Coca-Cola Breaks Pledge Not to Advertise to Kids (Again)
Coca-Cola Breaks Pledge Not to Advertise to Kids (Again)
Union of Concerned Scientists
Genna Reed
Coca-Cola has pledged globally not to advertise to children under 12 since 2013 and has even included its pledge in the headlines of its own press releases. It was because of this quite public vow that I was so shocked to see the world’s largest beverage company blatantly market to kids right here in my hometown of Washington, DC.
Last week, the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Coca-Cola held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for refurbished basketball and tennis courts at Benning Park Community Center in Southeast, as a part of the Coca-Cola’s “Refreshing Community Spaces” initiative. The DC DPR’s tweets from the ceremony revealed photos of teens wearing Coca-Cola tee shirts and young children dressed as Coca-Cola cans. I was outraged at the company’s disregard of its own pledge, directly marketing to young children, and tweeted the photo out. DC DPR took down its tweet shortly thereafter.
Read more: http://blog.ucsusa.org/genna-reed/coca-cola-breaks-pledge-not-to-advertise-to-kids-again