• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, November 17, 2016

After a bruising presidential election, anything even remotely lighthearted feels like a breath of fresh air. I certainly feel safe filing this idea under “silly,” “impractical” and “why?” Why, specifically, would you want to take a selfie while you’re drinking a soda?

Coca-Cola Israel is hoping to answer that question with an amusing new product, the “selfie bottle,” which allows the user to capture their glorious visage as they raise the bottle up for a swallow of the delicious, obesity-causing beverage. The Israeli branch of the soft drink giant commissioned the design from the Gefen Team for the brand’s annual national Summer Love outdoor experiential campaign, Israeli’s biggest.

The “selfie bottle” features a camera attached to a sensor which can detect when the user has raised the bottle to an angle of 70 degrees or more, and then automatically triggers the camera to take a photo to share on Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram, including Coca-Cola’s own social media presence.

The custom-built bottle is obviously not intended for mass distribution, with a limited number produced for Israel’s “novelty drinks” market (which must be a rather small niche indeed).

I don’t know what it is, but creative types seem to feel compelled to combine social media and beverage containers. Back in 2013, Budweiser Brazil produced a lighthearted marketing stunt, the “Buddy Cup,” which incorporated a microchip and QR code to let users Facebook friend someone simply by bumping glasses with them. Budweiser developed the clever device with advertising agency Agencia Africa and design firm Bolha.

Liquor brands are getting in on the act, too. Last year Medea, Inc. launched a premium vodka of the same name with an LED message band incorporated into the bottle, which allows imbibers to display messages sent from their mobile devices via Bluetooth. The interactive bottles can be programmed using the Medea App, based on Apple’s iBeacon Bluetooth technology. Users can program the bottles to show static or scrolling messages.