Coca-Cola, why hast thou forsaken me? (Photo Credit: CC BY/j_lai/Flickr)

Coca-Cola, the parent company of Vitamin Water, is being refreshingly honest. As it faces a lawsuit from the Center for Science in the Public Interest that claims that the health claims made over Vitamin Water are bogus, Coca-Cola’s legal team is defending the company by saying that “no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking Vitamin Water was a healthy beverage,” writes the Huffington Post. This comes in spite of the aggressive marketing of the Vitamin Water product, in which its supposed health benefits are touted.

Is Coca-Cola justifying Vitamin Water lies or simply belittling customers?

Truth be told, experts have found that Vitamin Water is essentially sugar water (33 grams per serving), reports the Post. That’s soft drink territory, even if the sugar level is lower than regular Coke. Then add “about a penny’s worth of synthetic vitamins” and that supposedly makes Vitamin Water healthy enough for spokesmen like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant to sing its praises and ring the cash registers for Coca-Cola. Tell that to the 35 percent of Americans who are considered medically obese, says the Post.

Avoid liquid calories, says Johns Hopkins

In a 2009 report, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health advised cutting out liquid calories. This technique is among the quickest way to reliably lose weight. Vitamin Water or any other liquid product with added sugar falls into that category of “liquid calories.”

The federal judge’s ruling against Coca-Cola

U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson of New York’s was made rather easy by Coca-Cola’s decision not , wrote, “At oral arguments, defendants (Coca-Cola) suggested that no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitamin water was a healthy beverage.” Noting that the soft drink giant wasn’t claiming the lawsuit was wrong on factual grounds, the judge wrote that, “Accordingly, I must accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true.”

Will Coca-Cola still spend millions marketing Vitamin Water as healthy?

How much Coca-Cola will spend marketing Vitamin Water remains to be seen. For those looking for healthy fluids, try water. Throw in some lemon juice or tea if you want flavor. If your tap water’s taste leaves something to be desired, get a filter for the tap or your water pitcher. For those looking for nutrients, try fruits and vegetables. If the Vitamin Water lie bothers you, exercise your power of choice and don’t buy it. Coca-Cola will get the message eventually, if enough people exercise common sense.

Sources:

Huffington Post

“The boy definitely gets his vitamins…”

LeBron James could help Miami but hurt the NBA. (Photo: Wikipedia)

LeBron James has decided to pack his bags and bring his highly marketable talents from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat. The free agent deal will team “King” James with noted stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and give head coach Pat Riley yet another opportunity to show why he’s one of the greatest motivators in NBA history. This spells big business for the Heat and Miami and a proverbial kick to the shins for the Cavaliers and Cleveland, but as Bloomberg and other media outlets speculate, is the LeBron James deal actually bad for the NBA?

LeBron James on a Heat super-team is bad for broadcasting

ABC, ESPN and Turner Broadcasting all hold the rights to broadcast NBA games, and it’s safe to say that ratings for their LeBron James/Miami Heat games will top the charts. But when too much talent is concentrated on one team, it takes much of the steam out of broadcasts of the rest of the NBA. The same holds true for gate receipts. NBC Commissioner David Stern surely wants all teams to be successful, but the truth is that most people want to see starts like LeBron James play. As former CBS Sports President Neal Pilson told Bloomberg, “You can’t just show Miami all the time and certainly the TV carriers benefit when you have attractive stars and personalities on multiple teams.”

Interestingly, if LeBron James had signed with the New York Knicks (a team that was in the running), it would have been broadcasting and marketing serendipity. Per Nielsen numbers, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are the top three U.S. TV markets. Miami clocks in at number 17.

‘The Decision’ – Milking it for all it’s worth

LeBron James and posse created an hour-long online program called “The Decision,” which the James camp claims was “prompted by the unprecedented attention and interest” sports fans have in LeBron’s every move. Bloomberg indicates that everyone from the University of Phoenix and Microsoft to Coca-Cola and McDonald’s had a sponsorship stake in the manufactured event. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America even made $2.5 million for being associated with the LeBron James navel-gazing special, so good for them.

And if the Miami Heat lose?

Cleveland and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert will no doubt be happy. Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer newspaper ran a full front page photo of LeBron James walking away, with the headline “Gone” and a subheading that draws attention to the lack of NBA Championship rings on LeBron’s fingers. Dan Gilbert staged a press conference in which he called James a narcissist and condemned his “shocking act of disloyalty” to Cleveland. James’ “heartless and callous action,” according to Dan Gilbert, will spread his “curse” to Miami, a team which Gilbert insists will not win a championship before his Cavaliers. Clearly, “King” James should have something to prove.

Sources:

Bloomberg

True/Slant

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