NEW YORK - The New York City Beverage Association (NYCBA) has launched a $1 million ad campaign to fight the New York City Health Department€™s (NYCHD) claims that daily soda consumption is unhealthy, TriplePundit.com reports.
Last year, the NYCHD launched Pouring on the Pounds, an ad campaign that highlights, sometimes graphically, a link between drinking sugary drinks and obesity. The department€™s ads claim drinking one can of soda a day can make consumers 10 pounds heavier each year.
In response, NYCBA has purchased a substantial mass transit ad buy, targeting 570 subway cars, 75 buses and 120 subway platforms.
"[I]t€™s important for us to tell our story," said NYCBA spokesperson Stefan Friedman. "All evidence is clear that the obesity epidemic comes from a number of different sources. Sugar-sweetened beverages comprise just 5% of the American diet."
Earlier this month, the American Beverage Association (ABA) launched "More Choices, Smaller Portions, Fewer Calories," a campaign whose ads will also appear in the subway system.
According to Chris Gindlesperger, spokesperson for the ABA, New York€™s anti-soda campaign is "discriminatory and singles out one product out of an array of foods and beverages, all of which contribute equally to this very complex issue."