From Julia Havey’s Website (Presumably Taken on Yet Another Occasion When She Wasn’t Promoting Herself)
Weight-Loss Author Sues Coca-Cola “for Our Children”
St. Louis weight-loss instructor [Julia Havey] is suing Coca-Cola over its product loyalty campaign, claiming the program might encourage kids to drink so much of the sugary soft drink that they could die.
The campaign, called “My Coke Rewards” gives customers points for buying Coca-Cola products. Customers trade in points for prizes that range from baseball gloves to free vacations.
The suit doesn’t seek monetary damages but asks Atlanta-based Coca-Cola to alter or drop the rewards program.
“We’re parents, and this isn’t right for our children,” Havey said.
You can buy her wares here: JuliaHavey.com I find it hilarious that she has no ethical problem providing a link to NoniHealingJuice.com, which spouts the usual claims: “NoniDocumentedHealthBenifits:Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis Treatment, High Blood Pressure, Pain, Obesity, Sexual Disfunction, Tuberculosis, Head Aches, Constipation, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Addiction, Indigestion, Weight Loss, Allergies.”
But Coca-Cola? Now that’s evil.
One final link: (Julia in her own words):
“Children as old young as 13 can sign up to try to collect points and win these top prizes, and could be putting themselves at risk… of death!! … I am fighting Coca-Cola and am demanding they end this ridiculous contest or at the very least adjust the prize redemption levels to ones that aren’t deadly….”
I thought this site had some moderation of comments. How did you get from “vegetarians/health nuts” to “Christians”? Did the church bells wake you up too early this morning?
On the article … lawsuits are the way to get attention in this country (US). Since money so preoccupies our lives, it is the one thing we tend to pay attention to; much like the Plame lawsuit. If a federal investigation can’t yield results, then “take ’em to court.”
I agree, it seems ridiculous to me, but no more so than some others that have succeeded (e.g., hot coffee at McDonalds).
This is nothing. The activists want to tax all ‘junk food’, and have been somewhat successful at getting vending machines out of schools. In California, they already banned whole milk.
Dont these people get it, everything will harm you, just a matter of picking which way you want to go. If a parent is truly concerned about this just stop getting them soda or for the truly anal (in case they are sneaking soda, just for the points) then put a filter on your computer.
*sigh* Just another way for parents to bypass their own responsibility for raising their children. If they spent half the energy it takes to sue a company on being good parents, the issue would resovle itself.
“…to accumulate enough points by that time for high-end prizes, customers would need to drink hundreds of Cokes a day, she said.”
“We’re parents, and this isn’t right for our children,” Havey said.
Then the parents shouldn’t buy massive quantities of Cokes for their children (assuming any of them do, which I doubt).
Lawsuits like this are a reason why we need a “loser pays” system.
Did a little research. The coke rewards system gives you 3 points per bottle, or 10pts per 12pack cans. Prizes range from a PC video game for 200 pts all the way up to a 1 week RV rental for a family of 5 with $1,000 spending cash for 26000pts. All of the big prizes I saw were not even directed at children…..but at entire families. These are not pts to collect individually, but as a group.
Granted, that vacation would make your family drink 23.74 20oz bottles of coke a day for a year. Or 7.12 12packs per day for a year.
Maybe if you owned a vending machine and filled it out of cases.
I agree with the “loser pays” comment.
And I don’t need this lady’s help to protect my kids from stupidity. Hasn’t she ever heard of natural selection? If someone is stupid enough to drink enough Coca Cola to die, then that just threngthens the gene pool for the rest of us.
I betcha me and her could fit into those pants together, if I lost as much as she is trying to say she lost. Well, maybe a bit more.
They also already got politicians to force milk sold in California to be healthier. You can’t sell standard whole milk there.
Dvorak, I am not an idiot, first off. Secondly, the picture taken was clearly taken to promote my weight loss, it’s a publicity picture used on my site and in various media outlets.
I have been “promoting myself” if you will, or helping others to improve their health and lose weight as the facts will show for over 10 years, despite that lengthly time spent “promoting myself” I haven’t had to resort to suing anyone to propell my books to best seller status (#2 on Amazon.com, Awaken the Diet Within) or to get the title of Master Motivator and an expert in motivation at eDiets.com(Forbes best of the Net) to 14 million readers–clearly I do not need to sue anyone to drum up business.
My decision to fight Coca-cola is based on their ridiculous contest and it’s inherent health complications.
I care much more about the 2.6 million lives lost prematurely to obesity and overweight related causes than I care about your negative view of my actions.
If ONE live is saved because I brought awareness to the dangers of drinking soft drinks then mine will be a life well lived.
Respectfully, Julia Havey
Thanks for joining us Miss Havey. I find it interesting that you never bothered to defend your lawsuit with any facts. Relying on vague conclusions will get your lawsuit tossed out pretty quickly.
Heck, I’d like to know how you even have standing to bring the lawsuit. I.e., how were you harmed by the contest? From your picture it’s clear you’re not a teenager. Are you bringing the suit on behalf of one of your children? Or did all the teenagers in the world sign over power of attorney to you? (Or, are you a media whore who knows quite well your lawsuit will be quickly dismissed?!)
And in case you don’t know, you are doing much more harm to teens than Coke ever will. You underestimate them. Benjamin Franklin was already publishing by the age of 12. But you’re saying he lacked the mental capacity to enter a contest?! No I’m sorry, Coke is saying he lacked the mental capacity at age 12. You’re saying he lacked it after a year of publishing when he turned 13. You reap what you sow, and expecting teens to be infants only makes them infantile.
And exactly what age do we have the mental capacity to enter contests? Eighteen?! So essentially you’re saying that even bright 16 year olds should be lumped with the lowest common demoninator under force of law.
“I know you’re smart, you graduated high school when you were 12, you’re enrolled in an ivy league university, and you run your own company, but there are stupid 13 year olds out there so we have to treat you as if you’re stupid too. You may not like it, but it’s the law!”
Is that really the world you want to live in?!
Julia, idiot or not, that item was posted by K B — so don;t jump all over me personally for writing it. Cripes.
SN, the suit was filed based on facts. The rules, the marketing and the prize reward points provided the facts, as did The World Health Organization’s findings on Obesity and the need to protect children from unethical marketing of unhealthy products to them.
My defense here was based on the contention that my picture was taken ‘at another time when I wasn’t publicizing myself’, when clearly, it was and is a publicity shot.
The suit was filed on behalf of my teenage children, no power of attorney invested in me from children around the world, it only takes one to make the case.
Young authors? that’s your arguement. OK, let’s talk about the Harvard youth who got a publishing deal and was so immature that she plagerized the bulk of her book, and SHE is smart enough to get into Harvard.
Teens may be smart but we don’t allow them to buy cigarettes and booze because it is unhealthy for them, soft drink consumption is very unhealthy too but you don’t seem to think we need to do anything to deture them from drinking it? I do.
Dvorak, sorry, didn’t see that someone else posted it, I saw your name on the site. However, I didn’t jump all over you, just pointed out that I am not an idiot.