Coca-Cola drops Rooney from campaign
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Coca-Cola has confirmed it has dropped Wayne Rooney from a planned marketing campaign after allegations that he had sex with a prostitute while his wife Coleen was pregnant.
The news comes amid continued reports that the drink company’s Atlanta head office wants to drop the England and Manchester United star over concerns that the revelations will taint its image as a family-friendly brand.
A spokeswoman for Coke says that it has “amended” its plan to feature Rooney on Coke Zero bottles and cans this year.
“Given the situation at that time we did not feel it was appropriate to run an on-pack promotion ¬featuring Wayne Rooney.
“Our relationship with Wayne Rooney is ongoing. We are currently working with Wayne on Coke Zero Street Striker - an award-winning programme which, over the past three years, has encouraged thousands of young people to get involved in football. We are working on our marketing plans for 2011 and have no announcements to make at this time.”
Rooney is thought to earn about £600,000 a year from his deal with Coca-Cola.
He fronts a television show “Street Striker” on Sky where he helps amateur footballers develop their football skills.
The show is sponsored the drinks maker’s Coke Zero brand, which is marketed to young men and is often referred to as “Bloke Coke”.
Rooney is said to earn about £7.3m per year from endorsements including Nike and EA Sports as well as Coca-Cola.
YouGov Insight:
Coca-Cola
- 68% of UK adults drink Coca-Cola (or variants like Diet Coke), while 42% drink Pepsi (or variants).
- Coca-Cola/Coke is easily the world’s biggest soft drinks brand, but the company behind it can now claim an astounding portfolio of 500 brands and ’3,300 beverages’.
- Coca-Cola’s maximum consumer penetration in the UK reaches over 80% among younger men and women and has a similar rate across the social grades.
Click here for more information on this YouGov market report
Readers' comments (3)
Devon John | Mon, 4 Oct 2010 12:24 pm
Overpaid, overrated and very unfortunately over here..... Deserves everything he gets. When will we learn that football divas are nothing less than spoiled brats but football clubs continue to pay them hugely inflated for their APPARENT football skills,
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sue | Mon, 4 Oct 2010 1:27 pm
i wish people would stop using the word HERO for overpaid and over rated football players .. Do they defend other nations, help in a crisis I DON'T think so...... the Armed Forces are HERO''S people that put their own life on the line for others are HEROS without wanting anything for doing it they are Heros and to them a big thank you.. to the likes of Rooney and the others try getting a real Job with proper wages and stop thinking your all so special
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Anonymous | Thu, 7 Oct 2010 11:47 am
This isn't about how much he earns because frankly that amount isn't much in comparison to what he already has. It is about his exposure to the public/fame. Wouldn't you be very proud to be the face of a Coke brand?.. I would. I think it is more of a blow to his ego than his bank balance and I totally agree he should be dropped. Maybe this will make him more aware of the huge implications that come from being a jerk!
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