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Sunday, January 21, 2024

when redbull ran on the roads !!!

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the highest selling energy drink in the world, with 5.387 billion cans sold in 2013.  Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an existing energy drink which was first invented and sold in Thailand. He took this idea, modified the ingredients to suit the tastes of westerners, and, in partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya, founded Red Bull GmbH in Chakkapong.   The Red Bull company slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings"  and the product is marketed through advertising, events (Red Bull Air Race, Red Bull Crashed Ice), sports team ownerships,  celebrity endorsements, and music, through its record label Red Bull Records.

It has succeed well in marketing but the slogan - "Red Bull gives you wings"  that has been there for nearly two decades did land them in trouble too.  a few months back, reports suggested that the Company agreed to pay out more than $13 million after settling a US class action lawsuit that accused the company of false and misleading advertising claims.  Red Bull claims in its marketing that the drink can improve concentration and reaction speeds, but the plaintiff in the case said these claims are false and lack scientific support. While the suit did not allege that plaintiffs were disappointed that they didn't grow actualy wings, it does claim that Red Bull relies a lot on terms like "wings" and "boost" to give consumers the impression that the drink gives people some sort of physical lift or enhancement.  It was stated that Red Bull through the settlement will reimburse customers disappointed the energy drink hasn't lived up to their expectations with either a check for $10 or a voucher for $15 worth of Red Bull products.

However the class-action lawsuit may not mean big to individuals as it is stated that the check is  much smaller than originally anticipated.  Moving away,  Sea often throws up interesting things and things  floating on sea stir up anxiety.  There have been cases of collision at sea and the immediate concern is oil slick.  The beauty of coast and navigational waters is often polluted by ships, especially oil carriers.  At common law, the liability of ship owners for maritime pollution is dealt with by the torts of nuisance and negligence.    Marine Cargo Insurance covers goods in transit from one place to another.  At land, even when goods are packed very well, there could be road accidents, accidents involving the truck that carries the cargo – and goods could spill on the road.  When such spillage occur, depending on the nature of the commodity, and the way they are packed – there could be further damage, pilferage and shortage.
   

The drink that ‘can give wings’ was no different when the truck loaded with thousands of cans had an accident.  MailOnline reported of the spillage of hundreds of crates of cans on the carriageway of the southbound M6 near Blackburn, Lancashire in end Jan 2015. 

The North West Motorway Police tweeted an image of the crash at midday as motorists were faced with queues stretching for 10 miles. The chaos was sparked when a large lorry left the carriageway between junctions 19 and 18 of the major motorway, coming to a halt in a ditch.  As the heavy goods vehicle jack-knifed across the road, it shed its load, closing two lanes and causing long tailbacks… some of the motorists felt the kick as they were forced to queue while the fizzy drinks found their wings.

Not an amusing sight for those who had to wait seeing thousands spill on the road !
With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16th Feb 2015.

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