Coca-Cola Needs Another Advertising Agency

I have to say that I sometimes despair of large companies that are obviously out of touch with reality and totally in thrall to advertising agencies whose personnel do not (apparently) live on the same planet as the rest of us.

Last Wednesday the Forum of Private Business criticised Coca-Cola for condoning sick days in an advert - and very rightly found its comments featured on the BBC News.

The Glaceau Vitamin Water advert, which caused the Forum of Private Business to comment in the first place, stated: "The trick is to stay perky and use sick days to just, not go in."

Really? At a time when employee absence is costing the UK's economy almost £12bn-a-year in lost working days - and 'staying perky' by failing to turn up for work would very likely see yet another person standing in a line at the job centre - Coca-Cola's spokesperson's comment that the advert was: "clearly a tongue in cheek reference" and "one of a series of fictional stories" on the bottle, failed to impress anyone at the FPB.

It didn't impress me either - and I can't help feeling that Coca-Cola might be incorrect in its assumption that this advertisement will "help demonstrate the brand's personality". Well - not unless the brand's personality is intended to be careless of the public welfare, ignorant of current affairs, and more than a wee bit dumb.

This is not, by the way, the first time that Coca-Cola has put its foot in its mouth with its advertising slogans. In October 2009 Coca-Cola was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for presenting "misleading" claims about nutritional benefits. That particular advert insisted that the product had "more muscles than brussels". Complaints were made because the implication was that the drinks were equivalent to vegetables and had health benefits - which is hardly likely considering the huge sugar content of most of the Company's products. Obesity? What's that?

If you're in the advertising business - and I don't care if you're a one man band - I really would suggest that you put in a tender for this job. This is a brand that needs a lot of help...