During the past six years, the support you have shown for our community of “Soda Activists” has been nothing short of amazing. Because of your efforts and enthusiasm, SaveSURGE.org, and later on VaultKicks.org, gained national notoriety and made Coca-Cola take notice of what we were doing.
I write to you today with a tear in my eye, because as of this writing I am officially retiring from “Soda Activism”. As you all know, our lives change as the years go by. I am no exception. With my family and work commitments such as they are, I found that I am now in a different place in my life. In recent months I have found that I just do not have the time required to tend to the websites as much as they deserve.
And so I feel it is time for me to move on. I can’t even express the amount of gratitude I feel towards each of you. This community has allowed me to do things I never would have dreamed possible. I’m 100% convinced that Vault’s existence is a direct result of your tremendous efforts.
My hope is that, in some small way, our community helped some of its members realize the importance of working together. Whether it’s for peace, the planet or even a fully loaded citrus soda (with carbos). Remember that standing up for what you believe in, no matter what it is, is always worth your while.
Thank you all from the very bottom of my heart. I will never forget this wild ride and what we did together.
Forever Grateful,
Eric Karkovack
P.S. - Just because I’ve decided to step aside doesn’t mean these sites should go away. If you’re seriously interested in taking over one or both websites, please contact me. Again, serious inquiries only.
Just in time for late hunting season in January Coca-Cola Consolidated Bottling Company is bringing out the 16oz cans again in a very cool looking camo can, check out the picture!
If you’re in the CCBCC area, look for this product December 31st, 2007 running around .69 cents to $1.00. If you’re not, keep your eye out for it as it should be promoted in other areas (CCE, United, etc.) later in the year!
Always remember– buy VAULT, promote VAULT, and tell your vendors you love VAULT– if you do that, I promise that Coca-Cola will keep their promise and keep creating great innovative products like VAULT, VAULT Zero and VAULT Red Blitz.
As some of you may know, I’m a huge Hershey Bears fan. Never heard of them? They’re an AHL hockey club and this year they are celebrating their 70th anniversary. I’ve been going to games since I was just a kid and every October I’m thrilled because a new season begins.
The Bears hosted their home opener this past Saturday. I happily arrived at the GIANT Center, said hello to Coco (see below) and went to the concession stand to buy myself a 20oz. Vault, just as I had done the past few seasons. The only problem was…THEY SWITCHED TO PEPSI PRODUCTS!
As if that weren’t bad enough, during stoppages of play in the game the scoreboard had several ”Pepsi Trivia Challenge” contests and even facts about Pepsi. Did you know that Colin Powell worked for Pepsi as a kid??? Did you care???
I’m sure this happened due to an incentive-laced deal from Pepsi, but it still was a kick in the pants. Why’d ya do it, Coco?
On the bright side, the Bears did manage a 3-1 victory over the Rochester Americans
Right Now I’m Listening to: Museum Pieces “On Deck”
Hey there Vault Fans! Here is the latest news in the world of our favorite hybrid energy soda:
Vault has been named the official soda for the upcoming Charlotte Checkers ECHL season. The ECHL is the hockey equivalent of a “AA” league in baseball. Thanks to SaveSURGE.org Hall of Famer Gregg for sending this in (and to Rob the SURGE drinker for posting it on the board).
We’re also getting reports that Vault ICEE’s are starting to appear in Target stores! Mmmmm…frozen Vault :) SaveSURGE.org Hall of Famer Drew gives us photographic proof.
Our friend Vault Girl is reporting that Vault Red Blitz is going to be coming out in cans soon! We’ve been waiting for this one for quite awhile. No word on whether this is a national deal or just locally in her area.
It’s Friday, it’s only 1 1/2 hours until the weekend starts, I have a Vault next to me and my cat is sleeping in my office - it’s a pretty good day!
I’ve finally had a chance to do some updates to the sites this week. It’s nice to get back into the swing of things a little bit. It’s weird how some things just get put aside when life gets busy.
Not a ton of news in the world of Vault right now. However, Coke did finally decide to redesign the Official Site! It looks good and it’s a bit better on content than the old version.
There was a time when I was really hoping that VaultKicks.org would get to take over as the official site. That would have been pretty cool, but may have been a bit restrictive in that I wouldn’t be able to criticize Coke when they mess up, lol
Speaking of which, they need to really rethink their web strategy for their various (and tasty) brands. If I were king (that was a good Tom Petty song, actually it was “It’s Good to be King”), here are a few things I’d do:
Keep the sites updated! Aside from their corporate site, the sites are generally updated once or twice and left for dead.
Link to fan sites (like this one). If they’re not willing to create their own interactive communities, at least link to those of us who do.
