Food

Former Coke executive slams ‘share of stomach’ marketing campaign

Former Coke executive slams ‘share of stomach’ marketing campaign - is the title of the article listed in washingtonpost which caught my attention because I am also a soda fan. It says "The logic behind these moves has been repeated so often it is practically a mantra: The nation is in the throes of an obesity crisis and sodas account for an outsize share of the sugar pouring into American bellies."

I attempted to stop drinking soda especially coca-cola products and I was able to make it but only for two (2) years and a half. Sometimes I noticed that I haven't taken a glass of water in a day and my stomach was full of softdrinks.

 Though I drink so many liters of soda, for the last 12 years I never noticed that I became fat or obese.  

Per Centers of Disease Control and Prevention:

- For the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic rate increase in obesity in the U.S.
- More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese
- No state has met the nation's Healthy People 2010 goal to lower obesity prevalence to 15%. The number of states with an obesity prevalence of 30% or more has increased to 12 states in 2010. In 2009, nine states had obesity rates of 30% or more. In 2000, no state had an obesity prevalence of 30% or more.
- Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of death

Todd Putman, 51, once led marketing at Coca-Cola shared his views. He now regrets his work and says it contributed to the nation's obesity problem. “It took me 10 years to figure out that I have a large karmic debt to pay for the number of Cokes I sold across this country,” he said.

“I’m not against soft drinks per se,” he began carefully. “What I am for is balance of power. And I think the power has shifted in the wrong direction. The resources, the scale, the intelligence, the strategy these companies use is intense.

For all the range and reach of Coke’s marketing operation, Putman said he quickly learned it was built around one goal: per capita consumption. “How can we drive more ounces into more bodies more often?”

I guess, this campaign would help me stop drinking soda starting today.

Also read: OpenCola - an opesource soda, no secret ingredients