Question

COMING TOGETHER” TO FIGHT OBESITY How many fun ways are there to burn off 140 calories? Many—at least according to a television commercial placed by Coca-Cola in January 2013 designed to remind drinkers of its regular sodas that they can fight obesity by “coming together” by engaging in activities such as dancing, walking, laughing, and playing sports. Another longer commercial was more serious in tone, offering more details on the ways in which the international corporation was trying to respond to concerns about increasing obesity through different product lines, calorie information, and activity promotion. The commercials ran on a host of broadcast and cable entertainment and news and before the 2013 Super Bowl game; in addition, newspaper ads, press interviews, and special events were employed. A “Serious, Complex Problem” The statistics about increasing individual weights in the United States and around the world were alarming—one in three adults and about one in six children and teens considered to be not just overweight but medically obese, many also affected by related illness such as diabetes. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sought to impose a cap on the size of soft drinks sold at regulated outlets in the city. After a United Nations report identified Mexico as the nation with the most overweight citizens, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto proposed enactment of a soda tax on sales of colas in his country where sodas are widely popular. The multinational corporation’s 2011/2012 Sustainability Report had identified the global problem of obesity as a “serious, complex problem.” According to the report, “As the world becomes more concerned about the public health consequences of obesity, some researchers and health advocates have unfairly blamed the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages as the cause.” The world’s largest beverage company, Coca-Cola markets more than 500 brands in more than 200 countries. Its Web site says it is the world leader in sales of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink juice and juice drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee. Fortune magazine recognized it as the sixth most admired company in 2014. The Corporate Response Coke said it planned to work with a variety of governmental and private groups to address obesity in six ways: “We use evidence-based science. We innovate. We provide hydration choices and educate consumers about them. We inform with transparency. We market responsibly. We promote active, healthy living.” Consumers would be offered more informed choices about its products and on encouraging healthy lifestyles by partnering with other groups to fulfill its 2008 pledge to sponsor “at least one physical activity program in every country we operate in by the end of 2015.” The “Coming Together” Campaign is Launched In May 2013, the corporation announced a “Coming Together” campaign to focus attention on its anti-obesity commitments, which were noted on the campaign Web site as: ● Offer low- or no-calorie beverage options in every market. (According to its Web site, 19 of Coke’s 20 top brands have a low- or no-calorie alternative or are lowor no-calorie beverages.) ● Provide transparent nutrition information, featuring calories on the front of all packages. ● Help get more people moving by supporting physical activity programs in every country where it has business. ● Market responsibly, including no advertising to children under the age of 12 anywhere in the world (which the corporation interprets to mean advertising in outlets that have more than 35 percent children in the audience.) In a May 8, 2013, corporate release announcing the campaign, Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, was quoted: Obesity is today’s most challenging health issue, affecting nearly every family and community across the globe. It is a global societal problem which will take all of us working together and doing our part. We are committed to being part of the solution, working closely with partners from business, government and civil society. Today’s announcement is another step forward on our journey, as we take action with scale and reach across every country and continent where we operate. The campaign was kicked off in Atlanta, home of the headquarters of Coke Inc. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed joined CEO Kent who announced that the Coca-Cola Foundation was donating $3.8 million to Georgia programs that would encourage physical activity and nutrition education. One program, Georgia SHAPE, targets children with activities before, after and during school, and helps support nutrition education efforts in Georgia schools. Another initiative, Walk Georgia, from the University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension Service, challenged adults to exercise and then convert their activities into steps that could be tracked on a virtual state map. Seven other organizations or initiatives also received grants from the Foundation. But the focus was not just on Atlanta. Initiatives and activities were funded and/or sponsored around the globe. These included, among others, Copa Coca-Cola, youth soccer tournaments held at local, state, and national levels that culminate in an international tournament each summer; working with the Boys & Girls Club of America to offer an after-school education and exercise program called Triple Play; Mission Olympic that involves almost half of the secondary schools in the Netherlands in sports competitions; Marxa Beret, a cross-country skiing marathon cosponsored with Salomon; and Balanced Diet-Active Living, designed to educate students at 36 universities about diet, exercise, and nutrition. Visitors to the attractive Web site (http://www.cocacolacompany. com/coming-together/) were encouraged to read health tips, watch videos, participate in polls, and learn about Coke’s active-living initiatives around the globe. An October 22, 2013, release about the campaign noted: “The ‘Coming Together’ campaign reflects our belief that addressing obesity requires new ideas and the collective effort of all segments of society. It also provides another opportunity for engaging directly with our consumers.” Criticism of the Effort The U.K. Advertising Standards Agency banned the “happy calories” commercial in July 2013, arguing that the commercial did not make it clear that one would have to engage in all the activities depicted to burn enough calories to balance consumption of a CocaCola. Some bloggers criticized the Coke “Come Together” campaign as a calculated move to offset increased regulation of its products. Writing on the Forbes magazine Web site, Waters and Haar compared the Coke campaign to the 1954 newspaper ad campaign initiated by the Tobacco Research Institute titled “A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” that asserted a belief that tobacco products were not harmful to anyone’s health while accepting an interest in the health of its consumers as a basic business responsibility. In another critique of the initiative, a columnist on the Huffington Post asked why there was not a more active response to the campaign from opponents of “Big Soda.” The column pointed to the campaign developed by The Center for Science in the Public Interest that had produced an animated video titled “The Real Bears,” drawing on the polar bear images often used by Coca-Cola in its marketing. In the video, a family of bears grows fat and the father develops diabetes before the family finally pours its soda bottles into the ocean. A companion Web site (therealbears.org) developed by the Center offers the video and a text response called “The Truth” that offers counterpoints to statements made by soft-drink executives

Questions for Reflection  

What are the implications of this case for fostering mutually beneficial relationships with soft-drink consumers, and with other strategic stakeholders?

Answer 1

The implications of this case for fostering mutually beneficial relationships with soft-drink consumers, and with other strategic stakeholders are that the widespread consumption of aerated drinks and sweeteners are considered as bad for an individual's health and must be avoided at any cost by them since they also promote obesity and other health related problems which must be addressed and are big cause of worry for the individuals and forms implications for fostering mutually beneficial relationships with soft-drink consumers, and with other strategic stakeholders and issues with the widespread consumption of these soft drinks and other sweetened drinks.