Yet again, Coca Cola has spurred the office into debate this week (look back at our Coke loyalty scheme blog post here). The soft drink giant has officially announced the steps it will take to move towards combating child-obesity worldwide. It’s four new pledges, one of which promising that it will cease all marketing activities for all of its 200+ products to under-12s, is a brave and admirable move from the super-brand.
In the UK, HFSS (high fat, salt and sugar) adverts aimed at children aged 4-15 have already been banned from TV, but for Coca-Cola to rule out all of its marketing activities towards children in this age group is a big step, especially to make this a global commitment.
However, it is safe to say that Coca-Cola is such an established brand and a desirable product that terminating this information is not likely to do the brand any harm. It is also a fair comment that children under 12 are not the main buyers and it is likely that it will be their parents/families that purchase these products anyway. Smart move Coca Cola!
Overall, it’s a pledge that will boost Coca Cola’s reputation, but on the whole, probably won’t make that much of a difference.
What do you think? Should other HFSS food and drink companies follow in Coca-Cola’s footsteps? Or do you think rules and legislations are becoming too controlling?