This activity is designed to be used for two classes. You can use it to discuss Advertising, PR, Brands, International Marketing and Reputation. For the first class you give Text 1 and work with it discussing and learningnew vocabulary. Next time you give Text 2 which shows the end of the story. Work with the questions suggested for discussion.
Text 1
August 7, 2006
India Widens Ban on Coke and Pepsi
By AMELIA GENTLEMAN International Herald Tribune
NEW DELHI, Aug. 7 — Two of the world’s largest multinational companies, Pepsi and Coca Cola, today ratcheted up a long-running campaign in India to prove their soft drinks are safe, as local governments widened a partial ban on their products following a report by an environmental group claiming the sodas contained high levels of pesticide.
Cans of Coca-Cola were poured down the throats of donkeys in one protest this weekend, while activists from regional political parties smashed cola bottles made by both companies and attacked several shops in Delhi where the drinks were on sale. Protesters in Calcutta burned bottles of Coca-Cola.
On Friday, India’s Supreme Court demanded that Coca-Cola reveal its secret recipe — guarded for the past 120 years — so that the allegations of high pesticide levels could be verified with further tests.
Coca-Cola pulled out of India in 1977 after the government insisted that it reveal the formula. It returned 16 years later. The controversy highlights the challenges that many multinational companies face in their overseas operations. Despite the huge popularity of the colas, the two companies are often held up as symbols of Western cultural imperialism.
The western coastal state of Gujarat and the state of Madhya Pradesh, in central India, banned the sale of the soft drinks in schools and government offices, after tests on 11 products made by the two companies showed high pesticide levels, up to 24 times the recommended limit.
PepsiCo began a public relations offensive today, placing large advertisements in many daily papers, promising: “Pepsi is one of the safest beverages you can drink today.”
Soft drink manufacturers are not currently obliged to test their finished products for the presence of contaminants, but they do have to check the quality of the water going into the drink to ensure that trace elements of agricultural chemicals have been removed.
India’s health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, was due to make a statement in Parliament today on the issue, but failed to appear.
ratchet up – widen, broaden
to widen a partial ban
to claim
allegation
controversy
to be held up as a symbol of smth
to begin a public relations offensive
- What should the companies do to make it up for the bad publicity?
- What are potential threats faced by the two companies? How will it affect their image?
- Will you drink Cola and Pepsi in future?
- Should Coca Cola reveal their secret formula?
- Why do you think these reports were published only now? May be those were competitors who set it up?
- What will happen next?
Text 2
22 September, 2006 - Published 11:45 GMT
Pepsi and Coke in India victory
Coca-Cola and Pepsi have won their legal battle against a complete ban on selling their soft drinks in the southern Indian state of Kerala. They successfully challenged the claim that their products contain harmful chemicals.
The complete ban on the production and sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in Kerala was the toughest action taken by any Indian state in response to the allegations of pesticide contamination. It was introduced in early August following a report by an Indian campaign group, the Centre for Science and Environment, which claimed the drinks they tested contained harmful traces of chemicals.
The ban shut off a market of thirty-million potential customers in the south of the country and reinforced the negative publicity facing the soft drinks giants. But Coca-Cola and Pepsi went to court, arguing that the communist state government acted outside of its powers and that the prohibition was harsh and unfair.
The Kerala High Court has now found in favour of the two companies, ruling that only the central government has the power to ban food products. Coca-Cola and Pepsi also dispute the evidence on which the ban was based, saying they can verify that the ingredients they use conform to the highest purity standards.
John Sudworth, BBC Correspondent, Delhi
allegations
statements which have been made but not proved which say that someone has done something wrong or illegal
pesticide contamination
making the drinks not safe because they include poisonous chemicals used by farmers to kill insects and other bugs which damage their crops
traces
small amounts
potential
possible
reinforced
made stronger
prohibition
restriction, ban
dispute the evidence
do not accept that the proof given is true and correct
verify
prove
conform to the highest purity standards
follow the highest standards of cleanliness
- Who benefited most from these media campaigns? Don’t you think that Coca Cola and Pepsi received the best advertising they could imagine?
- Can it be the case that these actions were just parts of a carefully-planned PR campaign by Coca Cola?(Now everybody knows that Coca Cola is the safest drink in the world according to the court decision)