GET REAL! Toolkit • Talk Back to Media
Month, Day, Year
[Your return address]
Joseph V. Tripodi
The Coca-Cola Company
DUN 500
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30301
Dear Mr. Tripodi,
I am writing to express my disapproval of one of your latest advertisements for Coca-Cola
Soda, titled “Be Okay”. I understand the advertisement was pulled in the United Kingdom, and if
it is not pulled or amended in the United States, I will encourage people, via my social network,
to boycott your product.
I am targeting this particular advertisement because of the dangerous behavior it
encourages. The advertisement shows people engaged in various activities, paired with
the amount of calories the activity burns. At its core, this behavior can be categorized as
binging and purging as well as extreme exercising, both of which are performed by people
with eating disorders. If your goal of the advertisement was to show that the soda should be
consumed guilt-free, then there would be no need to imply that the calories should be burned
immediately. The behavior that your ad is suggesting is also dangerous for people recovering
from eating disorders who already feel extremely hesitant when consuming regular foods.
Seeing commercials like this can cause a relapse and encourage the dangerous habits that you
are glamorizing in your advertisement. If this advertisement is not removed from all outlets, Mr.
Tripodi, I will use every online networking tool available to encourage my followers to boycott
your product. I will also contact singer Demi Lovato, a survivor of bulimia, and inform her of the
harmful messages your advertisement is sending. My involvement with the Get REAL! Project
and the National Eating Disorders Association will ensure that the fact that your company is
promoting negative body image is spread nationwide.
Your commercial can very well plant the seed that starts an eating disorder or breaks the
progress of someone recovering from one. So in conclusion, Mr. Tripodi, in your position as
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer, I urge you to pull this
commercial off the air and off of the internet because of the body-negative message it sends to
consumers and to a society that is bombarded by millions of advertisements on a daily basis.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
Get REAL! about Media and Body Image | California State University, Northrdige | National Eating Disorders Association