After 28 Years, Stay Tab Finally Appears on Shanghai Coke Cans Five Months before Olympics
SHANGHAI--I came back from the Lawson’s convenience store near my Shanghai office this afternoon, eager to tuck into a new fresh-chilled rice and mystery-meat lunch offering and wash it all down with a cold Coke. That’s when I noticed something so shocking, so completely revolutionary, that I had to stop what I was doing and take note.
The Coke can, resplendent in red and gold Beijing 2008 Olympics logos, was topped not by a circa-1962 pull tab, as–to the surprise of nearly every Westerner who visits China for the first time–just about all canned soda drinks in China seem to be. Instead, a modern stay tab sensibly served as the key that unlocked my sweet, caffeinated beverage. That’s right, nearly 28 years after the stay tab went into widespread use in the US and Europe, its appearance at my local store, along with 50 or so companions on the shelf, seems to suggest the stay tab is poised to make its way into China on a wide scale.
When it made its appearance in the early 1980s, the stay tab was praised by environmentalists and safety experts alike. Litter from the pull tabs was a persistent problem and many people accidentally cut themselves on their sharp edges.
All due respect to Coca-Cola for finally making the switch, if indeed this change is permanent, but one cannot help but notice the timing – just five months before the Olympic games. Presumably Coca-Cola, a major sponsor of the games, wishes to avoid the remonstrations of the expected 600,000 mostly Western tourists and, possibly of greater concern, members of the international media due to hit the streets of Beijing in July and August. No mention of the change appears on Coca-Cola’s website.
Image: Social Technologies
John Cashman
in China, Asia, Environment
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Reader Comments (2)
Too bad the US will bring all of their own food and water because they don't trust china.
a pointless beverage is emblematic of our civilization...