Coke, Pepsi in row with New York City over subway ads

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) For years, New York City has campaigned to reduce sugary soft drink consumption. Its latest ads, plastered all over New York’s subways, compare sugary drinks with globs of fat and packets of sugar.

Now, beverage makers, including Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), are squaring off against city health officials with the industry’s first-ever subway ad campaign. Industry-sponsored placards inside train cars tout lower-calorie options and package sizes as progress against obesity.

The city’s anti-soft drink campaign is “discriminatory and singles out one product out of an array of foods and beverages, all of which contribute equally to this very complex issue,” said Chris Gindlesperger, a spokesman for the American Beverage Association. The ABA, the industry’s chief lobby group, placed the pro-soft drink ads.

Beverage makers are trying to reverse seven years of sales declines in the $74 billion U.S. soft drink industry, which still generates a bulk of profits. The decline came as some consumers shunned sugar and artificial sweeteners. The industry has spent tens of millions of dollars to beat back proposed sugary beverage taxes in New York state and elsewhere. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/coca-cola-joins-subway-fat-fight-as-nyc-steps-up-attacks-retail.html