💧 Boiling CR7 vs. Ice Cold Coke
Coke lost $4b in two days after Cristiano Ronaldo recommended to drink water instead of Coca-Cola: coincidence?
🥤 In a EURO 2020 press conference, the Portuguese captain removed two bottles of Coca-Cola, pointing to a bottle of water and saying "water yes", being Coca-Cola one of the main sponsors of the European Championship.
🌎 Bear in mind that, apart from being the most-followed person on Instagram (298 million followers), Cristiano Ronaldo is also the most-followed person on Facebook with over 148 million subscribers.
❓ Why did he do that? He’s publicly against ultra-processed foods and drinks, and in a previous interview, he said about his son "I'm hard with him sometimes because he drinks Coca-Cola and Fanta sometimes and I'm p*ssed with him". Health, fitness, and wellbeing seem to be a priority to CR7, despite displaying a beer brand on Portugal’s training kit, or having a past promoting fast food.
📉 What happened? Ronaldo's Coca-Cola gesture was followed by a $4bn drop in the company's market value, which represents a loss of 1.5% compared to Fridays’ $56.16. However, analysts say that this had nothing to do with the player but instead with the announcement of a cash dividend payment.
Even so, the multi-billion dollar drinks company that sponsors the tournament has responded, saying “Everyone is entitled to their drink preferences. Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar”, while UEFA stated that “without the support of these brands it would not be possible to organize a tournament so successfully”.
💡 Imagination was unleashed and the world got a lot of memes, with brands riding the hot topic. In the meanwhile, CR7 scored again and broke two more records🥇.
🍺 UPDATE: Pogba follows Cristiano Ronaldo and hides a bottle of beer (official sponsor) in the press conference.
⚽ Have a glass of water while you take a peek at what non-sponsor brands do in football with an ambush marketing strategy.