THE METAVERSE IS…

BY HARRY MCCRACKEN

amazing overhyped scary disruptive silly exhausting useful coming (PROBABLY) LAST APRIL, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY ISSUED A TRIUMPHANT PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING THAT IT HAD INTRODUCED A SOFT DRINK IN THE METAVERSE. THE 136-YEAR-OLD BEVERAGE MAKER TOUTED ITS LATEST CONCOCTION, COCA-COLA ZERO SUGAR BYTE, AS “TRANSCEND[ING] THE DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL WORLDS.” ALONG WITH A LIMITED-EDITION REAL-WORLD VERSION THAT WAS AIMED AT GAMERS, THE DRINK WAS AVAILABLE IN VIRTUAL FORM WITHIN THE WILDLY POPULAR ONLINE GAME FORTNITE. Coke’s landmark moment had an absurdist tinge: After all, you can’t taste a virtual cola or get a caffeine hit from it. But it would have been almost odder if the company hadn’t staked its claim in the metaverse. Over the past year, many high-profile brands have trumpeted their own arrivals in this curious netherworld, from Zara (fashion…

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Fast Company (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2022

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