Coke Blames Consumers for Obesity

Coke has fallen into the calorie quagmire and is looking for something to grab on to pull itself out.

It appears Coke is blaming us for a lack of discipline leading to over consumption and ultimately obesity.

Coke’s “Coming Together” is a good spot until it points its finger at consumers, scolding us about how “all calories count, no matter where they come from”.

Coke missed a huge opportunity with this spot. To think that Coca-Cola was crazy enough to open this door—a door promising complete transparency—and then failed to meet the standard it was pretending to set is amazing.

A brand must have a commitment to its story. Coke’s product line and its efforts to make the world a healthier, more active place are indeed part of its narrative, but Coke went too far. It is hard to believe that Coke will offer anything of value in the fight to rid our world of obesity. The two-minute spot concludes without a promise to take action or an answer to how we can all make a real difference.

Coke is on thin ice here. Currently the official Coke Facebook page has nearly 58 million Likes. Telling millions of customers that a) Coke is promising to take action against obesity, and b) sorry customers – if you’re fat – it’s your lack of discipline – these are clearly risky story lines.

Perhaps the brains at Coke are coming up with research that singing offsets obesity. The findings will be an ideal opportunity for Coke to lead the charge in “teaching the world to sing”.