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Status: Offline Posts: 2 Management Paradise Rupees.: 297 Join Date: May 2008 | Re: ETHICS IN ADVERTISING (case study:soft drinks fiasco) -
October 22nd, 2008
Here is a case study relating to advertising and ethics:
Case Study : Soft Drinks And Fast Foods
The Background
Two years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) prepared a global strategy to counter what is known in medical jargon as "diet-related non-communicable diseases". These include heart diseases, certain types of cancer, diabetes and, last but by no means least, obesity. The strategy addresses diet, physical activity and health. The world’s children need greater protection from the marketing of energy-dense, low-nutrient foods. Experiences of marketing controls on tobacco and baby-milk show that voluntary marketing codes are unlikely to be adequate, and that stronger regulation is required. International standards are needed to provide a coherent framework to protect and promote children’s health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported the rising incidence of obesity and chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, dental carries and diabetes among the population worldwide. It has also acknowledged the links between many of these diseases and the pattern of food consumed. Treatment of these diseases is an expensive alternative to prevention. Less-industrialized countries lack the financial resources and infrastructure to implement effective treatment, especially as some countries are experiencing the triple burden of continuing problems of widespread undernourishment and infectious diseases as well as the emerging problem of over consumption of damaging nutrients.
Prevention of disease is essential, but requires a change in patterns of food supply and demand. Among other things, this means changes in marketing strategies and the promotion of health enhancing foods.
Manufacturers know that children are particularly susceptible to the persuasion of advertising. Advertising directed at young children is per se manipulative. Such advertising aims to promote products by convincing those who will always believe. Frequent exposure to marketing messages, along with changes in social circumstances, such as children’s increasingly independent spending power, contribute to a nutritionally ‘toxic’ or ‘obesogenic’ environment – that is, environments that predispose children to desire and be able to obtain and consume certain foods, especially those that are energy-dense and low in nutrients To promote this strategy, the WHO has been examining a range of interventions that possess the potential to tackle the global rise of such diseases. One of the key points on the agenda is the marketing of food and soft drinks, especially in relation to children.
The Law
India has a long way to go before it really adopts stringent regulation and standards with regard to advertising of fast food and soft drinks. The debate over advertising junk food to children is still raging in India. There are no bars on advertising in schools in India. In fact Coke and Pepsi offer several sponsorships to schools, particularly for sporting activities. The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a ban on the sale of all soft drinks within school premises. This organization, which regulates and controls the sale of all commercial food and drugs, wants a total ban on commercial soft drinks in schools. Unfortunately, many other government organizations will need to be involved in such a ban and it will take some time to see whether the ban can be made into law and then enforced by the police. If it is, this will be the first time something like this has been done for the sake of public health, and the state will be a world leader.
In the Indian state of Kerala, sale and production of Pepsi-Cola, along with other soft drinks, has been banned. Five other Indian states have announced partial bans on the drinks in schools, colleges and hospitals.
The Real Scenario
The aggressive promotional strategies adopted by fast food multinational giants like Coke, Pepsi,Lay’s Chips, Mc Donald’s, Dominos, Pizza Hut have contributed to the growing concern towardspublic health. The operations of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in India in the last three decades represent an example of how India's industrial policy and regulations have been dodged, flouted and bent by these companies. The controversy over the presence of traces of pesticides in their soft drinks is only the latest in a series of controversies that have studded Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s history in India during the last three decades.
In India, McDonald’s has positioned itself as a family restaurant. Family has become the
cornerstone of its strategy. Its outlets are called “McDonald’s Family Restaurants,” as opposed to simply McDonald’s as in other parts of the world. Like its other worldwide locations, McDonald’s targets children as their main clientele in India. Children are an enormously powerful medium for marketing consumer goods in India. They not only influence markets in terms of the parental decision-making to buy certain kinds of products, they are also future consumers. After all, brand impressions, once formed, can stay for a lifetime.Thus, McDonald’s has done everything possible to attract children. It’s “Happy Meals” and the accompanying Lego toys are a great attraction for children. McDonald’s play places—called Fun Zones— have been made to attract children and their parents. During their visits, kids are showered with knickknacks. McDonald’s also promotes birthday parties complete with cake, candles, and toys in television advertising aimed directly at kids. Soft drinks companies focus their attention and advertising budgets on the children’s’ market, through sponsorship of music events and link-ups with the most attractive and popular movie stars, pop singers and sports celebrities. The following two examples are just a tiny glimpse of the extensive marketing activities from these leading soft-drinks brands. Together, Pepsi and Coca- Cola spend INR 11,000 crores on advertising in a single year. In India, glamorous Bollywood megastars Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai promote Coca-Cola brands. Coca-Cola has also sponsored a musical talent contest to create an all-girl band Viva who were so popular, its first album sold over 500,000 copies. As part of its association with Dhoom: 2 (D2), Coca-Cola has been made available in special edition “CocaPart Cola-Dhoom: 2” bottles. The campaign also includes an 'under-the-crown' promotion with cash prizes totaling up to Rs 1 crore. Lucky Coca-Cola consumers also have a chance to win loads of special prizes, including the complete D2 gear as sported by Hrithik, Aishwarya, Abhishek, Bipasha and Uday Chopra in the movie. Pepsi is endorsed by Bollywood megastars like Amitabh Bachan, Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor. The websites of these soft drink companies also referred to as “Fun Zones “ apart from offering a host of promotional campaigns also offers computer and mobile phone downloads like wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, videos etc. The recent promotional campaign of Pepsi featuring the `Blue Billion', which has a catch line, `Oooh Aaah India, Aaah Yaaa India', has been
launched before the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The wrappers around Pepsi bottles will have gifts entitled to the consumers printed on it, ranging from `Blue Billion' tattoos to other assorted goods. The campaign includes 300 free season tickets to be given out to 300 people through the bottle wrappers. The winners will be taken on a special `Blue Billion Express' train accompanied by film stars Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu to the three venues in India where the ICC Champions Trophy matches will be played. Today’s youth icons from the cricket world like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Dhoni freely endorse Pepsi. The sponsorship of a sport like cricket in particular may cultivate positive attitudes by associating the product with characteristics which young people admire. In the wake of the recent controversies shrouding Coke and Pepsi, regarding allegations of containing pesticides, these stars not only endorsed these soft drinks but also went so far as to claim that they were safe. This was advertising going too far. Aerated soft drinks, apart from promoting the wrong kind of images, have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coca -Cola and Pepsi is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium. Soft drink consumption in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones. This situation that ultimately leads to poor bone mineralization, which explains the greater risk of broken bones in children who consume soft drinks. Soft drinks are the single greatest source of caffeine in children's diets. Caffeine is a weak diuretic that causes calcium loss
via the kidneys. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.
In 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization in New Delhi, said aerated waters produced by soft drinks manufacturers in India, including multinational giants PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company, contained toxins including lindane,DDT,malathion and chlorpyrifos--pesticides, that can contribute to cancer, a breakdown of the immune system and cause birth defects. Tested products included Coke, Pepsi, 7 Up,Mirinda,Fanta,Thums Up,Limca and Sprite. |
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