Ronaldo Vs Coca Cola: Negative Campaign Two Big Brands, Why Did CR7 Win?

JAKARTA - The attitude of Christiano Ronaldo in the press conference ahead of the Euro 2020 match between Portugal and Hungary left a big story. Ronaldo shifted two Coca Cola bottles on the table and replaced them with mineral water. This is said to have caused a loss of more than IDR 57 trillion for Coca Cola. How can?

Before starting the press conference, shortly after taking a seat in front of the reporters, Ronaldo saw two bottles of Coca Cola and an empty bottle of mineral water in front of him. Ronaldo removed two bottles of Coca Cola.

While the empty bottle of mineral water he lifted and said "agua ... Nao Coca Cola," which was translated by many mass media as an invitation to drink mineral water, not Coca Cola. "Drink water ... No Coca Cola," The Guardian translates.

As a result of the incident, Coca Cola lost big. Quoting Marca, when European stock markets opened at 3 pm local time, Coca Cola's shares were close to 56.10 US dollars.

Then, just 30 minutes later, when Ronaldo and Fernando Santos entered the press room at the Puskas Stadium, Tuesday, June 15, the coke company's shares fell to their lowest level: 55.22 US dollars per share.

Water only for Cristiano Ronaldo (via @EURO2020) pic.twitter.com/XZBDoDnIZJ

— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 15, 2021

With the above note, it means that Coca Cola's shares fell 1.6 percent. Coca Cola's market capitalization value also fell, from 242 billion to 238 billion US dollars.

And if the total loss is calculated, Coca Cola suffered a loss of up to 4 billion US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 57.043 trillion. From an industry point of view, what Ronaldo is doing is a negative campaign.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Conceptually, a negative campaign is an attempt to reduce the value of an item by comparing it with other, better products.

To understand the logic, we need to look at Ronaldo and Coca Cola as two brands that carry opposing spirits. In this context, the two brands face each other in the middle of health issues.

"In Ronaldo's context, he is trying to educate the public that mineral water is healthier than fizzy drinks," said the economist who is also the Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira to VOI, Wednesday, June 16.

"That's fine as a public figure and sportsman. But for Coca Cola it's a loss because Coca Cola builds branding quite expensively then the brand goes down because of Ronaldo," added Bhima

As a result of the negative campaign, investors relinquished their share ownership in Coca Cola. "If the negative campaign continues, Coca Cola sales may decline. This is reflected in the profit that will be affected," Bhima said.

Once again, the issue of Ronaldo and Coca Cola is the opposite of two brands. Both are great, of course. But in the health dimension, where both brands are confronted today, Ronaldo has more to gain.

Ronaldo's image is more positive in this dimension. That's clear. And how the world's public resistance has been built against soft drinks, it becomes another force in Ronaldo's negative campaign against the Coca Cola brand.

"Because (Ronaldo) is a figure who has an influence on the consumption behavior of fans, both football fans and outside the context of football."

The issue of soft drinks has long been faced with health impacts. Some countries have even imposed excise taxes on soft drinks and sweetened drinks. That is, Ronaldo's action is actually not new.

Ronaldo only amplifies what has long been the focus of the world. The countries that have imposed excise duty on soft drinks are England, Chile, Mexico, to several states in the United States (US), such as Philadelphia and Washington.

Ronaldo himself has long been known as an athlete who stays away from carbonated and fizzy drinks. An open secret about how Ronaldo has a healthy diet of sugar, fat, and fried foods.

*Read other information about ECONOMY or read other interesting articles from Yudhistira Mahabharata.