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Coca-Cola Is Rolling Out a New Ad Campaign to Address This Issue for the First Time

Jan. 14, 2013 4:16pm Becket Adams

Courtesy Coca-Cola

NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) — Coca-Cola became one of the world’s most powerful brands by equating its soft drinks with happiness. Now it’s taking to the airwaves for the first time to address a growing cloud over the industry: obesity.

The Atlanta-based company on Monday will begin airing a two-minute spot during the highest-rated shows on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC in hopes of flexing its marketing muscle in the debate over sodas and their impact on public health. The ad lays out Coca-Cola’s record of providing drinks with fewer calories over the years and notes that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind — not just soda.

In the ad, a narrator notes that obesity is an issue that “concerns all of us” but that people can make a difference when they “come together.” The spot was produced by the ad agencies Brighthouse and Citizen2 and is intended to tout Coca-Cola’s corporate responsibility to cable news viewers.

The company said its ads aren’t a reaction to negative public sentiment, however. Instead, the idea is to raise awareness about lower-calorie drinks and what it plans to do in coming months, said Stuart Kronauge, general manager of sparkling beverages for Coca-Cola North America.

“There’s an important conversation going on about obesity out there, and we want to be a part of the conversation,” she said.

Another ad, which will run later this week during “American Idol” and before the Super Bowl, is much more reminiscent of catchy, upbeat advertising people have come to expect from Coca-Cola. It features a montage of activities that add up to burning off the “140 happy calories” in a can of Coke: walking a dog, dancing, sharing a laugh with friends and doing a victory dance after bowling a strike.

The 30-second ad, a version of which ran in Brazil last month, is intended to address confusion about the number of calories in soda, said Diana Garza Ciarlante, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Co. She said the company’s consumer research showed people thought there were as many as 900 calories in a can of soda.

When talking about calories and weight gain, Garza Ciarlante noted that the company had to be careful with the ads to remain consistent with its brand voice and avoid sounding “preachy.”

For Coca-Cola, the world’s No. 1 beverage company, the ads reflect the mounting pressures on the broader industry. Later this year, New York City is set to put into effect a first-in-the-nation cap on the size of soft drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas, and other venues. The mayor of Cambridge, Mass., has already proposed a similar measure, saying she was inspired by New York’s move.

The company declined to say how much it was spending on the commercials, which it started putting together last summer. Furthermore, Coca-Cola declined to give details on what it plans for the year ahead.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Featured image courtesy Getty Images. This post has been updated.

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Comments (43)

Dismayed Veteran
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:27pm
For the last 30 years, I drink ice water for hydration and Johnny Walker Black for pleasure. I am pretty sure the water created that spare tire around my middle.

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phunkymunkey
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:08am
Thank goodness my friend was able to post my bail – just got thrown in the slammer for carrying .02 oz. over the legal limit of soda when i was in NY. My lawyer tells me to expect to serve between at least 5-7 years in a maximum security facility because I didnt have a licence to carry a concealed cola… Seems just a tad harsh. 3-4 years i could totally understand- i mean, think of all those impressionable young kids who saw me drinking such an exhorbitant amount of soda, now they’re going to become morbidly obese and one day require richard simmons to knock down a wall and hire a forklift just to get them out if their section-8 housing units. What have i done??!!?! Thanks to my compulsive criminal cola addiction, countless children will stuff their faces with biggie-sized fries and tubs of cherry garcia! I guess i really do deserve the maximum sentence. I can only hope that you readers will learn from my tragic story…

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- cptenn94
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:13am
  That was good. Made me chuckle.
  
  Report this comment
- castious
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:21am
  LOL iyuh PhunkyMunky your post made laugh so hard that i almost pissed my pants HeHeHeHe :)
  
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patriotteapress
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:43am
What really concerns me about soda’s is the DHMO (dihyrogen monoxide). No one ever talks about it. People dye from the stuff every year, yet soda’s are full of it. If you don’t know what DHMO is, it’s one of the things they make rocket fuel from. It’s also one of the suspected chemicals in chemtrails. I’m tired of the “big” corporations feeding us chemicals. Until they quit putting this stuff in our soda’s, I’m going to just drink bottled water.

