Coca-Cola has recently unveiled a new advert aimed at informing people about the dangers of consuming too many calories and how they want to do their part to help. It talks about what the brand have done so far such as providing low or zero calorie options for all their drinks and their plans to release a range of smaller sized versions of their most popular beverages. They also released a second advert showing ‘fun’ ways you could burn off the 140 calories contained within the average can of coke. But is this an earnest attempt to make the world a bit healthier or just another marketing ploy?
The release of the ad couldn’t have come at a more crucial time, from New York City’s ban on large soda containers to attempts to impose sugar taxes on beverages, attacks on soft drinks companies increased last year. People are very aware of the role soda plays in the obesity problem – it is the single biggest source of calories in our diet, accounting for 7%, yet this doesn’t seem to stop the majority of people consuming them on a daily basis. In the same vein as many of their other adverts it’s a feel-good affair full of smiling, svelte young things, far from the reality for the majority of regular-consumers. When asked about the campaign Stuart Kronauge, general manager of sparkling beverages for Coca-Cola North America, told the Associated Press. “There’s an important conversation going on about obesity out there, and we want to be a part of the conversation”.
The truth is as New York Times food writer Mark Bittman wrote “It’s good that Coke recognizes (the problem) and is beginning to apologize. But all calories are not the same – those from soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are actually worse than others. SO it’s up to us to remember that Coke makes its money selling sugar-sweetened beverages, and even when they’re apologizing for that, as they appear to be doing here – they’re selling them.” Furthermore although it’s true that calories are a key factor in the declining health of the US and the UK, the drinks Coca-Cola sells often come with a host of other issues. A parody video has been made by YouTube user calling himself John Pemberton (John Pemberton being the inventor of Coca-Cola) who re-dubbed the original video – “Even though we’ve reduced the calories per serving, these beverages can still cause kidney problems, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cell damage and rotting teeth.” adding “If you choose to live a healthy lifestyle you should not be drinking any of our products.”
In the US and Canada diet soft drinks make up almost a third of sales and general consumption of soda has steadily fallen over the past 15 years, it could be that we really are becoming more savvy about the dangers and if Coca-Cola don’t start making more moves like this they risk falling behind the curve. Of course there is room for fizzy drinks in a healthy and active lifestyle but it’s undeniable that they’re not the best for you, especially for the young children that are often the most highly influenced. Perhaps any move to spread the message about the dangers of obesity is worth it but in a move that seems a little too much like damage control and an attempt to disarm the public it’s hard to say whether this new ad is a step in the right direction.
Image Credits: news.sky.com, bbc.co.uk