Heineken passes up advertising inside SL
Ian Delaney is a self-described “SL naysayer” but his blog post about how the beer company Heineken looked at Second Life and chose to pass up having a presence in world offers some interesting tidbits about why a company might be skittish about taking their brand in world.
Take for example their social responsibility concerns:
It didn’t sit very easily with the company’s [Corporate Social Responsibility] policy. Heineken wants to be seen as promoting the socially responsible use of alcohol. Clearly, if they made Heineken bottles and kegs available in SL, it would be reasonably likely that residents would play-act drinking to excess. What else is there to do with a keg of virtual beer? (or errm… real beer).
Why would it be “reasonably likely” that residents would be play-act drinking to excess? What kind of poll did they do among residents? I can’t imagine a bunch of play drunk furries play drinking to excess. More likely a bad musical or comedy act might be pelted with penises or flying virtual bottles of Heineken.
There was also some concern about attorneys sitting around waiting to sue companies for promoting drinking to people under 21. They might have a point on this one, although if they are promoting in the adult grid, should the assumption be that the drinking age is 21 legally worldwide? No.
Then there is the concern that they wouldn’t be the “first” beer brand to enter SL. This one doesn’t make a lot of sense with the legal concerns in the last paragraph. Why would Heineken be any bigger target than other beer brands in world?
Ultimately it’s the decision for each business whether to take their brands virtual. Do you think Heineken made the wrong decision? It doesn’t sound from Ian’s post like they closed the door completely.
November 26th, 2007 • 
TD Goodliffe • 
comment | November 26, 2007 at 22:47 | individual comment-link
They definitely made the “wrong mistake”. They should have made the other mistake and set up a presence in-world.
comment | November 27, 2007 at 15:58 | individual comment-link
What the hell was I thinking? “Wrong mistake” ? lol, wTF? I fixed that.
comment | November 27, 2007 at 15:59 | individual comment-link
Should have been: “wrong decision” lol
comment | November 30, 2007 at 20:53 | individual comment-link
I think it’s all based on corporate backlash in secondlife plan and simple. A lot of every day people build items in secondlife. Most people take their business very seriously. Some don’t expect to make huge profits but instead at least break even. And any outsider, professional, corporation company ect from real life that comes is seen as a major threat to their business and the creative environment of secondlife.
Then there is the attitude of “I don’t want to be a walking billboard for such and such company.” The culture of secondlife seems to shy away from tacky, big and shouting corporate logs. (A trend I happily endorse and hopes continues.) Generally the every day secondlife builder doesn’t use corporate logs from the outside in their builds they sell. Due to the fact they don’t want to get sued. Secondly they don’t usually make there own logos and splash them all over their builds as well.
Let’s state the obvious…we DON’T need logo’s here plain and simple. If we see something we love on another avatar we just click on prim of it and select inspect. And tada, snoop through the builder’s profile, teleport and we are at the shop we need to get it!
Corporations don’t seem to get that. They think in real life terms and give us stuff that is screaming with logos. They do that because the only reason why they are here is to advertise there product for real life. They expect us to spend our hard earned lindens on there products and become walking and tacky billboards for them. Ha-ha think again! We also wonder where our linden’s we pay them go? To the a big bad cooperation trying to move into our turf? Ah hell no!
Most seasoned secondlifers would not even wear the stuff even if it came free. Because again doing so would be flashing neon sign to others of “I’m selling out to the real world and big monopolizing corporations.”