A Reminder to Coca-Cola & PepsiCo – Black Lives Matter.

Posted on | June 25, 2020 | 1 Comment

Mike Magee

Across America, we are experiencing an awakening to our unrelenting racial biases and prejudicies. These are expressed in a culture that is unforgiving, violent, and at times deadly.

Death, as we’ve seen can come at the hands (and knees) of police; by inequalities in education, safety, and economic opportunity; or by poor health, whether by lack of access to care or targeted predatory advertising of minority communities.

A few years back Coca-Cola and PepsiCo promised to advance low-sugar beverage alternatives. At the very same time, they ramped up advertising of high calorie sodas to youth and minorities.

Fresh evidence of these behaviors was laid bare in a report last week from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut.

Their findings:

· Compared to white children and teens, Black children saw 2.1 times as many sugary drink ads and Black teens saw 2.3 times as many. Black youth exposure was particularly high for sports drinks, regular soda, and energy drinks.

· In 2018, companies spent $84 million to advertise regular soda, sports drinks, and energy drinks on Spanish-language TV, an increase of 8% versus 2013 and 80% versus 2010.

· Sports drink brands disproportionately advertised on Spanish-language TV, dedicating 21% of their TV advertising budgets to Spanish-language TV, compared to 10% on average for all sugary drinks.

· From 2013 to 2018, teens’ exposure to TV advertising increased for regular soda/soda brands (+1%) and iced tea (+68%), despite a 52% decline in time spent watching TV during the same time. Energy drinks and sports drinks targeted their TV advertising directly to teens, as evidenced by high ratios of ads viewed by teens versus adults.

· Preschoolers’ saw 26% more TV ads for sugary drinks in 2018 than in 2013, and children’s ad exposure increased by 8%. These increases occurred despite a 35% decline in average TV viewing times for preschoolers and a 42% decline for children during the same period.

· PepsiCo and Coca-Cola were responsible for 38% and 31% of all sugary drink advertising spending, respectively. PepsiCo sugary drink advertising spending increased by 28% from 2013 to 2018; Coca-Cola sugary drink advertising increased by 81% during that time period.

· Four brands each spent more than $100 million to advertise sugary drinks in 2018: Coke, Pepsi, Gatorade, and Mtn Dew.

In this day and age, as we confront our past, and the injuries we have imposed and condoned on a large number of our citizens, we can no longer turn a blind eye to corporations in America. If they signal through their predatory advertising that “Black Lives don’t Matter”, they do not deserve our support.