Despite promises to ease up on advertising to kids, the sugary beverage industry has been increasing marketing to children. If you’re keeping score at home, this is the opposite.
They accomplished this feat with a diabolical genius: While pledging to keep their brands out of "television, radio, and print," brands like Coca-Cola have reached out to kids in the media the young 'uns are actually paying attention to — social media, smartphones, cause-related marketing, and the like.
And since everyone knows that soda is bad for you, sugary beverage companies have worked on hawking "fruit drinks," which tend to be sugar-water with a hint of fruit juice. Companies even advertise "real sugar," as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup. Even Michael Pollan is saying these days that the difference between corn syrup and sugar is less important than the difference between eating sugar and not eating sugar.
On top of those tricksy schemes, the companies are also doing what they do best: advertising sodas on TV and radio. Which, again, is sort of the opposite of not advertising sodas on TV and radio.
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