Posted by Christopher Stevenson
There was an interesting, albeit unintended, brand-interaction experiment happening at the CUES office yesterday. There was a class action lawsuit against the makers of Airborne, a dietary supplement that has been touted as the solution to the common cold. Apparently, Airborne does not cure colds or provide an instant boost to one's immune system to defend against germs, and now they have to pay. As part of the settlement, Airborne is offering refunds to anyone who has purchased the product since 2001 as long as they still have the receipts.
Someone in the CUES office sent out an e-mail about the refund. Simple. Straightforward. Informative. Nothing special. But, man, did it start an amazing string of e-mails. I would never have figured that a dietary supplement could stimulate discussion.
"I, too, believed that Airborne prevented me from getting sick (at least the couple times I was able to take it in advance!) If you have any in your medicine cabinet, you're entitled to a refund." --Felicia
"I truly know that it has worked well for me (regardless if it may be a placebo effect). The problem more is that the 'study' they farmed out wasn't a real lab, not that product doesn't really work. Bad decision on their part as people really like this product. I will continue buying it." --David
"I've never used Airborne, but when I got sick a couple weeks ago, I used Zicam, which is zinc loaded. And it worked great. It took what my parents had for 2-3 weeks and shrunk it to about 5-7 days for me." --Theran
"BINGO! Airbourne is the same thing. It boosts your immune system, but won't keep you from getting sick. If your body can't fight whatever off, it just won't and you get sick. These products just help your body 's immune system to be at its peak performance." --Becky
"Like David, I'm a big fan of Airborne as well. I take it when I feel something coming on and sometimes I don't get sick and other times when I do get sick it is a very mild case and I can still function." --Teresa
"Wow...look at all of these responses! We should blog about this. lol. Airborne is the best thing ever at a conference to keep the immune system goin! Go Airborne, go Airborne." --Kristin
One little e-mail triggered all these responses, everything from the defense of Airborne to the promotion of competitors. It's a good sign for the brand when it can maintain its following even after losing a lawsuit. It's an even better sign when it can stimulate conversation.
What's Airborne's secret? How did it grab such a faithful following when it supposedly doesn't do what it says it does (or what people think it does)? What's your thought?
