The decision of Cristiano Ronaldo to remove a couple of Coca-Cola bottles from the camera view at the Euro Trophy press conference does raise a few eyebrows. Mostly, it is because it resulted in denting the value of the soft drink maker’s sponsorship of the Championship.
Also, it brings out an important point- how far do elite sports stars decide the future of a brand due to the advent of social media and its usage? And while it is true that there have been a few studies that decree that the soft drink is not particularly healthy, to what extent do athletes determine what the common people consume?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Stand Against Carbonated Drinks
Cristiano Ronaldo, the current captain of the Portuguese National team, is popular for his devotion to his body. This led to him eschewing alcohol and carbonated drinks- as he lifted a bottle titled ‘Agua’- which means water. The brand of water, ironically, is also owned by Coca-Cola- but the milk has already been spilled.
For, more people know about the iconic red bottle of this soft drink than they know about the mineral water subsidiary. With the footballer having a social media following of 550 million, some backlash was expected.
Tim Crow, a sports marketing consultant- one of the first faces that advised Coca-Cola to get in on the football sponsorship trend for the last two decades- has stated that it naturally quite a big event if one of the biggest faces of a game publicly decries the sponsored product.
He further stated that such risks are to be expected, despite the company paying millions of dollars to be a sponsor- which includes contractual obligations for teams and the players- something Cristiano Ronaldo inadvertently broke.
Mark Borkowski, a PR expert, has analyzed Cristiano Ronaldo’s involvement. He believes that Ronaldo’s position at the head of all social media earners gives him the power to make a statement. And this comes irrespective of the contracts imposed by the company- for they barely are able to control player movements.
