Last month Delta started supplying new Diet Coke branded napkins for passengers in flight.
Nothing unusual about that, but what did raise eyebrows was the unusual instructions on and purpose for these napkins (beyond their normal use).
They encouraged passengers to write their phone number on a designated space on the napkin and then provide it to any other passengers on their flight they were interested in dating.
https://twitter.com/ducksauz/status/1087424701838684162
While meeting someone on a plane might have an element of old school romance to it, in the current climate of #MeToo it does feel inappropriate for an airline, or their beverage provider, to be encouraging people to approach a complete stranger in an enclosed space with their phone number.
It would be super awkward if this happened during the flight, and the other person wasn’t interested, but then had to sit near the first person for the remainder of the flight.
Social media about the promotion from surprised passengers who received these napkins with their beverages was mostly negative.
https://twitter.com/MJJoe/status/1091133757313171456
Delta, realising their mistake, has now removed these napkins, telling INSIDER:
We rotate Coke products regularly as part of our brand partnership, but missed the mark with this one. We are sorry for that and began removing the napkins from our aircraft in January.
We sincerely apologize to anyone we may have offended. We worked with our partners at Delta to begin removing the napkins last month and are replacing them with other designs.
Bottom line
Their intention surely came from a good place but it’s amazing that in 2019 any major company, especially two giants like Delta and Coca Cola would think that this would be a good idea.
Do you think this is just some harmless fun, or is it inappropriate in this day and age?
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