Android KitKat: Is Nestle tie-in a PR disaster for Google?

Android KitKat co-op with Nestle is fraught with consequences, says Damien McFerran

It's easy to imagine the looks of glee on the faces of Nestlé executives when they masterminded the idea of working with Google to make "KitKat" the official codename of the Android 4.4 update. Google's penchant for naming its software iterations after sweets and confectionary was an open goal as far as marketeers were concerned - the biggest shock is that it's taken this long for one of these massive food companies to hook up with the search giant.Android Key Lime Pie is DEAD. Long live Android KitKatBoth Google and Nestle insist that no money has changed hands as a result of the agreement, but I'd be willing to bet that the cafeteria in Google's HQ will have no shortage of the chocolate snack for the foreseeable future. Filthy lucre aside, it's clear that both companies see the benefit of linking with another powerful brand. For Google, its software gets additional exposure in the most unlikely of places - the sweet aisle of your supermarket - while Nestlé can now ride on the coattails of the world's most popular mobile operating system. However, since the news was announced there's been something of a frosty reception online, with many bringing up Nestlé's shadowy past. The company has run into all kinds of trouble over the past few decades, most notably with its aggressive marketing of its infant baby formula in developing countries - a move which led to a 1977 boycott in North America which remains in place even to this day. Given that Google's slogan is "Don't Be Evil", some critics have pointed out that it risks a PR disaster by allying itself with a company which has come under fire so often in the past.Google has of course remained tight-lipped on any reservations it may have regarding the relationship. Ironically, it seems to be Nestlé which feels it is most at risk - the company's marketing chief Patrice Bula joked with the BBC that he may be "fired" if Google's new OS is particularly crash-prone or comes littered with bugs. However, given Nestlé's bad publicity in the past regarding product recalls, child labour and horsemeat, it could be Google which stands to lose the most.Since the news was announced many have taken to Twitter to voice their concern. Tech and gaming journalist John Walker stated: "Oh come on, Google are branding Android with sodding Nestle?! Have they changed their slogan to "Do as much evil as we possibly can"?" Fellow Twitter user Torodd Røhjell replied: "Well, it's a good way to push me back to Apple, after four years on Android." Tech journalist Mic Wright - writing for the Telegraph - made very much the same point, stating that it was inconceivable that someone at Google didn't think to do a simple web search on Nestlé and its past misdemeanors - before making the slightly less valid observation that Aero is a superior chocolate product (which anyone with taste buds knows is false).Joking aside, such corporate liaisons are rarely what they seem. The new KitKat website is fantastic, cleverly poking fun at how mobile phones are marketed, but behind the cute promotion and smiling faces there lies something rather more sinister - something which Google may have been better off avoiding. While millions of KitKat wrappers all over the world will now feature that familiar green robot, how many potential customers will turn away from Android due to its connection with Nestlé?