Unethical Marketing Practices Of Diet Coke

An increasing trend these days is diet drinks, some of which are lower in calories than regular soft drinks or even calorie-free altogether. However, just because these drinks have the label “diet” on them, does not mean that you should jump to the conclusion that they are healthier for you.

Loaded with aspartame, cyclamates and saccharin, artificial sweeteners in diet drinks have been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Diet Coke is an example of unethical marketing where the company, Coca Cola is making false advertising claims. One particular marketing campaign that Coca Cola launched was endorsed by Karl Lagerfeld , the Chanel designer who claimed to have lost 80 pounds on a diet composed mainly of Diet Coke. Karl says “I drink Diet Coke from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed … I drink nothing else.”

By using stick thin models and fashion designers who are obsessed with body image only makes the situation worse because it is giving women, especially young women, the wrong message. They are being told that obsessive dieting is acceptable and that Diet Coke is the key to being thin and beautiful. This is very detrimental to young girls as it has negative impacts on their self-esteem and body image.
                                             

Coca Cola should not be using Karl Lagerfeld’s radical dieting ways as a means of promoting their product. Rather, they should limit such extreme statements and use regular everyday people in their ads so as not to give the wrong message about Diet Coke being directly correlated to a “healthy” body.