PARIS — Whether Internet goes better with Coke is anyone’s guess, but Coke is going with OneWeb.
The giant soft drink maker is an equity investor in OneWeb LLC and one of the surprises of the June 25 OneWeb briefing in London.
Coca-Cola was not there to explain its decision, but OneWeb founder Greg Wyler said the company has a program called Five by 20 that seeks to promote women’s employment in areas of the world where OneWeb will have connectivity.
Wyler said Coca-Cola has 25 million sales and distribution points around the world, including remote rural areas where OneWeb’s core market resides.
The OneWeb-Coke Ekocenters will put OneWeb terminals atop a snack bar, serving both companies’ interests.
Uniting the globe with a Coke and a smile has been a mainstay of the beverage giant’s marketing efforts since at least 1971:
Coke presented a variation on this theme — with a little accidental technology mixed in — during its 2015 Super Bowl commercial.
Finally, the OneWeb-powered Ekocenters won’t be the first time Coke and telecoms have mixed:
