Cock water instead of Coca-Cola: Guerrilla campaign paste over posters

For 14 years, young freestyle sports professionals and nutrition coaches have been involved with the Schtifti Foundation, which raises awareness among children and young people about an active lifestyle, balanced nutrition and sustainable consumption. The Gorilla program has now become an international movement supported by over 100 ambassadors.

"The strategy of large corporations is easy to see through"

65,000 schoolchildren have already taken part in one-day workshops throughout Switzerland. A lot of experience has been gained in the process. Schtifti Foundation-founder Roger Grolimund says: "We are very concerned that schoolchildren are already drinking energy drinks for breakfast. Sweet drinks have an enormous impact on health and can cause hyperactivity. The strategy of the large corporations is easy to see through: To show their products in an active living environment, stars are bought in as ambassadors and opinion leaders. However, kids are not informed about the consequences of excessive consumption of these sweet drinks or light products."

Grolimund notes that more and more professional athletes today are turning away from the beverage multinationals and promoting drinking water. "If you wear a Red Bull logo on your cap, you have to be aware of your role as a role model to kids. Kids look up to you and don't think about what's really in that can. This world needs a sustainable and honest change, it's high time for that."

"After all, you don't give plants sweet drinks".

Freestyle skier and world champion Virginie Faivre also supports Gorilla with full conviction: "Manufacturers of sweet drinks have never interested me as a professional athlete, because my body is my most important asset. I drink water and not sweet drinks, because energy comes from nature. After all, you don't give plants sweet drinks either."

Other stars have far fewer concerns in this regard and appear as testimonials for sweet drink multinationals. The recently presented new Coca-Cola brand ambassadors Xherdan Shaqiri, Stress, Alexandra Maurer and Zoë Pastell are currently featured on the nationwide billboard campaign. "The question remains why these stars and Coca-Cola can represent such a campaign with a clear conscience when they all know the health consequences," Grolimund tells Advertising Week. "Young people don't care about product descriptions or nutritional information on Coke bottles, they are influenced by the stars to the point that they don't care." If an ambassador says Coca-Cola is cool, many children and young people will think so, he criticizes.

Said ambassador campaign became the target of a guerrilla action on Thursday, in which the brand logos of the beverage company were taped off. The message: water is healthier and cheaper.

The campaign was developed by the core team of the Schtifti Foundation: "You don't need an agency for such a campaign, you just need motivated hands, a big heart for the next generation, and a little human understanding," explains Grolimund when asked by Werbewoche. He emphasizes that few posters were pasted over, and that this was done with Gecko tapes, which can be removed again with a flick of the wrist. "Not a single poster was vandalized, destroyed or damaged."

"But does not correspond to our understanding of what fair play is about"

And what does Coca-Cola say? The company offers consumers a wide range of products and provides transparent and clear information on the sugar and calorie content of each one, says spokesman Matthias Schneider in response to an inquiry. The campaign communicates that every consumer should be free to decide which of the various Coca-Cola variants is the right choice at the appropriate moment. Those who need a lot of energy, like Shaqiri, go for Coca-Cola Classic - those who enjoy a leisurely day with little exercise, like Alexandra Maurer, for example, may be better served by a calorie-free variant. The goal is to offer consumers as wide a range as possible across all brands, Schneider says. "If someone chooses tap water instead of one of our beverages, we will of course accept that - the choice should always be up to the consumer."

And the Schtifti Foundation's guerrilla campaign? Schneider says he has heard of it and that the campaign is "an interesting approach. "But it does not correspond to our understanding of fair play and clearly violates the lawful handling of third-party property. They welcome the exchange on the topic and will therefore seek a discussion with Gorilla and Roger Grolimund. And: The company has already worked with the organization in the past on various campaigns to promote a balanced lifestyle. (hae)