As the biggest beverage company in the world, Coca Cola has exercised its power in recent years to burnish its image by doing good things. A few years ago, for instance, it launched a responsibility campaign that promised to allay concerns about the company's giant environmental footprint with investments in new trucks, new vending machines, and "water neutrality" in places where it operates.But until now, it hasn't responded much to criticisms that strike at the root of its famous product: its sodas are making America fat. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's measure to restrict sodas from being sold in jumbo sizes, which goes into effect in March--and efforts around the country to impose taxes on sugary drinks, or remove sodas from schools--have landed Coca Cola in the general company of the tobacco and gun industry. And like those industries, Coke is fighting back against "sugar control" with a pair of saccharine TV ads that feature happy, beautiful and non-obese people drinking their beverages, and the message that by "working together," America can fight obesity.
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