New York City Soda Campaign: Gross? Yes - Controversial? Yes - Effective?
By:
NWHF Staff
| Posted on: December 15th, 2009
|
81 comments
| Share:
Categories:
Education •
Policies & Laws •
Food & Nutrition •
Public Health
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:
http://www.nyc.gov/health
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”
Viewing page 1 of 2 for comments on this post. 1 2 >
1 Posted by Rose on April 16th, 2013 at 09:46 PM
2 Posted by Alice on April 13th, 2013 at 04:35 AM
3 Posted by Alice on March 25th, 2013 at 10:14 AM
4 Posted by Minel on March 13th, 2013 at 01:10 AM
5 Posted by sorin on March 10th, 2013 at 04:30 AM
6 Posted by salagot on March 6th, 2013 at 11:57 AM
7 Posted by Craig Bieler on February 24th, 2013 at 03:43 PM
8 Posted by jon Grishan on January 14th, 2013 at 09:12 AM
9 Posted by Jim Bakalar on January 8th, 2013 at 03:03 PM
10 Posted by Gina Marconi on December 18th, 2012 at 10:17 AM
11 Posted by Legalynot on September 25th, 2012 at 11:00 PM
12 Posted by Bill Mayer on August 6th, 2012 at 12:51 PM
13 Posted by Laurel Parks on January 13th, 2010 at 11:13 PM
14 Posted by Melinda Ingalls on January 12th, 2010 at 04:10 PM
15 Posted by Yesenia Garcia H199 on January 12th, 2010 at 12:19 AM
16 Posted by Karlene Hamar on January 11th, 2010 at 10:26 PM
17 Posted by Danielle Alexandre on January 11th, 2010 at 07:35 AM
18 Posted by Jessie Hanger on January 10th, 2010 at 10:55 PM
19 Posted by Kayli Peterson on January 10th, 2010 at 05:58 PM
20 Posted by Amanda Atkinson on January 10th, 2010 at 05:30 PM
21 Posted by Stephanie Halverson on January 10th, 2010 at 01:31 PM
22 Posted by Rachel Trindle on January 10th, 2010 at 01:21 PM
23 Posted by Kaley Coons on January 10th, 2010 at 01:11 PM
24 Posted by Laura Damas on January 10th, 2010 at 12:14 PM
25 Posted by Taylor Hunter on January 10th, 2010 at 10:26 AM
26 Posted by Karmen Holladay on January 10th, 2010 at 10:05 AM
27 Posted by Ashley Simpson on January 9th, 2010 at 08:01 PM
28 Posted by Amanda Valerio on January 9th, 2010 at 06:11 PM
29 Posted by Kaylinn Dokken on January 9th, 2010 at 05:41 PM
30 Posted by Caitlin Macy on January 9th, 2010 at 05:09 PM
31 Posted by Kendall Distefano on January 9th, 2010 at 05:01 PM
32 Posted by Kayla Kretz on January 9th, 2010 at 04:04 PM
33 Posted by
Lily Shorey on
January 9th, 2010 at
03:50 PM
34 Posted by Ashley Feeley on January 9th, 2010 at 02:51 PM
35 Posted by Erin Guzy on January 9th, 2010 at 02:12 PM
36 Posted by Lindsey Thompson on January 9th, 2010 at 01:22 PM
37 Posted by Jessalyn Breen on January 9th, 2010 at 12:20 PM
38 Posted by Mackenzie Beard on January 9th, 2010 at 11:12 AM
39 Posted by Katie Bock on January 9th, 2010 at 10:46 AM
40 Posted by Anna W. on January 9th, 2010 at 08:16 AM
41 Posted by Nora Alexander on January 8th, 2010 at 11:13 PM
42 Posted by Molly Huserik on January 8th, 2010 at 10:07 PM
43 Posted by Lyda Riley on January 8th, 2010 at 10:01 PM
44 Posted by Elizabeth Henry on January 8th, 2010 at 09:50 PM
45 Posted by Marisol Soto on January 8th, 2010 at 09:17 PM
46 Posted by Jessica Mole on January 8th, 2010 at 08:31 PM
47 Posted by Conrad Goddard on January 8th, 2010 at 07:06 PM
48 Posted by Jacob Dozier on January 8th, 2010 at 06:24 PM
49 Posted by Anne Kelly on January 8th, 2010 at 05:28 PM
50 Posted by Ryan Walker on January 8th, 2010 at 03:58 PM
Viewing page 1 of 2 for comments on this post. 1 2 >
Back to main
Thank you for providing this interesting article.I am a heavy drinker of soda and I know its bad effects on my health and a lot of people are caught complaining about its bad effects on their health but their health but the keep drink it.