I’ve had an Alice, Alex, Anthony, Charlotte, Chris, Luke, Phil, Rob and Thomas so far but alas no Tracy. To what am I referring? Coca-Cola’s latest campaign where you can find your name on a bottle of Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero, as long as it’s one of the most popular 150 names in the UK that is.

Despite the fact that I drink more Diet Coke than anyone else I know, coupled with the fact that my name does not appear on a bottle, I think it’s a fab idea and I’ll tell you why. I’ve never seen such excitement at the drinks’ chiller. Several times now I’ve stood behind people searching for their name on a bottle of the brown stuff. One lad was decrying the fact that Thomas not Tom was on a bottle while a girl was disappointed that her name (Siobhan) did not appear.

Marketing people talk about ’engaging’ with consumers all the time nowadays and Coke has definitely done this well with this latest initiative.

Sticking with drinks, and because of our lack of sunshine so far this summer, I was intrigued by a drink that offered me sunshine in a bottle.

Called NeuroSun, it contains a "healthy dose of vitamin D". Apparently vitamin D supports calcium absorption and bone health, and helps the nervous system. It looked quite cool in a bright yellow bottle with a green lid and all sounded quite promising until I tasted it. Reminded me of squash from the 1970s and not in a good way! Looks like it’s natural sunshine for me.

However, one drink I did really like was Be Fast which is being marketed as ’breakfast on-the-go’. It is virtually fat free, contains protein, vitamins and is high in fibre. And, for someone like me who finds breakfast a difficult meal, is ideal. When I say difficult, I mean most of the time I can’t stomach it. Then there are the times I just haven’t got time for it. Survey after survey reports that more people are eating breakfast on the move, so this product is great for them.

Be Fast comes in three flavours: strawberry, vanilla and chocolate; and I particularly liked the chocolate one, which went down a treat. It must be good as Asda is already stocking it.

Finally, a company asked me to try some new energy gum. I’m not going to name it because it was so awful, I spat it out! Two other people tried it and did the same.

Topics