A soft drink company company addressing health concerns in their ads? Apparently, the issue has become completely impossible to ignore, and Coke has decided to face to controversy head on.

In a whopping two-minute spot that began airing on national networks last night, the beverage giant mentions obesity in the first ten seconds, then emphasizes their “low calorie and no calorie” drink options:

The portion that seems to be getting the most attention- and criticism- is Coca-Cola’s description of calories intake:

“All calories count. No matter where they come from including Coca-Cola and everything else with calories. And if you eat and drink more calories than you burn off, you’ll gain weight.”

That sounds awfully like a misleading attempt to spread the blame around. Like many suspicious arguments, Coca Cola makes broad generalizations under the banner of “common sense.” It is unlikely that the calories from a spring greens salad are as much of a problem or equivalent to those from as a Double Big Gulp of Mr. Pibb.

A nutrition expert, speaking to USA Today, was skeptical of the ad, and insisted that sugary beverages play an outsize role in the obesity epidemic:

“The Coca-Cola Company still remains one of the major causes of obesity in the USA and globally,” says Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and one of the nation’s top experts on beverage consumption. “Yes, other foods matter, but the biggest single source contributor to child and adult obesity in the USA is sugar-sweetened beverages.”

What do you think?

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