E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe TODAY anchors, joined by rapper 50 Cent, chat about the topics making headlines today, including a new ad campaign by Coca-Cola that calls obesity "the issue of a generation," which has some critics protesting.
For the first time ever, a big soda company is launching a campaign to combat obesity. The Coca-Cola Co., fighting back on how the sweet calories in sugary sodas have become a health policy and obesity bogeyman lately, kicks off its initiative with a new epic two-minute ad called "Coming Together." It's live online and begins airing tonight on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. The spots underline how getting fat comes from consuming excessive calories from any number of sources, and that sodas aren't the only source of weight-increasing calories.
The ad is a montage of video clips like children exercising, scientists testing plants, and a rapid-fire series of a multiethnic smiling faces. While these images play, a female voiceover intones: "Beating obesity will take action by all of us, based on one simple common sense fact: All calories count. No matter where they come from. Including Coca-Cola and everything else with calories. And if you eat and drink more calories than you burn off, you'll gain weight."
Coca-Cola Co. spokesperson Diana Garza Ciarlante told TODAY the campaign's "purpose is to highlight some of the specifics behind the company’s ongoing commitment to deliver a greater choice of beverages, including low and no-calories options, and to clearly communicate the calorie content of all its products."
"We call it 'Coming Together' because it informs Americans about all the company has been doing to bring folks together and deliver more choice and calorie transparency," Coca-Cola Co. spokesperson Ben Sheidler told TODAY. "In it we acknowledge that obesity is the issue of this generation and that we want to step into the national discourse to help identify ways to address the problem with willing partners."
Coca-Cola wasn't able to provide details yet about what other forms the campaign will take. "What I can tell you is that we've never been more committed to doing our part to help address the issue of obesity, and 2013 is going to be a landmark year in terms of expanding partnerships and efforts to educate consumers about energy balance," said Sheidler.
The tide is turning against the 45 gallon sea of soda the average American drinks annually. A New York City ban against the sale of sodas over 16 oz. goes into effect in June. Support for the measure came from arguments that excessive soda consumption contributes to obesity. The mayor of Cambridge, Mass., is considering a similar measure. The New York City Health Department has also run public service announcements asking viewers whether they're "pouring on the pounds" and showing glasses of human fat gushing from a soda can into a glass. The department ran ads on the New York City subway pointing out how you would have to walk three miles from Union Square in Manhattan to Brooklyn to burn off the calories in one 20 oz. soda.
Samantha Levine, New York City Office of the Mayor deputy press secretary, told TODAY, "New York City’s bold action to combat the obesity epidemic is already making a difference and it’s clear the industry is taking notice. But the fact remains that sugary drinks -- which play a unique role in this epidemic and have zero nutritional value -- are the single largest driver of the increase in obesity."
The American Heart Association recommends limiting daily added sugar intake to 37.5 grams, noting it as a contributing factor for obesity. A 20 oz. bottle of Coke contains 65g of sugar.
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention place American obesity levels at 35.7 percent, up from 13 percent in 1962.
Despite the sugary brown drink backlash, and the fact that soda has no nutritional value, a July 23, 2012, Gallup poll found that the self-reported weights of Americans was essentially the same between those who drank two or more glasses of soda per day and those who drank none.
RELATED: Coca-Cola’s new anti-obesity ad: Help or hurt Latinos?
In late 2012, the health activist group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) sponsored a viral video called "The Real Bears," using spoof characters modeled after the iconic Coca-Cola polar bears, which shared an array of frightening soda-related facts. The video's capper was one of the soda-swilling polar bears getting diabetes and having its foot amputated. It got over 2 million YouTube views.
In response to the new Coca-Cola campaign, CSPI head Michael Jacobson told TODAY that the "industry is under unprecedented pressure from academics, schools and parents. They're trying to stem the tide of criticism by taking a page out of crisis control 101, which is to pretend like they're concerned about the issue. If they were serious, they would stop advertising full-calorie drinks, charge less for lower calorie options, and stop fighting the soda tax. They're just running feel-good ads aimed at neutralizing criticism."
The final decision is up to the American consumer whether they're going to open up their pocketbooks — and mouths. Will they swallow what Coke is selling? And do ads like these really work? Alex Bogusky, co-founder of advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky, who collaborated with the CSPI on "The Real Bears" video, told TODAY: "Yeah they work. People are anxious to hear they can still drink soda like water, so the message falls on many receptive ears."
Asked to respond to the remarks made by the CSPI and Bogusky, Coca-Cola Co. spokesperson Ciarlante said, "Big challenges like obesity aren’t going to be solved without honest and collective action. This includes action by business, government, teachers, scientists, health professionals, parents and, of course, companies like The Coca-Cola Company. We have an important role in this fight which can only be won if everyone works together."
In a new ad airing Monday night, Coca-Cola is touting its low-calorie beverage options and small product sizes while also encouraging consumers to look at all of the calories they consume – not just the calories in soft drinks. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.
