Against The Corporate We

My mouth tells me that Innocent Smoothies are very nice. My brain suggests they are a great deal better for me than that next can of coke. So why am I so suspicious of them? This provides a clue:

“We promise a lot of things. For instance, we promise we’ll never cheat at cards. We promise we’ll always cover our mouths when we yawn. But most importantly, we promise we will never, ever adulterate our drinks…We promise that anything innocent will always taste good and do you good. And if it doesn’t, you can tell our mums.”

This kind of whimsy – see also Ben And Jerry’s adverts passim – brings out the cynic in me like a rash. The folksy ‘we’, products with a ‘human face’, blah blah. The impression is that the premium prices we’re paying for Innocent products are going paying for this ‘personal touch’ as well as for high-quality ingredients. But I’d be quite happy if they slapped on an extra 5p to fund not treating us like children.