'Cambia la Melodia' Health Advocacy Group Recreates Classic Coca-Cola Ad to Encourage Healthy Drinks

The Washington, D.C.-based health advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), has recreated Coca-Cola's iconic "Hilltop" ad to illustrate the effect that excessive soda consumption has on the public, as sugary beverages are a major contributor to diabetes, tooth decay, weight gain and other diseases among U.S. adults.

Hispanic Americans are 20 percent more likely to be obese than white Americans, according to statistics offered by the Office of Minority Health. Correspondingly, 37 percent of African-American and 22 percent of Hispanic-American high school students consume three or more sugar drinks a day, compared with 20 percent of whites.

Likely due to the fact that there are more outside ads (billboards, bus bench and shelter advertisements, murals and store window posters) for sugary drinks in lower-income African-American and Latino neighborhoods. Additionally, in 2013, Hispanic youth were 93 percent more likely to visit beverage company websites, compared to all youth.

Sugary drinks (soda, energy, sports drinks) are the top calorie source in teens' diets, and it's a major source of calories for U.S. as well. CSPI, a nonprofit watchdog and advocacy group that focuses on safer and healthier foods, wants to reduce incidences of soda-related disease in America and around the world.

Their latest effort in their "Cambia la Melodia" campaign, which focuses on slowing soda-related diseases, is the development of an educational video that revisits a classic Coca-Cola ad, and changes the tune by changing the lyrics.

"The inspiration [behind the "Cambia la Melodia"] campaign came from seeing the human toll of disease as a result of overconsumption of sugary drinks and wanting to help consumers understand the reality behind the industry marketing," Jim O'Hara, Director, Health Promotion Policy at CSPI, told Latin Post."In public health, we coordinate a number of strategies to reduce sugary drink consumption including excise taxes, warning labels, replacing them in vending machines on public property with healthier beverages, and public education campaigns to name a few."

Denver-area residents who participated in the film experience conditions such as tooth decay, diabetes and weight gain because of a lifetime consumption of sugary subject. According to Dr. Jeffry Gerber, a physician who appeared in the film, soda is just one of many contributors to diet-related disease.

As a physician, he often inquires about his patients' diets, and sees a connection between soda consumption and chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. However, it's difficult to ask patients to practice moderation when "all of the advertising, marketing, and overall ubiquity of soda rewires people to over consume sugary drinks."

"For the past 45 years, Coca-Cola and other makers of sugar drinks have used the most sophisticated and manipulative advertising techniques to convince children and adults alike that a disease-promoting drink will make them feel warm and fuzzy inside," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson, in a statement. "It's a multi-billion-dollar brainwashing campaign designed to distract us away from our diabetes with happy thoughts. We thought it was time to change the tune."

CSPI has Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hindi and Mandarin translations of the lyrics used in their new film as a resource for health advocates around the world. The film was produced by Scott McDonald and Gavin Anstey of the Lumenati agency, and was written by Mike Howard of Daughters & Howard. Also, Alex Bogusky, who served as executive creative director for CSPI's 2012 short film "The Real Bears," directed the PSA.