Leave a Comment:
Until they stop using HFCS, I will not have coca-cola in my house
Here's a little info for you, Thomas Nuffan:
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/is_high_fructose_corn_syrup_bad_for_you
Thomas Nuffan,Coke made in Mexico has no high fructose corn syrup.They still use sugar and come in a glass bottle to boot.Pepsi made in Mexico also has no high fructose corn syrup and comes in a glass bottle.Search online for a store near you that sells these.
Actually... if you're going to cut back calories, drink the regular version, but make it half the can and toss the rest. Or get the so called, 'portion control' size. The diet counterpart is worse for you than the regular.
In the end, they can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads to fight obesity and it not really matter. It's up the each, and every single individual to change their lifestyle.
Maybe they should stop putting addictive chemicals in their sodas, and other things that trigger a chain reaction. Your body gets a high, you want more so you consume more.
Diet coke for life! Yum.
Ain't that sweet of 'em. They really do care. Just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling all over, or is that a Coke-a-Cola sugar rush. I'd better drink another so I can slip into a diabetic coma, that'll settle me down so I can go shop later for some new clothes at the tent and awning store after I have my last decayed tooth pulled. Who needs it anyway, I'll just drink Cokes. Thanks Coke!!!!
I like how New York put a limit on the size of soda you can purchase... I bet people won't think to buy more than one!!! Why does our government feel the need to babysit us???? If they made it illegal, we would be talking about the Mexican soda cartels... people will find a way to get what they want, and usually it's bad for them.
They talked about having smaller portion sized drinks.
Look at the price of those things. I don't think they really wan't you buying those little cans because an 8 pack of little cans are almost the same price as a 12 pack of 12oz cans.
We're so fat we now have a new concept of what is considered fat. Especially people under 20 who don't remember a time when 80% of the people they see are fat.
I'd be fat too, but I'm not because I drink zero calories,watch everything I eat,am 61, exercise 90 min/day and have a BMI of 22.1
People will buy two or three smaller portion sized drinks.... if they want 64oz of soda, they will get it! All that's going to do is drive up Coke's profits, as they make more per unit... I thought profit was a bad word under this administration???
Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions no one forces you to eat or drink anything you dont want to, by pointing the finger at some one else and then asking a government to regulate an industry for you all you are doing is saying you arent responsible enough to make your own decisions and you lack the capabilities to think for yourself, and by the way of course coca-cola is going to do what is good for their business after all it is a business trying to make a profit. Welcome to capitalisim and America, with freedom and choices comes responsibility, and that resposibility is ours to take and care for, it falls on every individuals own shoulders to make choices and live with them, And instead of shirking or ignoring them we need to be thanking whatever deity we pray to that we live in a country where we have these choices to make and have the opportunities to be responsible for ourselves. After all there is no ingredient in coca-cola that im aware of that causes paralizing effects to keep anyone from getting more exercise, and above all else what gives anyone the right to try to tell another person what they can have or the amount they can have because of your lack of self-control.
67% OF THE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES ARE ALLERGIC TO ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS. COKE and PEPSI ought to look at using STEVIA OR OTHER NATURAL SWEETNERS TO SWEETEN THEIR DRINKS. I THINK THAT IF AMERICANS want to drink pop they will.NO matter what you eat it will put weight on one way or the other.
If companies want to help AMERICANS lose weight they will find a way.
LOWER prices on the drinks. ALSO,FRUIT JUICES HAVE MORE SUGAR THAN POP.
With the PLETHORA of alternatives already on the market - it just doesn't matter.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of uneducated, uncaring, don't give a damn FAT people who just don't care!!!! They will bypass shelves of yummy, healthy, stevia-based drinks and alternatives and load up on even CHEAP GENERIC SODA CRAP!!!
FIX THE PEOPLE....don't change the soda!! Sheesh!!!!!
Jim,they should not look to using Stevia.They should be making their product with sugar and going back to the size of products they had in the 2950's.
Let's face it -- drinking Coke and other high-fructose drinks is not healthy for anyone, whether fat or thin. Drinking diet drinks is not healthy for any of us either. And, all people are not created equal with regard to metabolism. My thin husband is addicted to Coke and eats junk all the time. For him I do not fear obesity, I fear other illnesses. When you see a thin person, do not automatically assume they are healthy. Same goes for fat folks who are not always unhealthy.
I've been watching quite a few video relating to obesity recently. When I saw a 3rd nutritionist compare the processing of corn into HFCS to the processing of the coca leaf (which is eaten regularly in parts of South America without problems) into cocaine, I decided to start reading the labels and have eliminated it from my diet in all foods. Keep in mind that corn syrup is derived from corn which means it is no longer really a natural product since it is ultra-concentrated. If it were just taken from corn it would be processed by the body differently than it is. So the previous posts about it are correct.
They are like adolf hitler having a get together for the jewish community! These guys have caused more damage to millions people with high frutose corn syrup and other additives than anyone else on earth. This stuff leaves folks brain depressed, craving for more food as it messes up the digestive system and almost total loss of weight control. They are the cigarette makers of the 60's. Some day when they run out of cash to pay the fda off, they will get theirs.
I applaud Coca-Cola for doing this. I RARELY drink coke anymore, but still love it. Thing is, I only ever had it as a treat or occasional beverage. I never lived on, for goodness sakes.
