In central Amsterdam, the streets are languorous with the pungent fragrance of pot, and a coffee shop, visitors soon learn, is not primarily where you go for a cup of java.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that the Dutch/Ethiopian coffee farming and roasting company Moyee has put out an ad in which coffee-drinkers express their sensations while ‘under the influence’ of cannabis.
Whatever your reaction to the concept, the ad is probably ‘job done’ in terms of getting your attention, right?
Revolution in a cup
Which is exactly what social entrepreneurs Moyee want as they shake up the coffee industry one revolutionary cup at a time with their FairChain approach.
Positioning itself as ‘the world’s first FairChain coffee’, Moyee aims to tackle the issue that only about 15 per cent of coffee income stays in the producing countries. “My vision for Moyee is to establish the world’s first specialty coffee brand that is as equitable as it is delicious,” says co-founder Ahadu Woubshet.
With the recreational use of cannabis illegal in many places including Denmark, the United Kingdom and at federal level in the USA, you may want to ignore the Dutch ‘influence’ of this ad and simply focus on the real goodness in the coffee you’re drinking.
Halo-lujah!
Moyee is by no means the only company out there looking to improve the negative impacts of our raging coffee consumption. Here are a few others we’ve noticed:
Jennifer Hudson, Steve Aoki, Pixie Lott, Luan Santana, Yemi Alade and Tan WeiWei helped oil giant Shell illustrate how coffee can generate more energy than you think in this eye-opening renewables campaign.
A London-based outfit called Halo aims to cut the insane amounts of little pods from Nespresso and similar machines going into landfill, using capsules that are not only biodegradable but also compatible with popular coffee-making machines.
KeepCup and Ecoffee Cup’s sharp designs are two of the re-usable coffee cup companies we’re seeing out there on the shelves and at takeaway counters as we all become a bit more aware of the 100 billion single-use coffee cups that we put into the oceans each year.
And on a light note, here’s an engaging ad which turns out to be one in the eye for pretentiousness around coffee consumption. Dreamt up by Organic Valley dairy farmers, it’s a great reminder about simplicity and staying in tune with Nature.
To have your say on this and other ads, please visit the ADDS site.