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- castious
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:18am
  Also good old well water is cheaper than water in plastic bottles and better for your health to.By the way you can flaver water with any taste you want my favorit is coffee flavor. :)
  
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- listeninginVT
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:25am
  the ‘carmel flavoring’ = carcinogen; High Fructose corn Surup= disrupts chemical reactions in body and neurotransmitters. ‘artificial sweeteners’ = chemical component, breaks down into 3 by-products, one that causes cluster and reg. tumors, another is an excitotoxin, turns up the cells activity until it dies off, think of holding your gas down to highest rev. on your car until the engine explodes, the third breaks down from wood alcohol and into formaldehyde, you know the stuff to ‘preserve bodies’, that they had to stop using as it was also killing the coroners and mortuary workers, yeah, that stuff, the sweetener also CAUSES weight gain with all the messing around with natural chemical reactions in the body. Also, it isn’t the ‘calories’ that is the problem it’s the chemical CRAP that constitutes the soda itself.
  
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paultard
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:56pm
Get Rid of High Fructose Corn Syrup and return to CANE sugar not Monsanto GMO sugar from sugar beets and you will have a good product again. If they really wanted to be “healthier” they could use raw cane sugar.or cane juice.

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- brigott
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:00am
  Sugar is sugar, and you body can’t tell, nor does it care, what plant made the sugar. Corn syrup or cane sugar – if it’s sugar, it’s sugar.
  
  Report this comment
- christos
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:44am
  brigott – Wrong fructose corn syrup turns into fat because the body does not recognize fructose corn syrup so the body turns it into FAT,everything eaten a body turns into glucose,sugar also depletes a body’s bones of minerals,to much sugar will signal your body to produce more insulin,raw honey is the Best sweetner it absorbs into your bodies cells without spiking your glycemic index,cane sugar is also good not to much though,,,Plant Science is Fascinating,,,
  
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- sillyfreshness
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:53am
  Suger is 50% sucrose and 50% fructose. High fructose corn syrup is 55% fructose and 45% sucrose. Your body processes it differently for whatever reason. You buy soda almost anywhere else in the world and it’s made with sugar. The big corporations in the US like ADM got deals with Coke and Pepsi to use HFCS. Like I said, stick with tea. It’s got holistic health benefits and soda has zero health benefits. Plus tea is dirt cheap. The acid from soda eats away at your tooth enamel and the sugar or HFCS rots your teeth. Soda is unhealthy, so stick with tea or water.
  
  Report this comment
johnsell
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:38pm
Stevia is coming to the rescue with Zero calories!

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Beachbaby
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 7:30pm
Dear Coke, I love you so much. I cannot and will not live without you. I admit to drinking 4 5 6 a day for a decade or two. I can go about three days without a coke. It helps my tummy troubles, I do not take zantac or such. It keeps me healthy and feeling good. My weight has always been about five lbs more than govt stats say what is healthy. Coke and Levis are the two most awesome products the world will ever know.

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- sillyfreshness
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:39pm
  Drink tea, hot or cold. You can get about 20 gallons of tea for $10 at Sams. That same 20 gallons of Coke will cost around $200. Tea is good for you, Coke has zero nutritional value. Stick with tea.
  
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- kaydeebeau
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:08am
  for $20 you can buy a car load of tea bags a brew your own…..
  
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dodgedart1966
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 7:09pm
I like it. What they’re saying is “Don’t blame us. If you’re fat, get off your ass and move around.”
Exactly what the libs don’t want to hear. That means personal responsibilty.

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the-most-interesting-troll-in-the-world
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:14pm
I don’t always drink Coca-Cola, but when I do, I prefer Coke Zero.

Stay Zeroed Out, my friends!

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Verceofreason
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:34pm
Diet soda?
Why would you drink soda anyhow?

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:04pm
  why do you give a crap about what other people drink?
  
  do you wear underwear?
  why?
  it’s not “necessary”.
  
  do you eat ice cream?
  watch TV?
  buy organic coconut shampoo?
  
  do you enjoy any gluttonous pleasures at all?
  
  Report this comment
- dodgedart1966
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 7:17pm
  Eastinfection—I don’t wear underwear on the weekends, just free floating all day.
  You’ve got to let them breathe once in a while.
  
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- Verceofreason
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:44pm
  A little alcohol is good for you studies show.
  
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Verceofreason
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:32pm
The ad misses the point -deliberately.
Just like cigarettes, this is a useless, non essentional product and expensive!
One cannot even call it a food product.

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:45pm
  don’t want it?
  don’t buy it.
  
