Woolworths steals Frankie's ideas

[adrianh]

I got the book on Friday and finished it today. It is one of those books that just leaves one gobsmacked and it's sure opened my eyes to the world of psychological manipulation...sorry marketing.

[Blurock]

Which moral values, Christian, Moslem, Buddhist, ok, so if we uphold the one then does it stand to reason that the others lead to total moral decay and anarchy? Further, what do you do if your leaders and your churches have different moral values - what is right and what is wrong.

I do think that the basic moral values of all the main religions are the same, but we should not confuse religion with social values. I have yet to come across a social or cultural group that approves of theft, murder or other crimes. People's basic needs are the same where ever they are in the world. It does not matter if you are American or Chinese, Muslim or Christian. You only need to speak to different population groups to realise this.

I am not an expert at this, but Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (link http://psychology.about.com/od/theor...archyneeds.htm ) illustrates people's basic needs relating to self actualisation and personal growth. I am sure that someone, somewhere has a similar take on human morals and values.

I suppose that when you reach the top of the values/morals pyramid you can start including etiquette, which may have more of a snob value and certainly differs from one community to another. You also get religious snobs who proclaim that "my God is better than yours", but I do not think that is what we are discussing.

We live in times where our leaders and churches do have different moral values, but history proves that this has been happening since the beginning of time. That is one of the reason why people dispose of governments; when they do not uphold the same values. It happened in our country where our moral fibre agreed that discrimination in any form is wrong and unethical.

Of course the world is not black and white. There are many grey areas, but the basic values of all humans are ingrained and are the same all over.

[Blurock]

Now putting up a bottling plant, no matter how much money you have, will not happen in less than 6 to 8 months.

I doubt if W would put up their own bottling plant. They are retailers, not manufacturers.

You do have a point though. Time to market is very important when you have a new idea. One can not run around with an idea and then complain when someone else turns the idea into a product, unless you have registered a patent.

In Frankie's case, they already had a product, successfully distributed through some other chain stores. Even if W had an idea, they have lost out in time to market by a long shot. It will be interesting to follow this court case and to hear the opposing arguments.

[adrianh]

I do agree that all groups have common values (within the group that is) - but then certainly do approve of theft murder and other crimes if they are perpetrated against other groups. The problem is of course if it is nations i.e. The British fighting the Germans then it is ok, but if it is the Palistinian fighting the Isreali then it is not ok. Again, these things are far from black or white or clear cut. There was a time when it was right to fight the ANC & SWAPO, that time has passed, just as there was a time to fight the Germans.

At the end of the day we have to choose which group (tribe) we belong to and fight for the tribe. The difficulty in this country is that the government does nothing to unite the people within the country, they are creating greater devides through their policies. Instead of South Africa becoming a single tribe like the Americans we are becoming more fragmented. Can we change this, I think so, but it will take leadership; as the saying goes: Culture and values adhere to the law of of gravity; they flow down, not up.

[gac]

Its fairly clear that the move by Woolies is far more than pure coincidence and on balance of probability, they're guilty of unsavoury behaviour at the very least as covered in numerous replies, which pretty much exhausts this topic.

2 other interesting topics have arisen along the way that perhaps warrant separate new discussions:

1. Morals, Principle & Culture - there is a lot that could still be shared on this
2. Marketing -as a discipline this field has troubled me ever since my varsity days when Marketing & Advertising was one of my subjects & I think it would be useful to throw this topic out there for wider discussion

What do you feel about the suggestion?

[adrianh]

You've got the floor

[Blurock]

Agreed. gac you have the floor. Start a new tread on marketing.

[Dave A]

It will be interesting to follow this court case and to hear the opposing arguments.

It's going to court?

I agree, it would be very interesting. Both sides would have a fairly big task ahead of them, I'd think.

[wynn]

Marketing!!
Why buy the cheaper made in China version which will cost more at Woolworse? when you can get the genuine South African manufactured article for less at Frankies distributers?

Moralistic/Cultural etc.!!
Why buy a knock off from a multinational when you can support the local original manufacturer and the local people that support him

[Justloadit]

Frankies Wins!

Woolworths ordered to remove drinks bearing Frankie’s slogan

[adrianh]

Brilliant, in a dog eat dog world its good to see the mouse win!

[gac]

This is GREAT news for the smaller guys and goes a long way to restoring confidence that fair play is still valued in certain levels of society. I dont know what the Advertising Authority's powers are and it remains to be seen whether Woolies will appeal or contest this ruling in court but lets hope that this ruling will stand. Well done to Frankies and Mike Scmidt for taking the stand they did!

[Blurock]

David = 1; Goliath = 0

Good to see the small guys win and not be out-funded (and out-lawed?) by the big corporate giants.

[desA]

A very fair result. Pity Woolworths did not take the moral position of removal, or negotiation. Being forced into the action shows their moral compass to be a tad offline.

[IanF]

This is a welcome trend that the big companies actually care about social media (public outcry).

Woolies to pull soft drinks off shelves after ASA ruling
PRETORIA – In a case that has often been dubbed the David and Goliath face-off in the beverage sector, the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) ruled on Wednesday in favour of KwaZulu-Natal beverage producer Frankie’s Olde Soft Drinks.

Woolies CEO late on Wednesday entered the social media arena, saying in a statement posted on Facebook that the retailer will pull the entire range of soft drinks from its shelves, Moneyweb link

If you look down the page one telling statement from woolworths is "It is clear public sentiment is against us."
Now can they pass this on to the other companies like Telkom The Banks Cellphone companies etc.