MBS Marketing Association

Coke's 'Mythbusting' series of print ads paint the world-famous softdrink as an innocent victim.

Featuring actress and mother of three Kerry Armstrong, the ad challenges claims that Coke rots your teeth, makes you fat and gets you primed on caffeine.

Says Armstrong, "Now that I've found out what's myth and what isn't, it's good to know that our family can enjoy one of our favourite drinks".

Since publication late last year the ads have been slammed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and Coke has been ordered to run a national corrective campaign admitting the ads are misleading.

What a disaster! What was Kerry Armstrong thinking? What was Coke thinking? Surely Coke rivals even MacDonalds as pin-up boy for all things unhealthy? In fact, Coke effectively admits its flagship beverage is unhealthy by offering its lower calorie versions 'Diet Coke' and 'Coke Zero'.

Coke has been responsible for some of the best campaigns in living memory, always positioning as fun/celebratory/youthful - so why such a huge shift?

I?d love to know how deeply this will affect Coke's brand. No doubt the people who hate multinationals will continue to hate Coke, and those rusted-on advocates who crack a can with every meal will continue to do so. But with debate already raging over laws governing junk food advertising, this experiment has added fuel to the fire and moved Coke even further into the firing line.

And I don?t think Armstrong will be getting too many calls for endorsements for a while.

SOURCE: The Australian, Coke Myth Buster Not the Real Thing