Thursday, October 12, 2006
What do diet soda and calorie-burning sparkling green tea have in common?
Well now that you've asked...they both are brought to you by Coca-Cola.
What the &^%@>> are you talking about you ask? Well it's true. Drink three cans of Enviga and you can lose an average of 106 calories. This is the promise Coca-Cola is making in regards to its new line of sparkling green teas launching next month, according to Brand Week.
I can think of a lot of things to wax poetic on this issue, but the two main ones that come to mind are 1) what's a company - whose main goal has been to refresh our parched pallets primarily with carbonated beverages - doing making what amounts to a "drug" of sorts aimed at burning calories and by extension getting into the weight loss business? and 2) do we as consumers give them permission to go there? Are they believable in this area? Do we give them license to burn our fat?
Clearly, the company is addressing a key societal issue. Today, taking about weight issues and obesity, specifically, as an epidemic in our nation is the new black.
According to NewsTarget the diet industry was a hefty $46.3 billion and is projected to tilt the scale at $61 billion by 2008 and Coca-Cola wants their share of it. Coca-Cola plans to develop marketing messages that will position Enviga as a “delicious, refreshing sparkling green tea proven to burn calories,” said Deborah Roberts, senior brand manager Enviga, Coca-Cola North America. What the ^^%#@@? Are we buying this? Really people, let me know.
Coca-Cola says their drink is the real deal. “When they see the science behind it and the claims are not just pulled out of a hat, I hope they’ll use this as the benchmark to judge other products. There are a lot of products out there [making promises]. ”One such product is Celsius calorie-burning soda created by a Delray Beach, Fla., company, which is currently available in five different flavors.
Somehow this just smells like marketing to me. I don't believe for a second that Coke cares about my health. They're just pissed off that there is another brand out there making money from the diet craze and is determined to use their marketing might to put an end to it. So... the question is: how far should a brand stretch its image in the name of the almighty dollar???. I for one will give Starbucks license to sell CDs and books with my coffee. But carbonated-sugary soda and a calorie burning green tea from Coke...not so much. Tell me I'm wrong!!
Faith
Comments:
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I have not heard of this drink, but I don't get why people demonize soda and other foods. There's no reason to not drink soda if you enjoy it. Just have it in moderation, as you would with everything else.
Toby,
Thanks for your comment. I want to be sure you understood the point of the post. It's not about bashing diet soda or those who love it. Rather, the issue is centered around the key question: should a brand that is primarily focused on developing soda should be getting into the weight loss business? It's a bit of a stretch. It comes out of left field for a brand like Coca-Cola that has spent billions of dollars crafting their image as the "Real Thing", to now say, but we can also help you loose weight. Consumers are smarter than companies give them credit for.
Thanks for your comment. I want to be sure you understood the point of the post. It's not about bashing diet soda or those who love it. Rather, the issue is centered around the key question: should a brand that is primarily focused on developing soda should be getting into the weight loss business? It's a bit of a stretch. It comes out of left field for a brand like Coca-Cola that has spent billions of dollars crafting their image as the "Real Thing", to now say, but we can also help you loose weight. Consumers are smarter than companies give them credit for.
My comment isn't so much relevant either, (and somewhat outdated) but I read in my Fitness magazine last night that while this stuff does have the potential to burn between 60-100 calories a pop, in the long run it's not enough of a difference to rely on it as a serious weight loss aide.
In addition, there have been many studies that suggest green tea will help boost your metabolism, so you can get the same benefit by drinking good old fashioned organic green tea, and not Cola-Cola's Frankenbeverage.
I too, am a little skeptical of Coca-Cola wanting to help me lose weight, but at the same time a sparkling green tea beverage does sound a bit intriguing!
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In addition, there have been many studies that suggest green tea will help boost your metabolism, so you can get the same benefit by drinking good old fashioned organic green tea, and not Cola-Cola's Frankenbeverage.
I too, am a little skeptical of Coca-Cola wanting to help me lose weight, but at the same time a sparkling green tea beverage does sound a bit intriguing!
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