What Coke’s new ads don’t tell you
by: Laura Nixon and Pamela Mejia
posted on Friday, January 18, 2013
Coca-Cola released a new commercial this week, part of a campaign claiming the company wants to help solve obesity and promoting the changes it’s made to its products — like low and no-calorie options.
Here’s one reality that the glossy, upbeat ads cover up: The way that Coke and other companies aggressively market their most harmful products to low-income communities of color, and the fact that if Coke REALLY wanted to fight the epidemic, it’d stop targeting low-income children of color with millions of dollars in advertising.
As Coke’s feel-good new ads were flooding the airwaves this week, researchers released a study showing that kids are still getting huge amounts of calories from sugary drinks like the ones Coke sells, and low-income and African-American children are consuming far more of these unhealthy drinks.
Anyone committed to ending childhood obesity in his or her community shouldn’t be fooled. No matter what the company’s slick commercials suggest, Coca-Cola isn’t doing all it could be to protect children’s health.