Rolling out in Southeast Asia: Hug a vending machine, get a free Coke

If only all vending machines are like that.

Following the successful trial of the ‘Coca-Cola Hug Machine’ in Singapore, which dispenses a free Coke every time someone gives it a warm hug, the well-known beverage company now plans to roll it out across Southeast Asia, reports Marketing Interactive.

The Hug Machine is part of Coca-Cola’s ‘Open Happiness’ global campaign that was started in 2009. The stated aim is to bring “positivity, optimism and fun to others.”

“The Coca-Cola Hug Machine is a simple idea to spread some happiness. Our strategy is to deliver doses of happiness in an unexpected, innovative way to engage not only the people present, but the audience at large,” Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN IMC director of The Coca-Cola Company, told Marketing Interactive.

The company has generated a lot of buzz for its innovative usage of vending machines as marketing tools.

For example, a video depicting a magical Coca-Cola machine that dispenses anything from sandwiches to flowers garnered over four million views on YouTube.

Another creative idea involved a website that allows visitors to send a Coke to vending machines around the world, along with a recorded message. They can even see how people react after receiving the video recording.

It’ll be cool if these machines could magically rid the world of diabetes.