September 4, 2006
COCA-COLA is mounting a marketing campaign directed largely at mothers to combat perceptions that it is solely a maker of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
The company has set up a website devoted to raising awareness of the breadth of its product range.
Advertisements directing people to the website will appear in women's magazines in the next week.
This is the first time the company - rather than its brands - has communicated directly to consumers, which is widely read as a sign that it is reacting to negative publicity about the role of soft drinks in rising obesity levels.
Similar campaigns are under way in Europe and the United States as part of a global public relations campaign.
Students in some British universities are banning the sale of Coke on campuses and a number of Indian states have banned the sale of the drink on the ground that it contains pesticides, a charge Coca-Cola vigorously denies.
The company calculates that media coverage in Australia of the obesity issue has surged 70 per cent in the past three months.
Coca-Cola's managing director, Gareth Edgecombe, said the company would develop more products for its "wellness" range of waters, teas, juices and diet drinks.
Nutritionists have questioned the tone of the website and its focus on encouraging people to "hydrate" constantly.
It says: "If you're not in the mood for water, it's OK to also reach for something else you enjoy, like juice or a soft drink. Of course water is always the best choice; it's just not the only one."
The nutritionist Rosemary Stanton said: "You have to say it's an improvement if they are promoting products other than soft drinks, but really this is just clutching at straws."
Obesity and Nutrition
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