Coca-Cola Canada urges Canadians to come together to fight against obesity in Canada

Company uses its marketing power and scale to communicate to people the importance of making informed choices and balancing "calories in" with "calories out" 

TORONTO, April 23, 2013 /CNW/ - Recognizing that every community, every stakeholder and every sector must come together to address the challenging and complex issue of obesity, Coca-Cola Canada today announced the launch of a national campaign to inspire Canadians to come together to find real solutions to this important issue affecting our society.

"This campaign aims to inform people about the concept of energy balance, educate them on our products and inspire Canadians to live more active, healthy lives," said Nicola Kettlitz, President,      Coca-Cola Ltd. "Overcoming obesity will require work from all of us. At Coca-Cola, we are committed to helping Canadians live healthy lives and working together to solve obesity."

Coca-Cola Canada's campaign is designed to show people what the Company is doing to help fight obesity and to reinforce the importance of making informed choices and balancing "calories in" with "calories out" - the energy balance equation - which is a key factor in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

The first one minute video, titled "Coming Together", debuts today on national cable news and major networks across the country. The video encourages everyone to be mindful that all calories count in managing weight, including those in Coca-Cola products and in all foods and beverages. A second spot, called "Calorie Dictionary," will debut this summer. The second ad focuses on energy balance and the amount of activity it takes to burn off calories, and demonstrates fun ways to burn off those calories. The videos are part of a global campaign launched by The Coca-Cola Company earlier this year aimed at explaining the importance of 'energy balance' to manage weight.

"We know moderation is a key component of an active, healthy and balanced lifestyle - and that we all need to make sensible choices to meet our individual nutrition and calorie needs," said Mr. Kettlitz. "We believe Coca-Cola has an important role in providing consumers with information about energy balance while offering more beverage choices, including low- and no-calorie options, clearly communicating the calorie content of our products, marketing our products responsibly and supporting community-based active living programs across the country."

About Coca-Cola Canada
Coca-Cola Canada operates in all ten provinces, employing 6,300 people in more than 50 facilities, including seven production facilities, across Canada. We offer a wide variety of non-alcoholic brands; these beverages include sparkling soft drinks, still waters, juices and fruit beverages, sports drinks, energy drinks, coffees and ready-to-drink teas. We're proud to offer some of the most popular brands in Canada including Coca-Cola®, Diet Coke®, Coke Zero®, Sprite®, Fanta®, Nestea®, PowerAde®, Minute Maid®, Dasani® and vitaminwater®. Coca-Cola in Canada is represented by Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada and Coca-Cola Ltd.

Choice of Products and Packages:

We are committed to providing a variety of products for every lifestyle and occasion, along with information to help people make informed choices and live active, healthy lives.

• We offer more than 70 low- and no-calorie beverages in Canada, and low- and no-calorie beverages now represent nearly one-third (33%) of our beverage volume in North America.
• We also offer 222 mL mini cans for many of our regular beverages, including Coca-Cola® and Sprite®.
• We have begun to incorporate a natural, zero-calorie sweetener from the stevia plant into products such as vitaminwater zero^TM.
• 40% of trademark Coca-Cola volume sold in Canada is low- and no-calorie (Diet Coke or Coke Zero).

Information to Choose the Right Product and Package:

We are committed to providing fact-based nutrition information to help people make informed choices that suit all occasions and lifestyles.

• Nutrition Labeling: In 2009, The Coca-Cola Company was the first company in the beverage industry to make front-of-pack calorie-labeling a global commitment for nearly all of our products.
• Clear on Calories: In 2010, Coca-Cola joined the Canadian beverage industry in announcing a "Clear on Calories" commitment, which includes placing calorie labeling on the front of nearly all beverage containers. We expect our company controlled vending in Canada will be 100% compliant with "Clear on Calories" communication on all vending strips by end of 2013.

Inspiring Canadians To Get Active:

• Coca-Cola Canada is at the midpoint of a ten year, $10 million partnership with ParticipACTION to support and promote the ParticipACTION Teen Challenge - a nationwide program that inspires and enables Canadian youth aged 13-19 to get moving more.  To date, more than 115,000 teens have joined the program.
• The Canadian Institute of Child Health recently received a $100,000 grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation to work with community-based organizations in Nunavut to provide support and information on healthful dietary choices and the importance of regular physical activity.
• Diabète Québec has received $50,000 from The Coca-Cola Foundation to assist them in providing the people of Quebec with support and information to better manage weight, blood sugar and activity levels.

Responsible Marketing:

• The Canadian Children's Advertising Initiative: We do not buy advertising directly targeted at audiences that are more than 35% children under 12. Our policy applies to television, radio and print, and where data is available, to the Internet and mobile phones.
• School Beverage Guidelines: In 2006, Coca-Cola and the Canadian beverage industry established national school beverage guidelines by voluntarily changing our beverage offerings in primary and secondary schools. Now we only offer 100% juice and water in elementary schools, and 100% juice, water, and low/no calorie beverages in high schools.

SOURCE: Coca-Cola Canada