Location, location, location - the mantra, coined to sum up the most important qualities in the property market, nowadays means much more. It's used by everyone from people who know how important the correct location is on a Saturday night to companies conscious of the need to locate their brand in the most prominent place in the store. More recently, commercial organisations have spotted the importance of the school as an ideal location for their products. While this happens all over the world (and, over the past couple of years, increasingly in Ireland) the Americans - of course - have it down to a fine art.

A controversial deal, agreed two years ago between Coca Cola and a school district in Colorado Springs, Colorado, earlier this year gave rise to what was described as evidence that "the soft drink companies are turning schools into virtual sales agents for their products".

Andrew Hagel Shaw, a senior programme director with the Centre for Commercial-Free Public Education, went on to say: "These kinds of contracts are going to change the priorities from education to soda consumption."

A bit extreme, you might think. However, under the terms of the contract, the district will receive $8.4 million over 10 years: the district's end of the deal is to sell 70,000 cases of Coke products a year. However, when things were not quite going to plan - i.e., the sales target had not been reached - John Bushey, the school-district official who oversees the contract, sent a letter to school principals urging an increase of Coke sales in schools. He instructed principals to allow almost unlimited access to Coke machines. Back to the mantra: "Location, location, location is the key," he wrote. His letter even encouraged teachers to allow students to drink Coke in the classroom!

A spokesperson for Coca Cola denied there was a policy of set quotas: "It's up to the individual school districts. If they want to make more money by selling products, we'll work with them," said Scott Jacobson, a company spokesperson.

Some teachers were against the use of corporate sponsorship, feeling that if the school endorsed a certain product, the message to students would be: this product is good for you.

One teacher, in fact, used the promotional literature for a course on propaganda. The teacher, John Hawk, expressed concern with the way teachers and students were being increasingly manipulated by companies: "Schools used to be the one safe haven where kids weren't exposed to a constant barrage of advertising," he said. These days, however, "students and teachers need basic training on how to deal with the corporate invasion of every aspect of life."

But the opponents are in a minority, leading to a certain amount of fear that consumerism could replace learning as the main value in US public education.