RESOURCE COLLECTION
Big Soda Tactics: Misinformation
Sugary drinks are making us sick. See how the beverage industry uses misinformation to maximize profits.
Big Soda denies science
Soda executives and their marketing teams say that there are not “good” or “bad” foods — just calories that need to be part of a balanced diet. Research on how added sugars, particularly high fructose corn syrup, are metabolized strongly refutes these claims. All calories are not created equal.
Big Soda promotes so-called “healthy” alternatives
Just as the tobacco industry created “lower tar” cigarettes, the sugary drinks industry is creating “healthier” drinks to make it look like they care about our health. The California Center for Public Health Advocacy calls this “Hiding Under the Health Halo” and has produced materials to educate consumers about these false claims.
In their own words...
“Vision 2020 is Coke’s plan to double its business by 2020… This aggressive plan is focused on dramatically increasing consumption of sugary beverages by young people using precision marketing that targets young people, mostly in Latino and African-American communities in the United States and developing countries abroad…”
--Joe Tripodi, Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer for the Coca-Cola Company, marketing webinar on March 6, 2014 entitled “Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Global Millennial Generation"