Author Topic: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.  (Read 8083 times)

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Offline ThunderWulf

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Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« on: January 16, 2013, 06:31:04 am »
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/the-dark-side-of-vitaminw_b_669716.html

So apparently a non-profit organization is currently in the process of suing Coca-Cola for false claims about their drink Vitamin Water being healthy.  Some people are not surprised by this, but what is surprising is Coke's defense argument:

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In a staggering feat of twisted logic, lawyers for Coca-Cola are defending the lawsuit by asserting that "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage."

Does this mean that you'd have to be an unreasonable person to think that a product named "vitaminwater," a product that has been heavily and aggressively marketed as a healthy beverage, actually had health benefits?

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Meanwhile, Coca-Cola has invested billions of dollars in its vitaminwater line, paying basketball stars, including Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, to appear in ads that emphatically state that these products are a healthy way for consumers to hydrate. When Lebron James held his much ballyhooed TV special to announce his decision to join the Miami Heat, many corporations paid millions in an attempt to capitalize on the event. But it was vitaminwater that had the most prominent role throughout the show.

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I still can't get over the bizarre audacity of Coke's legal case. Forced to defend themselves in court, they are acknowledging that vitaminwater isn't a healthy product. But they are arguing that advertising it as such isn't false advertising, because no could possibly believe such a ridiculous claim.

I guess that's why they spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising the product, saying it will keep you "healthy as a horse," and will bring about a "healthy state of physical and mental well-being."

So according to Coca-Cola, anyone who even for a second thought VitaminWater, which is marketed as healthy, was even slightly healthy is a moron.
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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2013, 06:32:12 am »
I don't see how it could stand, the stuff tastes like ass, the only reason one would drink it is because they thought it was healthy.

Offline Askold

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2013, 07:07:28 am »
Apparently in EU if you claim that a product is healthy then you must have actual research data to back up those claims. And you can't just bribe a random doctor to make up a report, that study must pass a check by European Food Safety Authority. (It does cause more bureaucrasy and lawyers can make up a wording that is almost but not quite a claim of health benefits.)

Is there any law like that in USA?
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Offline Søren

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2013, 07:53:22 am »
Oh wow, this is a PR nightmare.
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Offline ThunderWulf

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2013, 08:13:43 am »
Apparently in EU if you claim that a product is healthy then you must have actual research data to back up those claims. And you can't just bribe a random doctor to make up a report, that study must pass a check by European Food Safety Authority. (It does cause more bureaucrasy and lawyers can make up a wording that is almost but not quite a claim of health benefits.)

Is there any law like that in USA?

As far as I'm aware, but don't quote me on this, as long as your claims aren't too out there and you have the correct information on the nutritional label, there is a bit of wiggle room with loopholes in that department.

Basically, as long as it's not blatant enough where it's obvious it's not true.

Oh wow, this is a PR nightmare.

Nooo kidding.
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Offline kefkaownsall

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2013, 08:40:49 am »
Basically while drugs are regulated suppliaments are not so for instance 5 Hour energy says it keeps you going for 5 hours but the only ingredient that has been tested by the FDA that will improve your energy is caffine

Offline Old Viking

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2013, 04:21:38 pm »
By virtue of the fact that it is not alive, it is impossible for the product to be "healthy."  The dispute should be over whether it is healthful.
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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2013, 06:37:00 pm »
So according to Coca-Cola, anyone who even for a second thought VitaminWater, which is marketed as healthy, was even slightly healthy is a moron.
You know, I'm not exactly in disagreement with this statement.

Offline Witchyjoshy

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2013, 07:11:19 pm »
I actually thought this topic was going to be about Coca Cola making a water-suit filled with vitamin enriched water, with the idea that you absorb it through your skin.
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Offline kefkaownsall

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2013, 07:11:37 pm »
Well the other reason for the suit is that the vitamins either don't work as well or are simply not there which breaks FDA rules about the nutritional block

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2013, 07:58:19 pm »
I like vitaminwater but I've always known that it's basically just sugar water and not a health supplement at all.
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Offline kefkaownsall

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2013, 09:26:50 pm »
Relevant commercials that prove Coke is full of shit. (not the drink) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk4cmFRCN6g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk4cmFRCN6g</a> to say nothing of the one that said it's packed with anti oxidants for health

Offline MaybeNever

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #12 on: January 16, 2013, 11:28:47 pm »
By virtue of the fact that it is not alive, it is impossible for the product to be "healthy."  The dispute should be over whether it is healthful.

I consider this case closed. Due to grammar, Coca-Cola's position is found to be technically correct.
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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2013, 12:20:29 am »
By virtue of the fact that it is not alive, it is impossible for the product to be "healthy."  The dispute should be over whether it is healthful.

I consider this case closed. Due to grammar, Coca-Cola's position is found to be technically correct.
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Offline Thejebusfire

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Re: Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water suit.
« Reply #14 on: January 17, 2013, 01:19:05 am »
I like vitaminwater but I've always known that it's basically just sugar water and not a health supplement at all.

Yeah, pretty much this.