The title of a recent article found at coca-colacompany.com,“The Lore of Lamb: The Story Behind a Seasonal
Favorite (And a Coke-Inspired Recipe, Too),” does little to
disguise the fact that the article is basically a Coke ad
masquerading as a history lesson. “The Lore of Lamb” explains the
history of why lamb is a popular Easter dish but rather disregarded
the rest of the year. It also informs the reader that mint sauce is a
traditional accompaniment to lamb thanks to the British, who used it
to dull the flavor of mutton—lamb's fattier, gamier “cousin.”
However, if the reader wants to forego the traditional mint sauce,
the article helpfully points out that it includes a
Coca-Cola-inspired glaze recipe.
Although the article does provide some
interesting historical facts—and—who knows?--a stellar recipe,
there are a couple strange aspects about the article:
1) Besides the title and the actual
recipe, the article only mentions Coca-Cola once. “Tired of mint
jelly? Try the recipe for Coca-Cola glaze below,” it says, in
parentheses. As though the recipe is an after-thought and not the
entire point of the article. Who do they think they are kidding? An
alternative explanation could be that Coca-Cola found the article
elsewhere and appropriated it, adding their recipe afterward. Either
way, the article is clearly stretching for a Coke connection.
2) The article quotes food historian
Trina Clickner and provides a link to her website, foodhistorian.com.
However, the website is visually lacking, especially in comparison to
Coca-Cola's own stunning site. Foodhistorian.com is so dated-looking
that it makes one wonder why exactly the author of Coca-Cola's
article chose to quote Clickner. Is she really
an expert, or did the author just find her via a random internet
search? And why would Coca-Cola include a link to a website that does
nothing to enhance the article's content?
Furthermore, the
article includes a link to foodtimeline.org, which, again, is a very
dated and unattractive site. The fact that the links detract
from rather than enhance the original article turns what could have
been an interesting (if obviously manipulative) article into a
somewhat-interesting-BUT-OBVIOUSLY-MANIPULATIVE article.
To be fair, though, Coca-Cola's attempt to associate itself with the Easter holiday is nothing new. Here are a couple of vintage Coke Easter ads:
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| Supposedly found here, but the page may not be working: Vintage Coke ad |
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| From 1953, retrieved here: 1953 Coke Easter ad |
It is doubtful that people will ever come to associate Coke with Easter as strongly as they do with Christmas, thanks to the Coke and Santa ad campaign, or even with the Fourth of July, thanks to Coke's status as an all-American beverage. Maybe this is why "The Lore of Lamb" article seems a bit lackluster--perhaps it's Coke's attempt to inspire a small group of the population to think more about Coke for Easter, but, in general, they're not too concerned with this particular holiday.
Now, if someone reads
“The Lore of Lamb” and, intrigued by lamb's culinary history,
decides to add lamb to their Easter menu, here are a couple recipes
that do not use Coca-Cola as the main ingredient:
Coca-Cola's original article can be found here: The Lore of Lamb
Happy Easter! (Unless, of course, you
are a lamb.)
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