There are few acts that can result in a massive drop in a company’s share prices. Obviously, some financial fraud, criminal activities or socially wrong acts are bound to get a company in a downward spiral.
But how often does this happen just by a celebrity putting down a bottle?
That is exactly what happened though, when yesterday footballer Cristiano Ronaldo while giving a press conference during the European Championship, set aside the two Coca-Cola bottles and raised a water bottle instead.
This act in an interesting turn of events clashed with the brand company seeing a $4 billion drop in their share prices.
What Happened With Ronaldo?
Ronaldo was speaking to the media before the Group F opener against Hungary scheduled for Tuesday.
Right as he was sitting down, he noticed two Coca-Cola bottles and one bottle of water in front of him. Without missing a beat, Ronaldo picked up the two soda bottles and set them aside almost out of the frame. He then held up the water bottle and said “Agua” which means water in Portuguese.
https://twitter.com/goal/status/1404716751988928515
Many took this to mean that Ronaldo was promoting a healthy lifestyle of drinking more water instead of seemingly unhealthy carbonated soft-drinks.
Soon after this though, the beverage brand saw its shares go down 1.6% effectively making the company’s market capitalization lose out on $4 billion.
UEFA, the governing body for European soccer commented on Ronaldo’s stunt that “Coca-Cola offers a range of drinks to suit different tastes and needs, which are available to players throughout the tournament. This includes waters, isotonic sports drinks and juices, coffee and tea, as well as Coca-Cola.”
The video to this immediately went viral especially since Coca-Cola is one of the official sponsors of Euro 2020 and thus this was seen as a major snub to the company itself.
Did Pogba Copy Ronaldo?
Soon after Ronaldo’s stunt, news came out of footballer Paul Pogba also removing a bottle of Heineken beer from his table.
Paul Pogba – a devout Muslim – removes a bottle of Heineken beer from the press table after France's win over Germany. #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/amMXov8ivi
— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) June 16, 2021
Paul Pogba, the known France midfielder during a press conference for Euro 2020 on Tuesday also removed a bottle of Heineken.
Pogba was speaking to the media after he was titled as the Man of The Match in France’s 1-0 Group F win over Germany when he did this.
For Pogba the reasoning that many seem to be giving is that he is a practicing Muslim and in the religion, one is not allowed to drink alcohol.
Ronaldo’s actions and what it resulted in led to a lot of jokes and memes going viral.
#CocaCola
Nobody:
Ronaldo: pic.twitter.com/zMXvgnBuQm— Shivangi (@memekaynat) June 16, 2021
Coca cola after seeing Ronaldo disrespect their brand. pic.twitter.com/uLi3OUAcwm
— AYOLEX (@ayolex_official) June 15, 2021
The marketing manager of Coca-Cola when Ronaldo moved the bottles: pic.twitter.com/KhdasmQJIc
— Luke Duff (@luke_duff) June 15, 2021
Who did this? pic.twitter.com/58illmbgjx
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) June 15, 2021
Christiano Ronaldo removes #CocaCola bottles from frame
Coca Cola stock price: pic.twitter.com/cKj6B3jfa1
— Argha Tribedi (@ArghaTribedi) June 16, 2021
Read More: Negligence And Bittersweet Victories: The Story Of Indian Football
Double Standards For Pogba/Ronaldo And Noami Osaka?
It is interesting to see the opposing reactions that Ronaldo and Pogba are getting and what was given to tennis player Naomi Osaka when she decided not to give post-match media interviews.
Where Ronaldo and Pogba are being labelled as ‘GOAT people’ and how they ‘burned’ the soft-drink brand or how they are the real people who are standing up for the right thing, Osaka on the other hand saw very different reaction.
Even her reasoning that it was due to her mental health and how much toxicity she felt in those post-match interviews were brushed under the rug.
Sports experts, players and common people on social media said how this was unfair to the sponsors and against the rules of the game that all sports players agree to.
However, where was this reaction when Ronaldo and Pogba are clearly affecting the sponsors to a sports events.
Some people even pointed out this same thought on social media.
@Cristiano and @paulpogba removed sponsorship products from their interview sessions and the world went Gaga. Coca-Cola even lost a little value temporarily. We are impressed. But @naomiosaka boycotted media rounds to help her mental state and she was crucified #ItISwhatitIS
— Adebayo (@Sir_Muyen_) June 16, 2021
@Cristiano and @paulpogba remove advertisers products from display during a press conference and no fuss is made but @naomiosaka refuses to take part in a press conference due to mental reasons and the book is thrown at her. Double standards???
— Alexander Folefac (@Alex_folefac) June 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/EOkala/status/1405444441519837186
i was wondering what would have happened if @naomiosaka had done what @Cristiano did at a grand slam press conf…how would the organizers have reacted? press? sponsors? public?#ronaldococacola
— Murugan Vasudevan (@muruganv) June 17, 2021
Sports commentators/ journalists said Naomi Osaka must sit through press conferences to respect sponsors, despite her depression?
Well, Coca-Cola is a major soccer sponsor and all the articles I have seen about what Ronaldo did are praising his influence.
Double standards much? https://t.co/Gge8CHyEl6— Ms. Siya Miti (@SiyaMiti_the1st) June 16, 2021
Ronaldo can insult a sponsor by removing their merch & making sure everyone knows what he’s doing by vocalizing it on screen & that’s flying fine, but Naomi Osaka cannot skip the press because she’s mentally strained?
I doubt Christiano’s contract says he can move Cola bottles.— racha ghamlouch (@__racha) June 16, 2021
Naomi Osaka: I don't want to do press because some journalists are unfair.
Media: What is she talking? She knew what she signed up for.Ronaldo and Pogba literally removed sponsors' products from sight.
Media: circkets.— The Jidé Taiwo (@thejidetaiwo) June 16, 2021
Appreciate it's not exactly the same, but #Ronaldo moved 2 bottles of #CocaCola a sponsor #EURO2020 because he doesn't like fizzy drinks, he is hailed a hero.
Naomi Osaka, doesn't want to speak to media due to mental health issues, she is fined & threatened with being kicked out— Men Against VAWG (@menagainstvawg) June 17, 2021
Piers Morgan was also called out for his double standards in this case where he applauded Ronaldo for his actions while he insulted Naomi Osaka so much for her decision.
It’s on for him to take sponsorship money from them though. I bet you would have burst into flames if it was Naomi Osaka doing that
— Jenni Taylor (@c69388186) June 15, 2021
Let us know in the comments below on what you think.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Guardian, CNN, The Indian Express
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Paul Pogba Ronaldo, Paul Pogba Ronaldo naomi osaka, naomi osaka tennis, naomi osaka controversy, naomi osaka media, Paul Pogba, Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo Coca Cola, paul pogba heineken, paul pogba footballer, paul pogba news, Cristiano Ronaldo news, naomi osaka news, ronaldo coca cola, Euro 2020 press conference, Euro 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo Euro 2020 press conference, Cristiano Ronaldo Euro 2020, coca cola shares, coca cola share price drop
Other Recommendations:
Who Is Naomi Osaka, Is It Right To Call Her Arrogant And Compare Her With Meghan Markle?
