Is coffee a beverage, or something else?

Yogurt brand Blueglass launched a Superboy Boyfriend Power series containing Cistanche, Polygonatum, ginseng, deer whip, and oyster peptides. Posters carried an 18+ label and suggestive copy, prompting accusations of borderline marketing. The Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation opened an investigation, and the copy was revised and republished.

The case echoes Coconut Palm coconut juice, which was fined 400,000 yuan for vulgar slogans yet still generated over 5 billion yuan in sales. Traffic-driven campaigns of this kind can draw scrutiny as well as attention, and the negative label may linger with consumers. The same dynamic shapes discussion of whether is coffee a beverage or a wellness product, and what are the ingredients of coffee and similar drinks actually deliver.

Recently, the yogurt brand Blueglass launched the "Superboy Boyfriend Power Wins a Round" series, adding traditional Chinese medicine ingredients such as Cistanche, Polygonatum, ginseng, deer whip, and oyster peptides. The original intention may have been a wellness concept, but it was questioned for borderline marketing due to the "18+" label on the posters and suggestive copy. Coincidentally, Coconut Palm coconut juice was also fined 400,000 yuan for vulgar advertising slogans, yet in return generated over 5 billion yuan in sales. In an era where traffic is king, eye-catching marketing emerges endlessly, but not all of it yields good results. After Blueglass was exposed, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation, and the relevant copy was revised and republished. However, the negative label brought by borderline marketing may not be easily erased from consumers' minds.

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Recently, the yogurt brand Blueglass launched a product series called "Superboy Boyfriend Power Wins a Round." According to the official introduction, this series includes ingredients such as Cistanche, Polygonatum, ginseng, deer whip, and oyster peptides — traditional Chinese medicines that are quite rare in beverages.

For consumers, wellness-oriented tea drinks are no longer anything new. Although this series of drinks includes some traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients that the public associates with "kidney-tonifying and yang-strengthening" effects, many netizens feel this is merely a gimmick created by the brand to attract attention.

What truly made netizens dislike this series was the official product poster. In the promotional advertisement, both drinks were labeled "18+," accompanied by copy such as "I don't sell to anyone under 18" and "I don't sell to boyfriends who are pranksters." The combination of various traditional Chinese medicine ingredients and suggestive text led netizens to suspect the brand of borderline marketing.

Coincidentally, Coconut Palm coconut juice, a "veteran driver" of borderline marketing, also recently made trending searches due to vulgar advertising. According to media reports, Coconut Palm was fined 400,000 yuan by the Longhua Branch of the Haikou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation for using vulgar borderline advertising slogans such as "use coconuts to wipe breasts" and "South Pacific beauties rarely have 'airports.'"

This is not the first time Coconut Palm has been fined for borderline marketing. Some netizens joked that Coconut Palm "crosses the line every year and gets fined every year," and these borderline marketing efforts bring not only attention and fines but also impressive figures on financial statements. It is understood that in 2023, the Coconut Palm Group disclosed that its total annual sales exceeded 5 billion yuan. No wonder the public jokes that Coconut Palm treats "fines as advertising fees."

In the current era of "traffic is king," brands are pulling out all the stops to attract consumer attention, with marketing tactics such as various co-branding collaborations, novel products, and celebrity endorsements that come with built-in traffic emerging endlessly. From the results, these methods do indeed bring brands attention, traffic, and substantial sales growth, and brand awareness rises as a result.

However, not all eye-catching marketing yields good results.

Previously, Lele Tea's "Smoky Oolong" collaboration with Yilin Press was attacked by netizens for infringing on a celebrity's portrait rights and even received a lawyer's letter. The same goes for Blueglass's borderline marketing this time. After the media exposed its vulgar marketing, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation into the issues reported by the public. Currently, all copy suspected of vulgar advertising has been revised and republished.

However, some people believe that the negative impact of borderline marketing will not fade just because a brand promptly rectifies it. When a brand embarks on the path of "notorious fame," using controversial marketing methods such as borderline tactics to gain more attention, temporary traffic, and sales, the related negative labels will also stick to the brand, planting a knot in consumers' minds that is hard to eliminate, and in the future may only trigger unpleasant associations when mentioned.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.