Gabriel Cheung’s Blog post on the launch of the Coca-Cola advertising campaign that triggered my interest. Gabriel talks about how Coca-Cola is trying to promote a healthier lifestyle by trying to have a leading role in the fight against obesity. He also mentions that Coca-Cola should have tried to promote its brand in another way and not through the concept of being a healthy product.
I agree with Gabriel as there’s a dichotomy between being healthy and active and having coca cola identified as part of an unhealthy diet. In consumers’ minds coca-cola is perceived as a tasty but also as an unhealthy beverage and this links us directly to what we have talked in class about brand positioning.I believe that Coca-Cola, by trying to alter consumers perception about its product, won’t enhance the brand at all.People are misled, promoting health is exactly opposite from what the product truly is.
On top of that, their ad campaign of convincing people that aspartame is a healthy alternative to sugar has even a more negative impact on the company. Aspartame, according to several studies, is dangerous because it increases weight gain and can cause certain cancers.
Sources:
http://www.alternet.org/food/why-coca-colas-new-ad-campaign-may-be-dangerous-your-health
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
photo source:
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-coca-cola-146573