The Colours of Istanbul
Istanbul-based photographer Yener Torun has captured the colourful architecture of his home town of Istanbul. Given the graphic quality of his work, it should come as no surprise that Torun had an interest in design long before he picked up a camera. By merging all of his interests, he’s seen his work progress and his Instagram following explode—he now has nearly 200,000 followers watching his every move.
a good evolution
Memes have become so heavily context-dependent that they briefly spawned a side-phenomenon of corporations mistakenly assuming that the image combinations are simply random, and that “randomness” is what the new generation finds humorous, and then deliberately creating nonsense ads in a desperate attempt to appeal to the youth, which went on for several years before they finally started hiring younger social media managers.
My gf’s cat, Potato. The SPCA said her fur was really matted when they got her. The day she brought her home and 5 months later. From french fry to tator tot.
A precious floofin
Despite being a bladder-shattering 23.5 ounces, cans of AriZona iced tea have never wavered from the 99-cent price point introduced shortly after the drink debuted in 1992. It’s even printed on the label as a way of warding off sugar-water price gouging by retailers.
The fact that AriZona has been able to resist inflation for nearly a quarter-century is impressive. The fact that the cans usually wind up being cheaper than smaller soft drinks is also impressive, until you begin to realize how strange it is that a vat of iced tea and its accompanying ingredients somehow manages to be less expensive than plain water.
In a recent interview with Thrillist, AriZona chief marketing officer and co-owner Spencer Vultaggio shed some light on this convenience store mystery.
Unlike water titans Coke (which distributes Dasani), Evian, or Fiji, AriZona has virtually no advertising dollars invested in their teas. “We feel like it’s more important to spend money on something that our customer really cares about, instead of buying billboards or putting our cans in the hands of some celebrity for a few minutes,” Vultaggio said.
Even with a frugal approach to ads, AriZona still has to deal with rising production costs. To help resist increasing prices to compensate, the company has pursued alternative manufacturing methods, using 40 percent less aluminum in cans and having enough factories dotting the country to make transportation more efficient. Bottled water, in contrast, is sometimes sourced from abroad, making for exorbitant shipping costs.
In the end, it’s not the iced tea that’s more economical than the water; it’s that the container it comes in is simply cheaper to produce and transport. And while AriZona isn’t above charging a premium for fancier drinks—like a tea brewed with oak chips that sells for twice the price—their branding depends heavily on those familiar rows of 99-cent cans and the loyal consumers who keep reaching for them.
Interesting!
I’m glad to know there wasn’t something sinister involved, because I love this stuff and I drink it all the time.
A company that changes its conduct to roll with the times rather than compromise its product is a good company.
Also the company encourages consumers to report stores to them that are trying to sell it for more than 99 cents plus tax. You can call them directly and report the store and they will actually do something about it.
