The way I see it, the beverage industry is currently faced with an interesting choice, defend its product or reach deep into the Republican playbook and drum up lies about Government intrusion into your private life using the most trusted image in the universe to get out the message, mothers. Which did they choose? Exhibit A: The video above. Exhibit B: The lifestyle ads showing people all over the world enjoying products like Coke and Pepsi have disappeared. Although I am not a soda drinker, I do miss the white polar bear ads.
It’s no surprise that rather than standing behind its product and making the case that it has value, the beverage industry chose to politicize the issue by spreading the message that Government officials will soon be standing outside your local grocery store and taking the soda right out of your innocent child’s hand only to replace it with, dundun-dun….water.
Think about it. Which side is likely to have ulterior motives here, The Government or the beverage industry, whose survival is based upon people carelessly consuming excessive amounts of its product?
I’ll be the first to admit that a miniscule increase in taxes on beverages that have been shown to drive child obesity rates and have been linked to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome will not stop most people but it is still a challenge that the beverage industry is unwilling to address. That is, prove to the American public that your product is worth purchasing. Instead, they have resorted to fear mongering and blaming Government.
This is not about preventing people from buying sodas and sugar-sweetened beverages, it is about asking corporations to pay their fair share after years and years of free-loading off the American public while contributing to their deteriorating health.
The Government isn’t trying to stop anyone from buying anything. They are simply trying to alert the public, to whom they are responsible for, about the health risk associated with soda and sugar-sweetened beverages. Just for the record, if this tax increase deters people from buying the product, the Government sees no benefit from the tax.
Personally, I don’t drink soda often and don’t really care if you do. But, I just wanted to shed some light on this despicable beverage industry campaign ad aimed to mask its unhealthy product and avoid contributing to the pot like every single one of its customers is asked to do.
The Beverage Industry receives 0 baguettes for its clear avoidance of any responsibility to its customers:
Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda receives a 5 baguette rating for being my beverage of choice once every few months:
