Lipton's floating vending machine attracts bathers

Pete Hutchings, director of Stretch Experiential Marketing, the brand's creative agency, said of the initiative, "We wanted to create an original and groundbreaking brand experience that had never been seen in South Africa. The idea was to generate intrigue amongst the beachgoers to entice them to interact with the 'Unidentified Floating Object' and create talkability around the campaign and water safety in general."

Keeping cool

The campaign kicked off in December 2012 at Clifton 4th Beach with the help of Clifton Surf Lifesaving Club before making its way up the coast. As part of the promotion, the company gave away branded merchandise, encouraging the young and old to keep their cool and practice water safety and awareness.

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A branded 'hydration station' was available with Clifton lifesavers giving away products as well as keeping the beach clean by conducting Lipton beach clean ups regularly throughout the day. The more adventurous sun seekers were encouraged to swim out to the floating vending machine where they were able to board the buoyant contraption, enjoy a free ice tea while being sprayed with water and being snapped in the process, before making their way back to shore.

Five of these vending machines made an appearance at other beaches up the South African coast. Fans were able to track these secret locations by following the vending machines' progress on the brand's Facebook page.