In a recent press conference at the Euros, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was seen shifting bottles of Coca-Cola and choosing water instead. Lifting the bottle, he also encouraged viewers to choose water over soft drinks. Everyone knows how big a health fanatic he is. While this press conference went on in Budapest on Monday, it didn’t take time for the brand’s market share to get wiped out by millions once the story hit different platforms.
By holding the bottle of water, Ronaldo said ‘Agua’ to ask people to try water over soft drinks as the latter is bad for health. Due to this declaration, Coca-Cola’s share price dropped from $56.10 to $55.22 billion. This equals to a market value drop of $4 bn which is a huge loss for the company. And let us remind you that Coca-Cola bottles were spread on the table only because the brand is one of the sponsors of the Euro Cup.
Did Coca-Cola Have Something To Comment About The Incident?
The brand came back the next day to respond to various news portals talking about the incident.
They mentioned that everyone was entitled to their own drinking preferences. It so happened that the Portuguese footballer didn’t like the fact that two cold drink bottles were kept in front of him at his table. Coca-Cola also clarified that every player is offered 1 bottle of Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in addition to water at the table.
They didn’t mind Ronaldo’s gesture despite facing a huge loss. The company is sponsoring the UEFA Championship this year and expects to see some of the best players and teams on the field. Since Ronaldo also has a massive fan following on Instagram, fans are destined to follow in his footsteps.
What do you think of this situation that blew out of proportion due to a small gesture made by one of the best footballers in history?