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Coca-Cola advised to correct misleading TV commercial for ginger ale

11 Comments

The Consumer Affairs Center said on Wednesday it had asked Coca-Cola (Japan) Co to correct a misleading TV commercial for its Canada Dry Ginger Ale FIBER8000 drink which ran from April 24 until May 7.

The TV commercial described the launch of its Canada Dry Ginger Ale FIBER8000 as “tokuhou,” meaning special report. The center said it might potentially mislead consumers that its new drink line had been certified as “tokuho," a designation used for food and drink items that have been authorized as having health benefits.

A Coca-Cola official commented, “We would like to sincerely accept the fact that some people misunderstood the commercial.”

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11 Comments
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That's GINGER ALE?! I've seen it on the shelf at the local combini for a while now and always figured it was some crazy hangover-curing hoodoo punch. What odd marketing!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Consumer Affairs Center should also prohiibit the sale of glucosamine in Japan. Glucosamine is claimed to effective against joint pain, and was widely sold in America until the USDA found it to be completely ineffective. So sales of Glucosamine were stopped in America, only to begin being sold in Japan.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

It's Ginger Ale with fiber. So, it is more like "some crazy hangover-curing hoodoo punch."

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There must be a wealth of misleading ads - glucosamine, as sangtesu03 says, and almost anything directed at old people's health and women's skin, for example - and yet the Consumer Affairs Center picks out this.

I wonder if Coca Cola being a well known foreign brand helped them swiftly make up their minds.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A soft drink thatll rot your teeth and make you poop. Whats next?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I wonder if Coca Cola being a well known foreign brand helped them swiftly make up their minds.

Or is it that they're a cynical vendor of syrup who don't give two hoots about your health?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Sangetsu03, Glucosamine was not banned in the USA and the USDA can not ban it. It is the FDA that controls banning drugs and supplements. It was banned in the UK not in America. As far as the ad with a word that can mean 2 different things, there are many words in most languages with more than one meaning and part of advertising is to play on words. But they step over the line when one can mean approved.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Article here is a bit misleading.

Currently there is a massive boom with 'fat burning' soda drinks. Kirin Mets, Pepsi Special, Stylee, etc. All have minerals/chemicals in them (such as Dextrin) that stop the body absorbing fat from food which you eat while drinking them. These drinks get a seal from the health board "特定保健用食品" (tokuteihokenyoushokuhin), which means it is a 'health drink'. That label gets shortened as "tokuho" and currently there is a big market in these drinks

Along comes coke with their Fiber8000 version of their Ginger ale, advertised as being "TOKUHOU" (特報), or special news. Of course they write that in katakana, and it sounds similar to the tokuho label given to other fat burning drinks.

i'll admit, i thought it was one of them too, and bought one to try. Not exactly too bummed about it, but can definitely see where they were being misleading (same black and gold label as many of the real tokuho drinks)

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Actually, the ad above even goes further "we put an astonishing amount of fat burning dextrin in! An unbelievable 8000mg! Add ginger ale to the carbonated weight watcher drinks list!"

Looking at my Pepsi Special in front of me it only has 5g (5000mg) of fat burning dextrin in it.

So it may be a case of Coke just forgetting to get the seal of approval (probably costs a bunch), but actually having a legitimate fat burning drink.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yes I agree the Japnese Publick are nieive and need to be fully protected from all but what the government things they should belive.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Any ginger in it???

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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