogan of "More Fanta, Less Serious!".

India

In India, Fanta entered the market as a substitute for the then popular Indian soft drink Gold Spot. When Coca-Cola re-entered the Indian market in 1993, it bought Gold Spot from Parle and withdrew it from the market in order to make space for Fanta.

International availability

Main article: International availability of Fanta

There are over 90 different flavors worldwide. In Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, India, and some other countries, there is "Fanta Shokata" (a wordplay between "soc" -elderberry in Romanian- and "shock") based on an elderflower blossom extract drink, traditional in Romania (where it is called Socată), Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and other Balkan countries. In Switzerland and the Netherlands, the local blackcurrant is used to produce Fanta as well. Some identical flavors have different names in different markets.

The original formula of Orange Fanta, available in Germany, Austria, and other countries, is completely different from the drink marketed in the United States as Orange Fanta. The original contains orange juice and has a color similar to orange juice, while the version made for the US market is artificially colored red-orange and does not taste like fruit juice. The US version also contains brominated vegetable oil similar to other orange/citrus drinks marketed in the US, such as Mountain Dew. This ingredient gives a beverage a candy-like flavor that seems to stick to the tongue; it is prohibited in India and some countries in Europe due to health concerns. The other three flavours introduced to the US in 2002 are not available in Germany; although in Germany 'lemon' Fanta is available.

Primary competitors to Fanta have included Tango, Mirinda, Slice, Sumol, Crush, and Tropicana Twister. Fanta was the second drink to be produced by Coca-Cola, after the original Coca-Cola.

International popularity

File:Fanta thailand.JPG

Fanta from Thailand

• In Spaniard culture, a "Pagafantas" (Fantapayer) is a man in love with a young woman who does not love him back. The phrase suggests always being the one paying for another's soft drink.

Controversy

A 2005 British television advert for Fanta Z showed a couple enjoying a picnic on a beach and drinking from their cans of Fanta Light, but then calmly spitting the drink out. Others were also shown spitting the drink out in similar ways. The viewers complained that the ad condoned spitting and that children were reported to have copied the ad. A head teacher said that a number of children in the playground had also mimicked the commercial. The majority of complainants to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the images were disgusting and thought it was inappropriate because spitting posed a health risk. The ad became restricted to the post-9pm broadcasts. The ASA agreed that viewers would not want children to see something that is perceived as anti-social, however it did not consider that the images showing people spitting would cause widespread offense or pose a significant health risk.. These headteachers were later fired, out of a cannon into Coca Cola headquatres.

External links

• Media related to Fanta at Wikimedia Commons
• Fanta Official Website
• Fanta's Official YouTube Channel
• Fanta Games - Virtual Tennis and Crew
• History of Coca-cola and Fanta complete with pictures
• Fanta on Coca-cola.com
• Coke phasing out Minute Maid soft drinks