Coke Turns 125: Why I’m Not Celebrating
Posted May 5th, 2011 by Mike JacobsonCue the music; the gauzy, soft-focus ads; and the focus-grouped fridge magnets: Coca-Cola turns 125 this week.
Never a slouch in the self-promotion department, high-flying CEO Muhtar Kent had himself serenaded by a red-shirted “Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary Young People’s Chorus” to celebrate. Photos of the occasion have a vaguely authoritarian hue, as if the world’s biggest sugar water manufacturer subcontracted out its visuals to one of Pyongyang’s finest public relations firms.
Kent has something of a Ten Year Plan for the company, first floated in a chilly manifesto called “2020 Vision and Roadmap for Winning Together”—a doubling of Coca-Cola’s global revenue by 2020:
“We are laser-focused on targeting the right consumers with fully integrated global marketing campaigns that work on many levels, across many geographies and cultures, and leverage a rich variety of media and channels,” Kent says. “To target aging and affluent consumers globally, we are actively exploring new ingredients, new functionality and new occasions. At the same time, we are creating new strategies that are winning over a massive new generation of teens to drive growth of Trademark Coca-Cola.”
Whew! That’s a lot of “targeting” and “laser-focusing” and “winning over.” Unpacking all that Cokespeak, I think what Kent means is: “We want to sell more Coke to more kids more often everywhere in the world.” And that would be a public health disaster.
Besides carbonated water, “Coca-Cola’s main ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup. While no better or worse than regular sugar, that ingredient promotes weight gain and its offspring: obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Its next ingredient is “caramel coloring,” which despite the name has little to do with “caramel” as you know it. Produced with ammonia and sulfites, industrial “caramel coloring” is contaminated with two carcinogens, 4-methylimidazole and 2-methylimidazole. Phosphoric acid erodes tooth enamel. Caffeine is a mildly addictive drug, making the concoction mildly habit forming. And, despite the efforts of dissenting Coke shareholders, Coke lines its cans with the controversial, endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A. It’s as if this drink were specifically engineered to promote health problems.
Of course, back in 1886 when morphine-addled pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented the syrup that combines with carbonated water to make Coca-Cola, he had no idea that his concoction would become what it is today. According to the sanitized mythology on Coca-Cola.com, in its first year on sale at an Atlanta soda fountain, sales averaged just nine glasses a day.
Today, “liquid candy”—non-diet carbonated soft drinks—is the single largest source of American calories, providing about 7 percent of calories. According to our most recent Liquid Candy report, the average 13- to 18-year-old boy drinks about two 12-ounce cans of soda per day; girls of the same age drink the equivalent of one-and-a-third cans per day. Fortunately, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars Coke spends on marketing in the United States, consumption is declining. In fact, per capita sales of Coca-Cola itself have declined by 30 percent since 1998. That’s one of the best bits of health news around.
Thanks to many decades of sunny television advertising Coca-Cola conjures up warm and fuzzy feelings among many Americans. But I hope that in observance of this anniversary, policymakers and parents see through Coke’s manipulative marketing and do everything they can to drive Coke consumption down even further. Instead of doubling soda sales, as Kent envisions, let’s commit to cutting soda consumption far more by 2020. That would be a milestone worth celebrating.
27 Comments
May 5, 2011 at 7:10 pm by Eugene MeadeWith the advent of the bottlers using Sweeta [I don't think they have found anything harmful in THAT.]I have been drinking the DIET Sparkling Lemonade beverages that all of the three big bottlers have in their lines. There’s one called BRISK, another called Tropicana…the name of the third escapes me. Less gassy than 7Up and its ilk, I find it satisfyingly tasty and less boring than tap water. Our tap water (Santa Rosa, CA area) has an unpleasant chlorine taste. We put it through a pitcher-type deodorizer with activated charcoal filter. That eliminates the bad taste, but it’s still boring, now that I can no longer able to make and drink ale and wine.
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May 5, 2011 at 6:56 pm by judy fishmanWell–
All sodas are flavored water with real or artificial sweeteners. Some oddball sodas have real flavors. Mostly, however, it’s a chemically produced flavoring.
Water gets boring for me, too. I’ve become a rooibos tea drinker because it tastes good and is even supposed to be good for you. I sweeten it with stevia, which is supposed to be okay. Ditto with lemons and water.
Just because water does get boring doesn’t mean you’re stuck. There are many good flavors of teas and fruit juices to experiment with.
I haven’t bought soda for decades–my 40-something sons grew up without it. I figured they were better off with apple juice. Hope plain old apple juice wasn’t as pesticide-laden then. Now we should try to stick with organic.
Meanwhile, Coke has gotten rich at the expense of our well-being. Odd.
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May 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm by StephenThere would be no need for any of these drink companies to exist if people would just drink water. There is very little reason to drink anything else.
Just say no to soda. It’s not that difficult. No use trying to change these companies. Just stop buying their products!
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May 5, 2011 at 5:11 pm by L. TaylorI don’t drink soda unless there are no other options. However, I have no issue with those who choose to drink or sell soda. It is a personal preference. I will say that Coca Cola sells more than Coke. They also sell more healthful options, such as Odwalla and Vitamin Water. I LOVE Odwalla.
My second comment is on the incorrect statements regarding caramel color. Not all caramel color is the same. Also, the FDA has stated that the color used in Coke does not contain carcinogens.
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Michael Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:01 am
@L. Taylor,
Oh, the FDA said so…That is good enough for me!
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I was taught to drink diet coke in Weight Watchers in the ’70s when I was 12 and have been addicted ever sense. I would love for the harmful effects of the diet version to be highlighted as well. I am a health nut in all other ways but this one. I quit periodically but like an addict, I keep falling off the wagon. I am convinced that it causes endocrine issues with long term use but it will take decades to prove that if anyone even cares to try.
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May 5, 2011 at 4:24 pm by DebiI used to be a heavy Coke drinker. I also used to be 35 lbs overweight. I wised up. Now I drink only water and unsweetened hot tea. I see no good reason why anyone should ever drink soda.
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May 5, 2011 at 4:19 pm by D. BakerI am an undergraduate in the health sciences dept. at Kaplan University. They are teaching us right now in our health classes that science is coming to the conclusion that high fructose corn syrup does in fact cause diabetes. It is different than sugar, and it’s consuption in soft drinks is the leading cause of diabetes and obesity accross the globe.
Why should businesses and industries be allowed to make money by creating illness in humans. The tobacco industry is no different.
I love Coke, but I know how bad it is for me so I limit my consumption to drinking it maybe once a month. Teenagers don’t really care a whole lot about what is good for them and what is not, the stuff taste good!
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May 5, 2011 at 3:48 pm by K. GilbertWhile I do not agree that children should be drinking so much pop, I do think it is not our place to tell a business how to sell their product. It is not illegal to drink pop and I do not think regulations should be in place to stop pop consumption. To tell a business that they should try to reduce revenue just seems silly. They are in the business to make money. It is a parent’s responsibility to police their children and help them make good decisions.
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Kathy Reply:
May 5th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
@K. Gilbert,
I was taken aback by your vehemence. If your children are of an age in which they are able to make sensible & realistic choices, and have been educated & trained to recognize and protect the one body that they’ll have over the rest of their lives, I certainly agree with you.
Otherwise, I feel strongly that it’s the younger childrens’ parents’ responsibility to control what goes into their children’s mouths and bodies until those children can understand and and be able to make, or participate in making, these decisions that can impact their lives & health for as long as they live.
Your last sentence (at the end) says it all, but with so many parents working outside of the home, it can be very difficult for them to oversee their childrens’ choices. It is a parent’s responsibility to check on their children and help them make wise decisions.
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K.Gilbert Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 8:45 am
@Kathy, Good morning, Your reply to me really does not make much sense. The entire three paragraphs really has nothing to do with what I said. I said we should not be regulating Coke’s advertising as it is not illegal to drink pop.
I said it is the parents’ responsibility to police their children and teach them to make proper choices. You stated the same thing. So….. I am thinking we are on the same page of regulating our children.
In reference to people working outside of the house, I don’t think that matters. You are still a parent and if you are teaching your children rules and what is appropriate, they will do it 95% of the time away from you. you cannot micro manage your children.