  Report this comment
- welovetheUSA
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:48pm
  I donot care what its called…this is a free country if people cannot control their intake of anything..candy..booze..ice cream whatever…its not the fault of the producer, period.
  
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- 777jenn
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:54pm
  I love CokeZero….a little too much. But around THIS time of evening I enjoy a tasty India Pale Ale.
  
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- Free_Thinker
  Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:19am
  @ EASTINFECTION
  
  That’s how is should be with all products! Especially guns, booze and obama care.
  
  Report this comment
SocialistSlayer
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:26pm
And of course the Ad shows a Fat White Guy – Why not Fat Black Guys, Latinos, Fat India People, Fat Muslims ???? Why because they don’t want to offend anyone but it’s okay to offend the White Population ! I’m selling my Coca Cola stock !

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kickagrandma
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:01pm
Years ago I noticed that the flavor of Coke wasn’t the same as years before. It seems to have grown progressively worse. I am saying this because I am a life-time drinker of Coca Cola, that would be 60+ years. I much, much, much prefer it over poopsie cola which I tried for a while. HOWEVER, one diet coke a day for over 30 years did put a funny ring around my middle… no where else…. just a ring. After months of trying to break myself of the habit of a diet coke a day, I made it. The ring is no longer there. Just sayin’….

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- SCREW-WINDOWS
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:11pm
  Thanks to High Fructose Corn Syrup nothing taste the same just fattening the cattle for slaughter.
  
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- safetharbor
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:36pm
  I had the same experience. Thought it was the Jack Daniels.
  
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- Winedude
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:39pm
  High fructose corn sweetner probably should be banned as a toxin. That being said, the only sweet Coke I drink has to be Vanilla flavored. When I go overseas, especially to Latin America, I enjoy a Coke a day with the good old cane sugar sweetener. Vanilla Coke in Australia is awesome! Vanilla Coke Zero isn’t too bad. I avoid Pepsi when at all possible.
  
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Duey2000
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:56pm
My doc told me to lose weight. I ditched regular soda for diet and dropped 12 lbs instantly. Coca-Cola is just getting to it before the government forces them to.

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DEFCON4
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:49pm
……this just in….All coca-cola ‘products’, now banned in New York City……………

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flatbroke
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:38pm
I have a coke, 1 about every two weeks, no more than that, drink mostly water, flavored water with the packets, tea, coffee, because of the calories. I could never drink 32-64 ounce soft drinks you get at FF resturants anyway, the ice melts before i can drink all of it, then i have to dump the rest out, because it gets diluted and tastes like crap. its just common sense, but i guess that dead for a lot of people, and they want the gobment to step in, and this always leads to trouble.

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RJJinGadsden
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:30pm
Hell, I like Coca Cola. Far better than the overly sweet Pepsi, in my humble opinion that is. I might even drink three or four of them a year.

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GhostOfJefferson
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:27pm
Yeah, looks like Bite The Wax Tadpole has caved before they were even pressured to cave. Typical of mecantilist mega-business.

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Eastinfection
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:25pm
i drink a ton of soda and i’ve weighed 160 lbs for 25yrs.

it’s a simple recipe..

if you have fast metabolism and don’t spend all of your time sitting on your butt, you can drink all the soda you want.
if you have a slow metabolism, you have to get some serious exercise if you want to consume huge quantities of calories.
it’s not the soda’s fault… it’s you and your body.
THEY shouldn’t adapt- you should.

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- @leftfighter
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:51pm
  Amen.
  
  I think I’ve done that diet before. It’s called the “Shut Your Pie Hole And Get On A Treadmill Diet.”
  
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- SCREW-WINDOWS
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 5:15pm
  I weighed 197 out of boot camp no fat all muscle and would be considered obese by todays standards.
  
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Rowgue
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:24pm
There is no mounting pressure other than from moronic politicians.

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GoodStuff
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:22pm
High-fructose corn syrup will destroy your body…but go right ahead.

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Cavallo
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:22pm
The government doesn’t care about weight, they don’t care about your health, they don’t care about your happiness. They care about control. They care about power. They ban and manage food and drink because it gives them power.

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CWPrequired
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 4:20pm
The fat police on the left are coming to take your soda along with your guns and bibles. It’s everyone’s fault in the left’s minds except for the person shoving the french fries in their mouth,pulling the trigger,etc. Liberals SUCK.

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