Capitalizing on the Magic 8 Ball memories of Gen X-ers, The Coca-Cola Co.’s iPhone app Magic Coke Bottle claims to have the answers to all your questions.
The app’s function is basic and generally fun. Ask a question, aloud or in your head, just like with a Magic 8 Ball. Shake the iPhone or iPod Touch, then pop the lid with a flick of your thumb. A deluge of Coke sprays out, accompanied by a refreshed sigh, and your answer appears.
But Magic Coke Bottle’s answers disappear too quickly to read at times. Worse, sometimes no answer appears at all—clearly a glitch. The language is annoyingly hip for my liking, featuring phrases such as “Pop it like it’s hot, I mean, cold” and “½ yes, ½ no = Yo.” The same answers often come up multiple times in a row, something that the original Magic 8 Ball couldn’t help, but something Coke could program better.
Having the Coca-Cola logo on my springboard certainly reinforces its brand image, and I have to say, playing with this app sometimes makes me thirsty. Plus, Magic Coke Bottle’s graphics are stellar, but that comes at a price. No, not monetary—this app is free—but in space, because Magic Coke Bottle takes up a whopping 8.5 MB, easily seven to eight times the size of most iPhone apps.
You can live without this Coke brand on your iPhone, but I will admit, a tad grudgingly, it’s a decent time-waster.