Use Flash as a way to accent your site, don’t create your entire site using it. Some people really like Flash, but in general it’s clunky and unflexible to create your entire site using it. I enjoy the occasional animation, but there’s a limit…
Ok, enough of my ranting! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a lot of respect for Coke, but I still don’t think that they really get this whole internet thing.
Recently I heard from a very dedicated Vault fan. She works for Coca-Cola Consolidated (CCBCC) and she DRIVES THE VAULT TRUCK! How cool is that? You can check out her MySpace page and see more photos like this:
I hope you’re having a “fully loaded” summer! Things have been good in my neck of the woods. I’ve been enjoying the hot weather and have recently recovered from yet another computer crash. Sometimes I think it would be easier just to stay away from computers and become a dirt farmer
Anywho, my reason for posting today is not to complain about computers! It’s to give you all an update on how Vault is doing. One of my sources from Coke has informed me about how our favorite soda is doing in their specific geographic region.
Some notes:
Vault’s been called a “strong contributor” to Coke’s overall growth
Vault Red Blitz will finally start showing up in cans in Coca-Cola Consolidated areas towards the end of July. As to when they hit the other markets is unknown.
I was also informed of some good news for Full Throttle fans. You can now get a whopping 24oz. of the beverage for only $1 at Dollar Tree stores and some Big Lots!
Right now I’m listening to: Travis - “Under the Moonlight”
Hey Vault fans, how’s your summer so far? Mine has been nice, but a bit rainy the past couple of days.
Last week I attended Jubilee Day, billed as the “largest one-day street fair in the eastern part of the United States”. They’ve been saying it for years, so it must be true, right? Anyway, Vault was in the hands of many a passer-by. Just to show you how much of a company man I am, I purposely ate pizza at the Jo-Jo’s stand because they had a Vault Red Blitz cooler proudly on display.
This would have been a really nice event for Coke to bring out the Vault Truck and hand out some samples. I don’t think it’s ever been in our area which is a bit of a bummer.
In other news, SaveSURGE.org Hall of Famer Drew is worried about Vault Red Blitz in his area of Texas. He tells the bulletin board community (free registration required) that it’s not doing too well. Follow up reports from other members seem to indicate VRB is doing great in their areas.
Personally, it really seems to be doing well here. I gotta say, our local bottler has done a great job of promoting it around here. There are signs outside of a lot of convenience stores - a lot more than when original Vault launched.
Before I go, I also wanted to mention that (in case you haven’t noticed) Vanilla Coke is back! I’d heard a few people talking about it and finally saw it for myself at the grocery store last weekend. The packaging looks a bit different and now they have a “Zero” version as well. I really like the stuff and I’m happy to see it back
Have a great weekend, and in case I don’t talk to ya, a very fun 4th of July!
Right Now I’m Listening To: Silverchair - “Those Theiving Birds” I am really going to miss Bob Barker. Today, he hosts his final episode of “The Price is Right”. If you can’t watch this morning, CBS is also showing it at 8pm tonight. That show really is the happiest hour on TV. People of all ages and backgrounds come together and pull for each other. Even when a contestant loses, everyone still cheers for them. There’s just such a great spirit to the show, even if it can get a little backstabbing on contestant’s row from time to time.
As for Bob himself, I have never heard anyone say that they didn’t like him. I read an article last week that said he is America’s grandfather, which I’ll go along with. He has such a way with people and really is a natural at what he does. I guess that’s how you manage to be on TV for 50 years.
He has been one of the few constants in life. As a kid, I remember that one of my favorite things to do during summer vacation was to watch TPIR. Now, I try to catch of some it on my lunch break as time allows. I always hate to see pieces of my childhood go away, but Bob, I wish you the best in retirement. Have a Vault and enjoy California sun!
In other news…
I continue to be pleasantly surprised at the amound of people just discovering SaveSURGE.org. It’s been around for 5 years and still, we get new people finding out about it every day.
I’m noticing some more discontent about Vault Zero disappearing from some areas. I know this should probably be its own post. Maybe this weekend I’ll put some more thoughts together. But for now let me just say that it’s disappointing to see this happening. I know a lot of diabetics and weight-watchers don’t want to see it go. Coke never really marketed it though and so I don’t think a whole lot of people knew that there even was a Vault Zero. I probably could have done a lot better of promoting it on this site as well.
I actually got a few minutes to update the site today. And Troy gives us a very interesting head 2 head comparison of Vault and SURGE. Definitely check it out!
That’s about all I’ve got for today. Have a great weekend and remember, have your pets spayed or neutered!
I am really going to miss Bob Barker. Today, he hosts his final episode of “The Price is Right”. If you can’t watch this morning, CBS is also showing it at 8pm tonight. That show really is the happiest hour on TV. People of all ages and backgrounds come together and pull for each other. Even when a contestant loses, everyone still cheers for them. There’s just such a great spirit to the show, even if it can get a little backstabbing on contestant’s row from time to time.