By admin
First publised on 2021-06-18 04:07:53
People are talking about the incident - commonly referred to as Bottlegate - at the Euro 2020 post-match press conference where footballer Ronaldo removed bottles of Coca Cola from the table and picked up drinking water instead. People say that celebrity sportspersons are now more socially aware than ever before, follow trends as much as set them and take decisions that they would not have even 5 years ago.
People say that it requires a lot of conviction and belief in what one thinks is right to do something as to remove the product of a global corporation from the table before a huge and global TV audience, especially of one that spends billions of advertising dollars annually and uses sportspersons to plug its products. There is also the danger of being sued for the action. People say that Ronaldo made his point well by discarding carbonated drinks that have a lot of adverse health effects.
People are sure that Ronaldo's action will impact sales of Coca Cola products, as well as those of other carbonated drinks, worldwide (shares of Coca Cola tumbled big time after Ronaldo's action). People also say that after this de-endorsement from Ronaldo, other celebrities will think twice before endorsing a carbonated drink.
But people ask the question whether any Indian celebrity would have had the courage to do what Ronaldo did? They point to the fact that almost all Indian cricket superstars and popular film stars have plugged one or other carbonated drink in their career. They hope that they will now refrain from doing so. Experts have repeatedly warned about the ill-effects of consuming such drinks and the fact that they are habit forming makes it worse. People say that celebrity endorsement glamourizes the product and makes unsuspecting youngsters get hooked to it.