Why Warren Buffett is the new face of Coca-Cola in China
It may not be uncommon to see your favourite pop star or athlete plastered on a can of soda -- but...Warren Buffett?
The billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, who claims to be a huge Cherry Coke fan, agreed to let Coca-Cola use his likeness on its bottles to celebrate the drink's recent launch in China.
He's on the can because he has a huge following in China, where he's seen as an icon of success. He's dubbed gu shen, or "the god of investing."
Last year, some 3,000 Chinese investors travelled to Nebraska specially to attend Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting.
And it doesn't hurt that Buffett is genuinely a Coke fan -- he drinks at least five cans a day, including regular Coke at the office and Cherry Coke at home.
His company, Berkshire Hathaway, is also Coca-Cola's largest shareholder, with 9.4 percent of its stocks, valued at $16 billion.
"I can't think of a better way to launch Cherry Coke than with its best-known fan on the package," said Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent.
"It is an honour for us to be able to feature Warren on his favourite drink."
"Tastes like cough syrup."
Cherry Coke has been available in the U.S. since 1985.
Chinese netizens didn't seem to be particularly impressed with Buffett's choice of drink, however.
"This tastes like almond, not cherry. I don't really like Warren Buffett's taste," said one netizen on social media platform Weibo.
"Although Buffett recommends Cherry coke, I think I'll go with the original one," another added.
"Warren Buffett likes this? Its so hard to drink it tastes like cough syrup," one said.
Looks like its gonna take more than a "god" to convert the Chinese market.
Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.
