Coca-Cola strikes back.

I live in Manhattan, where Mayor Bloomberg fought and won a battle to ban sugared sodas larger than 16 ounces.  (Lerner, 2012)  Now all the soda delivery trucks in the neighborhood have a billboard on the back that says – “Don’t let bureaucrats tell you what size beverage to buy.”  Whenever I see one, I fantasize about spray painting over the message – “Preserve your right to kill yourself by drinking too much soda!”

At this point you’d have to be in major denial (or not too bright) to not know about the health issues that have emerged for 2/3 of our population due to the consumption of too many calories.  Recent studies have pointed the finger squarely at sugared beverages.  Sugar-sweetened drinks are the single largest source of calories in our diet and account for 7% of our total calories while providing no nutritional value at all.  (Brody, 2012). 

I have found myself wondering why we aren’t just banning them outright, and have reached the sad conclusion that their low cal substitutes must be even more unhealthy than they are.  In fact, studies have suggested that Diet Coke sucks the potassium out of your body.  (Phillips, 2010).  So there’s no easy solution here.

But, with more than a few people recommending that we now fight soda consumption with the same multifaceted approach that has been used to reduce cigarette smoking it seems clear that change is on the horizon.  So it’s no wonder that Coca-Cola has decided to react.  They’ve posted two commercials on YouTube and quite frankly I find them to be very rational.  They point out that the company is giving consumers the freedom to make their own choices.  In fact, as someone commented perhaps they should make their new tagline:  “Coca-Cola:  It’s not our fault that you’re fat.”  (Forbes, 2013)  Needless to say they’re unlikely to make any meaningful contribution to the fight against obesity.  Here they are in case you missed them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zybnaPqzJ6s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByvHJ0uiXAo

On the other hand, there was a much more interesting editorial about the situation in the New York Times last week, pointing out that celebrities who would never dream of promoting cigarettes are thrilled to push soda.  Are you listening Beyonce?  (Bittman, 2013)

Just like with cigarettes the first step is to make drinking soda uncool.  I like that approach and hope that someone chooses to support it.  Which celebrity will step up first to do the right thing?

Lerner, G. (2012, September 14)  New York health board approves ban on large sodas.  cnn.com.  Retrieved  January 16, 2013, from http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/health/new-york-soda-ban/index.html

Brody, J. (2012, October 23)  In Fighting Obesity, Drink Sizes Matter.  New York Times. pD7

Phillips, K.  (2010, January 2)  Hypokalemia: Low Potassium.  insidershealth.com. Retrieved  January 16, 2013, from http://www.insidershealth.com/article/hypokalemia_low_potassium/3372

Forbes, T.  (2013, January 15)  Critics Jeer Coke’s Entrance Into Obesity Discussion.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved  January 16, 2013, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/191073/critics-jeer-cokes-entrance-into-obesity-discussi.html?edition=55434#axzz2I9KrK100

Bittman, M. (2013, January 5)  Why Do Stars Think It’s OK to Sell Soda?  nytimes.com.  Retrieved  January 16, 2013, from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/05/why-do-stars-think-its-o-k-to-sell-soda/

“GenVeg” is an idea whose time has come.

If like me you are still reeling from this week’s headline that 42% of Americans will be obese by the year 2030, (Finkelstein, Khavjou, Thompson, Trogdon, Pan, Sherry, Dietz, 2012) then you will be glad to hear that companies are starting to step up to help fight this critical battle. Birds Eye has joined the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), and made a $6 million dollar three-year commitment to ‘GenVeg’, a kid-targeted campaign.

Kids are not the easiest target to address, but with ads running on Nickelodeon’s iCarly featuring “one of America’s most well-known young stars” and a plan to use their input to create new vegetable products it does seem like the company has done its homework and may be successful in convincing kids to eat more veggies.

But, perhaps more important is the fact that they estimate that 1/3 of the ads will reach Women 26-54 with children 6-11, and household incomes of $30,000 or less.  And, a massive coupon program is part of the plan.  (Lukovitz, 2012)

In the long run, convincing the moms may be more important than the kids.  But what happens when the coupons run out?

Eric A. Finkelstein, PhD, MHA, Olga A. Khavjou, MA, Hope Thompson, BA, Justin G. Trogdon, PhD, Liping Pan, MD, MPH, Bettylou Sherry, PhD, RD,William Dietz, MD, PhD. (2012, June 12)  Obesity and Severe Obesity Forecasts Through 2030.  American Journal of Preventative Medicine.  Retrieved may 10, 2012, from

http://www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_33853-stamped2.pdf

Lukovitz, K. (2012, May 8)  Birds Eye Commits $6M To Kids’ “GenVeg’ Effort.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 9, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174162/birds-eye-commits-6m-to-kids-genveg-effort.html?edition=46608

How can we create anti-obesity advertising that works?

Given my strong belief that advertising can be used for the greater good, I have been following attempts to combat obesity with advertising closely.   This particular ad baffled me.  Since no one is actually going to walk from Queens to Manhattan (unless they are taking part in the NYC Marathon), I can’t help but wonder why anyone thought this would be motivating.

Well, it appears that I missed a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health.  The study tested three different messages about sugary drinks on teens.  The first two – “A typical bottle contains 250 calories,” and “This bottle contains about 10% of a teen’s recommended daily calories,” reduced the odds that teens would buy sugary drinks by 40%, while the final message – “You have to jog 50 minutes to burn off the calories in this drink” reduced the odds by 50%. (Wilson, 2011)

It seems likely that this study led to the above ad.  Yet, the phrasing in the study was clearly easier to grasp than the wording in the ad above. 

But perhaps the more important finding is that all the messages yielded encouraging results.  It reminds me of the broccoli tv advertising test, which I wrote about here…

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2010/12/yes-advertising-can-sell-broccoli.html

But I still think that we can do better.  Given that 67% of women want to lose weight, why not try a positive approach?  (Clark-Flory, 2008)

How would you respond to an ad that says “eliminate one sugary drink a day from your diet and you will lose 12 pounds in a year?”  I think it would get my attention.

Wilson, J. (2011, December 15)  Teenagers buy fewer sugary drinks with posted calorie count.  cnn.com.  Retrieved December 21, 2011, from
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/15/teenagers-buy-fewer-sugary-drinks-with-posted-calorie-count/

Clark-Flory., T. (2008, April 25)  Study: Most women “disordered eaters”. Self Magazine.  Retrieved June 14, 2009, from

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2008/04/25/eating/

Blanchard, K. (2011, December 6)  Weight loss research 2011: Top findings for a healthier New Year.  emaxhealth.com.  Retrieved December 21, 2011, from

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/weight-loss-research-2011-top-findings-healthier-new-year

Yes, advertising can sell broccoli!

12/16/10

In an effort to prove that television advertising does indeed work, The Television Bureau of Canada has proven our thesis that advertising can be used to increase consumption of healthy foods. Specifically, three spots they created and ran on television led to an 8% increase in broccoli sales. That’s 188,574 pounds. (Corr, 2010)

Here are the spots that did the trick if you want to check them out. I think we can all agree that they are not award winners. Yet, they worked. So perhaps they should be.

http://eater.com/archives/2010/10/01/broccoli-commercials-an-advertising-experiment-boost-sales-8.php

Let’s hope the folks in the U.S. healthcare sphere have taken note and are budgeting for their own future efforts. Obesity shortens life spans and increases healthcare costs. It’s time we used all the tools we have to fight this important battle. Don’t you agree?

Corr, A. (2010, December 13) Can TV Ads Really Sell Anything? Ask Broccoli. mediapost.com. Retrieved December 16, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=141233

Can advertising make people healthier?

6/24/10

People often rant about the evils of advertising, and how it forces people to buy things they don’t really want. I say prove it. Advertising is just a communications tool, and its power can be harnessed for good or bad purposes. I just wish it would be used more for the former.

A good place to start is by addressing the obesity crisis. But how do we do that when 76% of people say they know that what they eat affects their health, but only 36% consider their diets to be healthy? (And don’t forget the fudge factor.)

The first step, as always, is to understand the target. A recent segmentation study has identified six distinct groups based on attitudes toward wellness. They are:
The I Give Ups (24%)
The Strugglers (14%)
The Immortals (16%)
The Fitterati (16%)
The Fact Finders (15%)
The Heath Gurus (15%)
(Banikarim, 2010)

While the data has not been crossed referenced with health issues, it seems fairly likely that the first group would be the one most in need of encouragement; and given that it’s the largest, a good place to start.

Research shows that this group is overwhelmed by the amount of things they need to do to get healthy. That suggests simplifying the information they are being given, and providing it in small sound bites with easy to follow changes might work.

What do you think? Does this seem like a good direction? Or would we be better off addressing another segment – like the Fact Finders – and encouraging them to become advocates?


Banikarim, M. (2010, June 18). Weighing In On Health: Marketing Behavior Change. mediapost.com. Retrieved June 23, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=130480

Can advertising persuade people to eat healthier?

6/25/09

If as critics believe, advertising leads people to buy things they don’t need, then is the reverse also true? Can advertising help people to make smarter choices and eat better?

Here comes Tropicana to take a shot at it. Since their orange juice is 100% non-reconstituted juice, and contains no additives, it is uniquely positioned to tout the health properties of its product. They intend to start by focusing on the fact that 7 out of 10 adults, as well as most children, are not consuming the USDA-recommended 4 fruit servings per day.

Interestingly, according to the CMO, “We’ve learned a majority of orange juice drinkers are unaware that 100% orange juice contributes to their daily fruit intake”. (Lukovitz, 2009)

Hmm. What does this say about non-drinkers? Are they equally ignorant, or perhaps more so? Will this campaign help educate a public that just doesn’t want to know? Will it sell more Tropicana orange juice?

Lukovitz, K. (2009, June 16). Tropicana Promotes OJ As Daily Fruit Serving. mediapost.com. Retrived June 22, 2009 from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=108063