Despite Press Releases, PepsiCo Not Abandoning Schools

by Lisa Ray · 2010-03-20 11:30:00 -0700
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PepsiCo announced this week that it will remove full-calorie, sweetened drinks from schools worldwide by 2012. In most reports of this news, you’ll read that both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola agreed to curb their in-school soda sales domestically way back in 2006.

Pepsi is on a public relations high right now. There's less than two weeks left in the popular (at least one billion media impressions) Pepsi Refresh Project. And everyone's hustling to jump on Michelle Obama's childhood obesity bandwagon, including members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Let’s not forget, however, that PepsiCo makes more than Pepsi. They make Lay's and Ruffles potato chips, Fritos, Cheetos, Funyuns, Sunchips, Cracker Jacks, and Baken-ets fried pork skins. In fact, their Doritos product managers produced and distributed a helpful branded bookmark for all the kids at our school in 2008. I'm guessing it hit schools across the country.

Yet the PepsiCo CEO claims, “We have long advocated for school settings to be made as conducive as possible to promoting the health of students.”

Really? The soda machines still serve as 8-foot ads that kids see every time they’re in the hallway (in marketing-speak, that’s a lot of impressions). They partner with schools to provide Pepsi-branded recycling bins. And in Durham Public Schools, PepsiCo kindly sponsored a technology showcase for teachers and students -– complete with Pepsi refreshments. And I've already mentioned the bookmarks.

The soda may not be there, but the Pepsi brand is. Corporations -- especially those who sell food and drinks that do nothing but add to the obesity epidemic -- cannot be allowed to market to school children who are, essentially, captive audiences.

Don't be fooled. PepsiCo is not leaving public schools. They're just getting started.

Photo credit: Lawrence Yang

Lisa Ray is the founder of Parents for Ethical Marketing. She also blogs at CorporateBabysitter.org.
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