# Free Drink Vending Machines Pay By Watching Commercials By Justin Good | Published 2007-05-11 | Business Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/free-drink-vending-machines-in-japan References: [weirdasianews](http://www.weirdasianews.com/2007/05/10/free-drink-vending-machines-in-japan/) Would you be willing to watch a 30-second advertisement on a vending machine to get a free drink? According to a vending machine operator [Apex Corp](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/monster-energy), soon, “thirsty Japanese customers will be able to drink [coffee or other non-alcoholic beverages](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-free-coffee) at a low price or even for free — as long as they watch a 30-second advertisement on the vending machines.” Apex said it expected to roll out the service to “turn its machines into a new medium for advertisers, who will pick up the partial or full cost of drinks” next month. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.0/10 - Popularity: 64% | Activity: 78% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Business](https://www.trendhunter.com/business) > [Market](https://www.trendhunter.com/market) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Ad-supported Vending Machines:** Opportunity for vending machine operators to generate revenue through advertisements and offer free or low-priced drinks to customers. - **Alternative Advertising Models:** Potential for advertisers to explore new mediums for reaching consumers and engaging with them directly through vending machines. - **Consumer Engagement Through Commercials:** An innovative way for brands to connect with consumers by delivering short advertisements in exchange for free drinks. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Vending Machine Industry:** Disruptive innovation opportunity to transform the traditional vending machine business model by incorporating ad-supported drink offerings. - **Advertising Industry:** Potential for advertisers to leverage vending machines as a new advertising platform for reaching and engaging with target audiences. - **Beverage Industry:** Opportunity to partner with vending machine operators and explore innovative marketing strategies that leverage ad-supported free drink offerings. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Heat-Sensitive Vending Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/heat-sensitive-vending-machine.md) - [Hydrogen-Powered Vending Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hydrogenpowered-vending-machine.md) - [Bottle-Free Beverage Dispensers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bon-aqua-water-bar.md) - [Product Refill Vending Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/refillable-vending-machines.md) - [AI Beer Vending Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/beer-vending-machines.md) - [Smart Vending Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/smart-vending-machines.md) - [BYO Bottle Drink Stations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/refilled-refiller-stations.md) - [Beer-Dispensing Guitar Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/slay-to-pay.md) - [Underwater Vending Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/underwater-vending-machine.md)