In April 2009, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ordered Coca-Cola to run “corrective advertisements” in Australian newspapers. The reason was a celebrity-endorsed magazine advert branding the notions that Coca-Cola could make children fat or rot their teeth as “myths”.
Coca-Cola contains calories and yes, it contains “food acid”. But the consumer must regulate consumption of Coca-Cola products. According to Milbank Quarterly, these tactics of blame-shifting, celebrity endorsement and between product and ill health are similar to those of the tobacco industry.
If the food industry wants to maintain trust and profitability, it needs to develop greater respect for the people whose purchases allow it to exist. Such trust and profit can only be guaranteed through responsible action on the part of the food industry to protect consumers’ health. But mendacious advertising can erode both trust and profit.
See The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9671, Page 1224, 11 April 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment