Kenco Millicano Offered Londoners a Talking Vending Machine

U.K. coffee company Kenco Millicano has invented a fun and original way to attract consumer’s attention and build the brand identity. The company placed a vending machine that could talk with people and do it not like a robot but like a male human being. 

Soho Square passerby were shocked when the machine started to shout out orders at passing people, telling them to dance and even hug and kiss the machine for the opportunity to receive a free cup of coffee. The reaction to the smart vending machine called Kenneth was very positive as it’s seen in a video.

Kenneth concept was developed by Leo Burnett. What’s the secret behind a machine with human qualities? It’s simple—the Kenco Millicano machine had a voice actor speak through it. Anyway, the effect was awesome, and people enjoyed the interaction smiling, performing the tasks and laughing out loud.

Kenco is not the first brand in the world to leverage this idea. In July, Australian snack maker Fantastic Delites constructed a machine that asked passersby to perform various actions for a free box of snacks but did it voiceless, through commands on the screen, says The Wired. Coca-Cola also ran a similar campaign using a vending machine with a human desire to be hugged. Once feeling the human touch, the machine gave away a free soda.