1. Do you believe that soft drinks and other sugared beverages contribute to obesity, diabetes, and other health-related issues?

2. Assess Coca-Cola€™s response to the obesity controversy.

3. Do you think Coca-Cola and its advertising agencies can develop a compelling new global campaign that acknowledges issues such as obesity? Does it make sense to continue the happiness theme?

The Coca-Cola Company is no stranger to publicity. Because of its status as the world€™s largest beverage company and its presence in more than 200 countries, Coca-Cola is often the target of antiglobalization protests. Water scarcity is a key issue in many countries. In India, villagers protested the company€™s water consumption in areas severely affected by drought (see Exhibit 13-7). In response, the company has closed two bottling plants while insisting that allegations about excessive water usage were false.

Similarly, before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, activists and various nongovernmental groups (NGOs) such as Students for a Free Tibet and Dreams for Darfur made their voices heard. They targeted Coca-Cola and other global companies that had spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising and public relations campaigns associated with the Games and the Olympic torch relay. The activists, thoroughly steeped in modern PR tactics, used text messaging, blogs, and other tools to spread messages and organize protests that threatened to undermine and overshadow the carefully cultivated image of Olympic harmony. For example, some protests were staged to call attention to a Beijing€™s crackdown in Tibet and its economic ties with the government of Sudan, the North African country where a deadly civil war was raging in the Darfur region. The activists opposed Coke€™s relationship with China in view of the latter€™s support of a repressive regime. E. Neville Isdell, who was chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company at the time, responded to activists€™ concerns at Coke€™s annual shareholder meeting and in newspaper opinion page letters. China is an important market for the soft-drink and beverage giant: China is part of the Asia-Pacific region, Coca-Cola€™s second largest region by revenue. As Isdell told the Financial Times, €œWe are neither a government nor the United Nations, but we can and must be a catalyst for change through actions that are appropriate for a business to take.€ Those actions included committing resources to ensure that relief supplies reached Darfur and addressing the pressing need for fresh water and sanitation for residents who had been displaced by the fighting.

Prior to retiring in 2009, Isdell guided the company toward greater transparency in its global operations. Isdell also wanted to make sure that the public would perceive Coke as a global leader in corporate social responsibility. To do this, he began forging relationships and partnerships with NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund. The company has set a goal that by 2020 it will be replenishing global water supplies with an amount of water equal to that required to produce finished beverages.

Ad Age €œMarketer of the Year€
Of course, Coca-Cola€™s marketing communications entail much more than public relations efforts to deal with bad publicity. In fact, Advertising Age magazine honored the company as Marketer of the Year in 2011. This was due in part to the fact that Diet Coke slipped past Pepsi as the number 2 soft drink in the United States. Also, Minute Maid Pulpy, which was launched in China, had become a billion-dollar brand. And, for the entire decade of the 2000s, Coca-Cola had ranked number 1 on Interbrand€™s list of most-valuable global brands.

Coca-Cola showcased its brand at Shanghai Expo in 2010. Coca- Cola€™s red-and-white pavilion€”€œThe Happiness Factory€€”featured animated characters and creatures that introduced visitors to €œa world refreshed by happiness.€ In addition, Coke showcased PlantBottle, a packaging innovation that uses plastic and plant-based material. Visitors were also treated to cans of Coke that freeze when they are opened. Why was Coke present at Expo 2010? As Ted Ryan, a manager at Coca-Cola, said, €œOur goal is to be considered the premier drinks brand; who else would be there? It has got to be Coca-Cola.€

Exhibit 13-7

Transcribed Image Text:

Water Belongs ToPeaple Not To lola Cola