Conservative advertising campaign targets Coca-Cola’s stance on Georgian electoral law

Not mentioned here, funded by the non-profit Consumers’ Research in Washington, DC, provoked the allegations against Coca-Cola: CEO James Quincey’s sharp criticism of Georgia’s new electoral law, which was passed by the Republicans this spring.

The campaign represents a new front in the aftermath of the election overhaul, which sparked countless reporting, boycott threats and uninterrupted fodder for both parties during the election campaign. While Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have slandered Republicans for introducing “Jim Crow 2.0”, the GOP has rallied against the threat of “abandonment” and the “woke up mob”.

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In the past few months, right-wing Consumers’ Research has made a multi-million dollar push to name and shame several large corporations that recently spoke out against major conservative priorities.

Will Hild, the organization’s executive director, said his group was impartial and did not advocate any particular approach to suffrage. But it tries to send a message that companies should clean up their own actions instead of focusing on “awakened” political causes.

“They have this phenomenon of companies that have real problems, they have problems with how they treat their customers, and they have decided to distract from it by getting into those problems and going down,” Hild said in an interview . “We’ll make them known.”

The group has aired television commercials targeting American Airlines who opposed the electoral law of Texas Republicans, Nike and Major League Baseball, which moved their all-star game from Cobb County in April in response to Georgia’s electoral law .

For Coca-Cola, Consumers’ Research – which refuses to disclose its donors – hired two trucks last month to drive mobile billboards around Coke’s Atlanta headquarters and the Georgia Capitol. She created a website with links to news outlets and nonprofits, including several from the left political spectrum, that have published critical reports on Coke’s business practices. And there was a second, 30-second ad that was dark in appearance and tone, similar to a campaign ad that named Quincey for attacking Georgia’s electoral law.

While Georgia and across the country have shown many ads that blown the MLB, that of Consumers’ Research is novel not only to directly target Coke, a major economic and political force in Georgia, but also to cover topics such as work and Highlight health that would traditionally resonate with those left of center.

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Wesley Longhofer, a professor at Emory’s Goizueta Business School who focuses on the interface between business and society, said some organizations like Greenpeace have succeeded with provocative advertisements to force big changes in businesses. They did this by compiling compelling evidence and working with companies to clean up their supply chains, he said.

“But when you’re too antagonistic it’s easy for a company to either ignore you or play defense,” he said. “It’s usually less effective than getting companies to participate in the changes you are asking for.”

For its part, Coca-Cola said it respects “the right of every individual to voice their concerns and share their views”.

“But we also believe that the best way to make progress now is for us all to come together to listen, respectfully share concerns, and work together on a path forward,” the company said in a written statement . “We remain open to productive discussions with groups who may have different views.”

Coke also defended its human rights policy, highlighting its efforts to reduce added sugar in many of its products.

Consumers’ Research traces its roots back nearly a century and says its mission is “to improve knowledge and understanding of topics, policies, products and services that matter to consumers and to promote freedom, after.” to act on this knowledge and understanding “. Over the past decade, the group has made a name for itself by drafting legal briefs that aid Republican attorneys general.