PepsiCo Files Lawsuit Against Coca-Cola Over Ad for Sports Beverage
Posted on: Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 09:00 CST
By Caroline Wilbert, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mar. 22--A PowerAde Option commercial featuring two Amish farmers drag racing with wagons is at the center of a lawsuit filed this week by PepsiCo against Coca-Cola.
Pepsi, which owns sports drink leader Gatorade, contends that the commercial misleads consumers into thinking the low-calorie PowerAde Option, a Coke product, provides more performance enhancement than Gatorade.
In the commercial, which has been airing during the NCAA basketball tournament, farmers race with bales of hay in their wagons. The winning farmer represents Option, and the loser represents Gatorade. The Option farmer has fewer bales in his wagon to represent Option's fewer calories.
Pepsi is suing to stop the commercial from airing. A hearing is scheduled for this morning in U.S. District Court in Chicago to determine whether Coke will have to stop airing the commercial until a final decision is made.
PepsiCo argues that "in each of these commercials, Coca-Cola makes the literally false claim that PowerAde Option is superior to Gatorade, in that it provides a performance advantage while containing fewer calories."
The suit argues that Gatorade's calories provide additional energy to working muscles and therefore increase performance.
"There is a big difference between a refreshment beverage and a functional beverage," said P.J. Sinopoli, a spokeswoman at Gatorade. "What they are telling consumers is patently inaccurate."
Coke, however, isn't backing off.
"Our advertising tells the truth, and we stand by it," said Coke spokesman Dan Schafer.
The National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau usually handles such disputes and has already ruled on what Coke is allowed to claim about Option. The question is whether Coke is complying with that ruling. The NAD decided that Coke could not air the commercial without disclosing "that consumers will not receive the energy replacement benefits provided by Gatorade."
The suit claims that Coca-Cola "apparently changed its mind when it decided to launch its new television campaign."
Coke says it complied with the NAD decision by including a graphic that lists the calories of both drinks. The graphic, which is shown at the end of the commercial, includes the words "carbohydrate energy" next to the word "calories." This tells viewers that because PowerAde Option has fewer calories than Gatorade, it also has less carbohydrate energy, Schafer said.
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PEP, KO,
Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
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