Cargo-cult and other Cola-Cola – Newspaper Kommersant No. 151 (7352) of 08/19/2022

The mass exodus of Western companies from the country has led to the same mass copying of departed brands. In an attempt to retain an audience accustomed to IKEA, H&M and Starbucks, local entrepreneurs are trying to appropriate the love of Russians for brands that are leaving them. And if the newly-minted fast food chain “Vkusno – i dot” deliberately departs from the red and yellow colors of its predecessor – McDonald`s, then others, on the contrary, are looking for ways to mimic their product under familiar brands.

So, for example, the new chain Stars Coffee, formed on the fragments of the departed Starbucks, acted. The company depicted on its logo a girl in a kokoshnik, clearly reminiscent of the mermaid Siren. Yandex.Market now has a section “Like IKEA”, which contains products similar to the products of the Swedish retailer. Here is an analogue of the DVALA sheet – ARUA, and here is the chest of drawers PACT. Instead of Coca-Cola, we now have Cool-Cola or Funky Monkey Cola, and instead of Levi`s mono-brand stores, we have Jns outlets.

But behind the familiar brands of departed companies, there is usually a quality that has been proven over the years. They have been working for decades to create the desired image, conducting large-scale advertising campaigns and establishing communication with their audience through cinema and media. Large companies offered buyers budget-priced and at the same time nice furniture, always brewed coffee of the same taste, sold jeans of only a certain quality. I would like to believe that the successors will be able to somehow correspond.

Otherwise, the fate of the inhabitants of Melanesia awaits us, where, after the Second World War, a cargo cult flourished – a religious movement whose followers believe that Western goods are created by spirits. In an attempt to increase the number of these very items, the islanders conduct various rituals similar to the actions of Westerners. For example, they build airplanes or entire airfields from wood and palm leaves. About the same in Russia in 2022, they were carried away by the production of Fresh Cola.

But even in our own history, we do not have to look far for examples. The market is increasingly recalling how in Russia in the nineties, due to a shortage, the inSony, viewSony and other fakes similar to the Japanese Sony were very popular. And now, instead of offering the Russians a new idea or brand, business is trying to cling to the promoted image of the original.

However, the consumer is unlikely to be misled more than once or twice – after disappointment, he will simply stop using the product. And the entrepreneur will have to either close down or be puzzled by working on his own brand and the idea that will stand behind it.