The world-famous football player opened a bottle of Coke at the press conference, the main sponsor of the European Cup.
On Monday, football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo attended a press conference to talk about his Portuguese team’s chances in the first game of the European Championship (Euro 2020). But before anyone could ask a question, Ronaldo picked up the two bottles of Coca-Cola placed in front of him and moved them out of the camera’s field of view. Then he raised the bottle of water he had brought into the reporter’s area, and said the word “agua” in his mouth.
The 36-year-old has long been known for his commitment to strict diets and an ultra-healthy lifestyle—so much so that one of his former Manchester United teammates joked that if Ronaldo invites you over, you should “say no”. Lunch, because you will get chicken and water, and then a long training session.
In any case, Ronaldo’s cold soda may be a brand effect for him, but it has some serious consequences for Coca-Cola, one of the sponsors of the Euro 2020. (Yes, the competition should be held last year. Yes, the organizer chose to keep the original name.)
According to the Guardian, after Ronaldo’s press conference, the company’s stock price fell from US$56.10 to US$55.22 “almost immediately”; as a result, the market value of Coca-Cola fell by US$4 billion, from US$242 billion to US$238 billion. US dollars. (At the time of writing, Coca-Cola’s stock price was $55.06.)
A spokesperson for Euro 2020 told the media that before each press conference, players will be provided with Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola zero sugar or water, adding that everyone “has the right to choose their own beverage preferences.” (French midfielder Paul Pogba also removed a bottle of Heineken from his seat at his own pre-match press conference; as a practicing Muslim, he does not drink.)
Some organizations praised Ronaldo’s single-player anti-soda movement. The British Obesity Health Alliance said on Twitter: “It’s great to see a role model like Ronaldo refuse to drink Coca-Cola. It sets a positive example for young fans and demonstrates his cynical marketing attempts to associate him with sugary drinks. Expressing contempt.” Others remember that in 2013, Ronaldo appeared in a TV commercial, offering “free cheese wedges” for incompletely healthy KFC meals, with every purchase of a Cristiano Ronaldo tumbler.
If Ronaldo were going to start beef with any Coke brand, you would think it would be Pepsi. In 2013, just before Sweden faced Portugal in the play-offs of the World Cup qualifiers, Swedish Pepsi carried out a strange advertisement in which the Ronaldo Voodoo doll was subjected to various cartoonish abuses. These ads were not welcomed by, uh, almost everyone in Portugal, and PepsiCo apologized and cancelled the event for “[put] the sport or competitive spirit negatively affected”. (This didn’t bother Ronaldo: he performed a hat-trick in Portugal’s 3-2 win.)
The Coca-Cola chaos has had a greater impact on the Coke Company than it has on Cristiano. He scored two goals in the first round of Portugal’s victory over Hungary and became the best scorer in the history of the European Championship. If he is still toasting to his many achievements-and he is likely to do so-we can guess that there is nothing in that cup.
Post time: Jun-22-2021