• by J. Max Robins , Featured Columnist, March 20, 2015

Sometimes the smartest brands use content marketing in a remarkably dangerous and stupid way. Case in point: Coca Cola's recent sneaky gambit, employing nutritionist bloggers to sell the iconic soft drink as a heart-smart snack.

Last month, nutritionists paid by the beverage mega-giant were touting mini-cans of Coke as a healthy snack option in online columns, radio commentary and print. Making the whole thing particularly odious, this paid content was insinuated into stories about February's Heart Health and Black History Month. 

Without shame, the world's largest beverage company has admitted to paying to push mini-cans of Coke as a part of a healthy diet, arguing the marketing ploy is simply a version of “product placement.” A  Coca-Cola spokesman told the Associated Press that the semi-stealth effort was what virtually all brands do to shine a positive light on their respective products.

“We have a network of dietitians we work with,” the Coke spokesman told the AP. “Every big brand works with bloggers or has paid talent."

Hey, Mom, it's no big deal. All the kids do it.

No way. This is about putting nutritionists on the pad to push a big lie. 

Or as veteran nutritionist Jody Gilman more reasonably says: “No way” is sugary soda a heart-smart snack. “Good things don't always come in small packages,” adds Gilman. “[Mini-cans] may provide temporary portion control, but they don't promote a change in behavior. Consumers would be better served by working with a nutritionist who consults on truly smart choices and proven methods of behavior modification.”

Sure, I enjoy a Coke and a smile as much as the next caffeine and sugar fiend.  A mini-can is not as bad a choice as a Big Gulp. It may be good as an occasional guilty pleasure and a fast-fade thirst-quench. But come on -- part of a heart-healthy diet?  Truly, I thought Coke was smarter than this. When I first read an article about the campaign, I thought I was being pranked by The Onion.

Yes, it's true that most major companies, from Big Agra to Big Pharma, are in the content marketing business, underwriting research and spreading the word from seemingly independent media across platforms to burnish brands.  Still, the savvy marketers at Coke should know better. This is exactly the kind of content marketing that stretches credulity and runs the risk of backfiring big time. 

Sure, the thumbnail bios for most of the scribes talking Coke-is-heart-smart trash say these hired quote-chimps work as consultants for the food and beverage industry, including Coca-Cola. Yet this isn't true transparency. It's the kind of foolishness that tarnishes a brand and raises legitimate concerns with federal agencies like the FTC and FDA.

I'm pretty much a free-speech absolutist. But heart-smart mini-Cokes for Black History Month? There ought to be a law.