Jones Soda-consumer generated brand.

Almost. (As I bear down on my 1,000th post, my Pledge of Kwality^® to you is to continue to bring you posts that will have absolutely no effect on world affairs. The other times, well, maybe like, .005 of one percent of an effect.) It is in the spirit of the former that I give you Jones Soda carbonated candy. Yes, we helped/help/will help people sell sugar to consumers in one form or another. And if you’re going to do it, well, really do it then–turn soda into candy.

As for the brand, I liked the Jones Soda angle when it first came out. People upload their images and have labels printed from them. Flavors are developed based on their suggestions as well. Company even put out a fake PR release on April Fool’s saying they’d developed a grass-flavored soda for a John Deere tie-in.

While not entirely there yet, this brand is the closest to a true consumer generated product than most new media cheerleaders recognize. Like the soda, user-submitted messages are selected at random and printed inside the lids of the candy tin. Forget copywriters and Snapple Facts, words of wisdom can now come from Alex in Medford:

“A happy life is an unwasted life.”

Fortune cookies for the YouTune/Wiki generation indeed. Now, it’s really not a big idea to extend your brand over into another food/beverage product, (Starbucks makes coffee, and music!), but I just can’t recall any other major soda doing it. Maybe Dr Pepper and their ChapStick flavor, but that’s about all that comes to mind. Most brand extensions involve the logo on a host of premiums like shirts, caps, etc.

Is this stuff Altoidalicious? Not really. And it doesn’t have the brilliant marketing ‘danger’ ploy inherent in Pop Rocks either–“YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE!” But there is a certain Sweet Tarts thing going on with the flavor. Maybe this is the start of something. Next up: Pop-Tarts soda. Oh shit. They already have that.

It’s called Kool-Aid.

Tags: Jones, Jones Soda Co.