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Zing Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 10:11 am
@K. Gilbert,
Look at your original post and replace all mentions of “drinking pop” with variations of the phrase “smoking cigarettes” and then read your posting again. Would you still agree with your original opinions? The effect too much soda on our overall heath is similar to that of cigarette smoking.
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K.Gilbert Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
@Zing, See above comment at Kathy – you are trying to say I said “drink away kids!” Well first off, I didn’t say that. I said parents should be parents, not the gov’t playing big brother. Second, in reference to smoking – it is illegal to smoke under 18, so if a minor is smoking, someone is breaking the law and once again AS A PARENT, YOU SHOULD BE EDUCATING YOUR CHILDREN NOT MICRO-MANAGING BUSINESSES.
And smoking and drinking pop are not the same. Jeez. You probably support the Chicago ban on brown bag lunches to ‘control’ bad foods at lunch. Have you seen school lunches? they are a bunch of garbage. Sounds more like the school food system getting benefits from the companies providing the hot ‘lunches’
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Matt K Reply:
May 6th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
@K.Gilbert, Just wanted to chime in to both you. Part of being a responsible parent is taking step to assure the community your children live and grow up in is appropriately safe. This counts even if you are parents who MUST work, thus farming your kids out to community programs. This includes what your schools are serving and teaching, what afterschool and community programs are doing AND what others in your community (including businesses) are promoting. Children and teens are extremely vunlerable to the “laser focused” marketing departments of large companies such as Coca-Cola. Do you really think its okay that the second you turn your back someone is conning your kids into drinking something that puts them at risk for chronic disease? That someone could be a TV, magazine, pop-up, or a sign, doesn’t matter, someone put those things there. Since Coca-cola has mastered the art of exploiting people for profit, does that really make it okay? It is not just about managing your kids, there is no way to do that BUT it is about managing your community, which all parents, as well as adults are obligated to do.
Dorrie Dunham Reply:
May 9th, 2011 at 9:55 am
@K.Gilbert,
I do not know where your school lunches are but here in the Fingerlakes NY we served a good school lunch!
Soooooooooooooo tired of everyone in the country saying all school lunch is garbage!
If your liunches are thagt bad go to school and sit down with the folks that matter offer a hand and make a difference. I fnot please be quiet!!!
Thank you, Dorrie Dunham
K.Gilbert Reply:
May 9th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
@Dorrie Dunham,
I looked up Finger Lakes, NY and your lunches are garbage as well. Corn Dog, Chicken Nuggets, meatball sub, BBQ Rib Sandwich – doesn’t sound like a great lunch to me.
@Matt K, Thank you for your polite reply. I can agree with you. However, the more rights we take away from people from making their own decisions creates more problems. I can only hope that my children learn from what we teach them and ask questions and try their best to make good decisions.
Doesn’t the Coca Cola company offer any healthy drinks? Sometimes water alone gets boring…
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May 5, 2011 at 3:39 pm by Lisa @ Healthful Sense“…we are actively exploring new ingredients, new functionality and new occasions. At the same time, we are creating new strategies that are winning over a massive new generation of teens to drive growth of Trademark Coca-Cola.”
Great… don’t parents’ have enough to worry about??
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PFFlyer Reply:
May 9th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
@Lisa @ Healthful Sense,
I agree, it’s not illegal to drink pop, nor should it be. And legal business has a right to make as much legal profit as they can.
But what goes into that pop SHOULD be regulated. Caramel flavoring? Caramel flavor? Maybe, maybe not. But what about HFSC? Caffeine? And how much? Or Cocaine? Or carcinogens?
How do you feel about Red Bull being marketed to your 8 year old? After all, it’s just caffeine, and kids get caffeine in chocolate & tea. What if Starbucks started marketing coffee to your 4th grader with a big dose of HFSC & heavy cream? Yummy! (I actually do like Starbucks, & am VERY thankful they don’t target my kids).
Should we consider a rating system for foods? G, PG13, R, X?
So let’s focus on the individual ingredients that appear in all types of foods & drinks, and not whether or not all sodas should be banned.
PS: My personal favorites are Hansen Diet sodas, which use sucralose (most studied, least side effects).
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