Cricket Cola's 'Happiness in a bottle' throwdown — with Coca-Cola

We know who's gonna win that one.

Yesterday's Washington Post Business section featured a story by Michael S. Rosenwald about the unfortunate — for Cricket Cola — recent news release by Coca-Cola telling the world "that the world's most famous brand represents 'happiness in a bottle.'"

The label on the bottle of Potomac [Maryland]-based Cricket Cola says, "Drinking Cricket Cola can make you happy — We like to call Cricket 'Happiness in a bottle.'"

The story with all the details of Coca-Cola's swatting aside tiny Cricket Cola — owner Mary Heron said, "We're so inconsequential to Coke" — follows.

Cricket Cola and the Pursuit of 'Happiness in a Bottle'

A tall glass of cola has inherent powers.

It quenches thirst, of course.

Occasionally, cola will inspire a brief bout of hiccups, a risk outweighed by its power to refresh.

Cola also has been known to provide a nice jolt to help users get through the more boring parts of the day.

But Mary Heron, founder of Potomac-based Cricket Cola Inc., says her product, which is infused with green tea, has existential power -- it can make a drinker happy.

The label on the bottle even says so: "Drinking Cricket Cola can make you happy."

It adds: "We like to call Cricket 'Happiness in a bottle.' "

So imagine Heron's reaction when she read a story in the Wall Street Journal about Coca-Cola Co.'s new ad campaign that contained this sentence: "Coke wants to remind consumers that the world's most famous brand represents 'happiness in a bottle.'"

The phrase was repeated in a company news release.

Heron was not happy.

"I was just astounded," she said. "I was really stunned. I mean, are you kidding me?"

Heron's lawyer sent a letter to Coca-Cola officials asking them to stop using the slogan, to which Cricket claims to have established rights, and to compensate Cricket for damages (even though Cricket doesn't exactly have a trademark on the phrase).

The letter, reported by trade publication Advertising Age, noted that Coca-Cola already enjoys certain advantages in the soda distribution business, which the letter described as a "stranglehold."

"We're so inconsequential to Coke," said Heron, whose product is sold mainly at Potbelly Sandwich Works stores and in specialty shops on the West Coast.

"We are no one. But it comes down to the right to compete. We feel we have the right to protect our brand and our slogan."

Coke issued a statement saying the company does not use the happiness phrase in its advertising and that the tagline for its new campaign is "The Coke Side of Life."

The campaign "focuses on optimism, choosing a positive outlook and why people love to drink Coca-Cola."

The statement added: "We do not believe there is any basis to Cricket Cola's claims that we have infringed its rights, and we are disappointed that it is using this opportunity to gain publicity and to create negative press around our campaign and brand. We will look into the issues and respond appropriately in a timely manner."

And so it appears that both sides are not happy. Cola, anyone?

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I figured the least I could do for Cricket Cola — "The Only Green Tea Cola" — was give them a shout-out here.

w00t!

A six-pack costs $5.49.