The Like Machine

For over 50 years promo girls have been handing out samples at intersections, shopping malls and other high traffic areas, hoping consumers would buy their products. Time for a change, so Pepsi and TBWA Belgium teamed up and created The Like Machine: a vending machine that doesn’t accept money, only Facebook likes. The idea of connecting through the vending machine is simple. Just use your smartphone, go to likepepsi.com, connect with your Facebook account, like the Pepsi Facebook page and get a free Pepsi. By using the smartphone location settings, Pepsi was sure only people near the vending machine got offered a sample. People without a smartphone could tap the 42” built-in touchscreen to log in on Facebook and get a free drink as well. Once the sample was given, a timer made sure everybody was logged out. “That there are creative minds in Belgium is no secret. The Pepsi Like Machine is another good example of that,” adds Jan Verlinden, Marketing Director of PepsiCo, BeLux. Now it is possible, with a Facebook like, in real time, to get a can of Pepsi. “It’s a new way of sampling which provides us with information, so we can immediately start communicating with our target audience.” Pepsi Belgium introduced the Like Machine at the Beyoncé concerts in Antwerp.