The REAL problem is enormously obese and even some just really fat people simply DON'T CARE and will drink and eat a bunch of crap anyway!!
What is really heartbreaking to me is, when I see these ginormous people who HAVE A CHOICE about what they shove in their face...or not....waddling down the grocery store aisles WITH THEIR KIDS and just piling on sugary drinks and crap into their carts.
ALL CRAP!! There are literally hundreds of thousands of children being brought up this way (probably millions)....and there is NO LAW by some dumb mayor that is going to change that. These people are even dumber and way more uncaring about themselves OR their children than even the mayor is.
This country is being overrun by people who have about 5-10 of these kids and teach them the same things (which is not to teach them at all).
This is a very sad and harsh reality. No sense "sugar-coating" it, although the lardos would probably love that.
Looking for the real Coca?
Coca powder various vitamins such as vitamins A, B-2, B-6, C and E, which helps improve the immune system. This can be a natural antiseptic and analgesic. It cleanses the digestive and other internal organs of the body. Thus, reducing and maybe even complete eradication of internal infections. Moreover, the coca powder gives a soothing sensation than can help a person feel less pain. It allows them to move freely, be healthy and feel comfort within themselves.
Source: nutriperu.com/product.php?id_product=1424
I have watched the Coke commercial on t.v. where they are saying that they are now putting only bottled water, juices and diet sodas in school vending machines...oh, you bet...give them Aspartame!!! I used to drink Diet Coke...until it caused me terrible health problems. I quit drinking it and my health problems disappeared within a few short months.
I love Diet Coke. I'm a light to moderate consumer of it but would not have anything else other then water. Health problems? A-OK, thank you.
Upscheidt,Artificial sugar,too much,causes unpleasant happenings to the body.I see kids drinking diet sofas' and can't figure out why their parents think that it is a healthy alternative to a soda made with real sugar.
When people who sell things talk to you, you'd do well to remember that whatever they say is meant to sell you things.
Sodas are just one small piece of the problem. The biggest problem is that we are no longer cooking food from scratch. Just about everything we feed children is full of fillers that are stuffed with calories and carbs. I know we don't have time to cook anymore, but we have to find some sort of balance in our lives that allows us to feed our children nutritional food. We can't feed children Blue pop-tarts for breakfast, chicken nuggets and fries for lunch, and then run through Taco-bell drive-through for dinner and expect everything to be ok. Our own government still calls Pizza a vegetable.
Catsup. They called catsup a vegetable. Not pizza.
We used to enjoy an occasional 6.5 oz cane sugar sweetened Coke; now its daily 32 oz Big-Gulps loaded with high-fructose corn syrup . Is it any wonder that we're fatter and sicker ?
here's what we need to do: all soft drinks are very bad for you, right? YES. OK, we know porn, and very explicit TV shows, and the list goes on, are also bad for kids, etc., so it's banned from TV and the like. Well, with that thinking, let's ban soft drinks. I think we should!
I'm for banning people who keep suggesting we ban things. How soon can you leave?
I don't remember seeing any porn commercials during Saturday morning cartoons.
I want my Twinkies back.
I am rather weary of companies and the government telling everybody what is good or not good for us.We are not dumb people and know full well that consuming more calories than a person burns off will cause weight gain.It's as if big companies and the government think that they are smarter than the average person.We all know that they aren't due to the mismanagement of corporations and the lack of government leadership for the people.
I was so happy to read this story. I am not a Walmart fan at all but this is a great thing they are doing for our Vets! Perhaps hiring our vets, who know discipline, hard work, and how to respect others will make a much nicer shopping experience for us civilians. Hopefully, "some" of the unappreciative slackers that are employed now will be replaced with people who feel blessed to have a job and are happy to go to work everyday and can show customers by the expressions on their faces.
I did that. I've spent my life in service work, and I seriously don't know how to be anything but friendly and helpful to customers. It would embarrass me hugely to be rude. I don't slack off, I'm always working, and if there's nothing to do, I find something to do. But that attitude has never stopped ignorant, petty, power-greedy managers from treating me like crap. It never got me a raise. It never got me a promotion. That's not what those jobs are about. They're about using people up and spitting them out, because there's plenty more where you came from.
Now, you go get that job, and you try "feeling blessed" when your manager screams at you for asking a simple question, just because she can't admit she doesn't know the answer, and doesn't want to look stupid to you.
LIKE ALL ADVERTISING ( IT IS BRAINWASHING). NO morals NO ethics, NOT a CARE about HUMAN LIFE !!!!
It is about GREED AND MONEY. Americans are PURE SUCKERS and that starts when YOU ARE or HAVE BEEN A KID. You are ROPED LASSOED in like CATTLE.
ADVERTISING IS WHAT CAUSES OBESITY IN ALL AGE GROUPS they are the primary CAUSE !!!!! Because it is BRAINWASHING the CURIOUS MIND into a FALSE BELIEF !!!!
Wait...I've heard something like this before...
"Sure, smoking causes cancer but you can get cancer from any number of sources. Beating cancer is going to take action by all of us and we are committed to doing our part to help stop this terrible disease. Need a light?"