H2NO

H2NO was an upselling campaign by The Coca-Cola Company to dissuade consumers from ordering tap water drinks at restaurants, and to instead order more profitable soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages, or bottled water. The campaign's title, H2NO, reflects the program's purpose, which is to have customers say No to H2O, the chemical formula for water.

In July 2001, a link to a story about the program's success at Olive Garden was posted to Cockeyed.com. The link was reposted around the internet, until the story was taken down by Coca-Cola on August 2, 2001, for fears it might be misinterpreted. On August 20, 2001, the story was covered by The New York Times,[1] and subsequently by a number of news providers.

The campaign ran only in the United States.[2]

  1. ^ Gallagher, David F. (2 September 2001). "Word for Word/Deep Water; 'Just Say No to H20' (Unless It's Coke's Own Brew)". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Rowan, David (September 4, 2001). "Coke's war on water; Drinks giant trains waiters to boost sales in 'H2No' campaign". Evening Standard. p. 21. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.