Cristiano Ronaldo Coca-Cola snub reveals influence of sporting stars
Coca-Cola suffered a $5.2 billion share price drop today, after soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo urged people to “drink water” instead.
During a news conference at the Euro Championships, Ronaldo swept bottles of the sponsors drink off the table and replaced them with a water bottle.
Branding expert Mike Drysdale said it shows the huge impact stars can have on a brand.
“There is a pretty strongly held belief in brand marketing that people trust people, more than people trust brands,” he said.
“But there is obviously a massive risk when things go wrong.”
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“Drink water”
Cristiano Ronaldo quickly put coke bottles aside during his press conference.
There’s a reason he’s still going strong at 36 😅#POR #EURO2020
— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) June 14, 2021
(Photo: Angel Martinez – UEFA/ Getty Images.)