Subscribe to the RSS feed.New York City Soda Campaign: Gross? Yes - Controversial? Yes - Effective?
New York City is taking a proactive, outspoken role in its public health communications and is boldly developing public communications campaigns around nutrition and diet.
The current campaign shows disgusting, unadulterated, gelatinous fat substituting for soda - demonstrating that the drinks marketed to us all in the name of fun are actually loaded with empty calories. It includes multilingual communications, as well as this video (warning: it’s not pleasant):
http://www.youtube.com/drinkingfat
Some might say that New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is a leader in truthful, confrontational communications too often feared by public health divisions around the nation.
Just look at their informative website (featuring a condom design contest) with its simple url:
While the city spent around $277,000 developing the campaign, a private nonprofit, Fund for Public Health New York, paid for the subway ads. The nonprofit, which has a public health institute role similar to Oregon’s Community Health Partnership, was actually founded by the NYC Department of Health to raise funds for public health issues.
Of course, not everyone is pleased.
The American Beverage Association called the campaign, “so over the top that they are counterproductive to serious efforts to address a complex issue such as obesity.”
Among the comments to the video are these:
“This video is a wonderful public service announcement and a wonderful service to Americans. Our gluttonous, soda-drinking ways need to end!”
“Finally, the state is doing something for the people and not for the corporations.”
“For those of you sanctimonious a**holes out there, you’re going to die too.
Statistics show you don’t live any longer or happier lives than anyone else! Have fun with that while you drink your 12 dollar a bottle flavorless tofu water.”
“This ad is pure propaganda. With NYC sporting 14% unemployment and thousands are facing homelessness in what many say will be an unusually cold winter, spending money on this drivel is just indefensible.”
“I’m totally showing this to my students!”
“Sugary drinks are a scapegoat. The problem is irresponsible people who ignore personal responsibility and expect a nanny state to take care of them. If Coke adds so many inches to your waist, you have far bigger lifestyle problems than drinking soda.”
“Dude, I agree with you. It is amazing how many times I see a young mother giving sugary beverage to their kids and then punish them for being hyper.”
“I’ll have what he’s having”
