When life gives you lies, call'em on it

Coca Cola in Australia recently ran afoul of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

And I quote:

"THE ACCC has found Coca-Cola was misleading in a "myth busting" ad about the soft drink.

Coca-Cola will have to publish corrective advertising after the competition watchdog found the company made "totally unacceptable" claims that its drink did not rot teeth or lead to weight gain."

Okay, we all know that Coca Cola is not the healthiest thing on earth and saying it doesn't lead to weight gain are quite specious. What is more interesting is that the Advertising Standards Bureau (an industry body) ruled that the ads were "truthful and honest".

So, Coca Cola is now faced with running corrections in 7 newspapers and on the net. Not quite the desired effect of the campaign one would think.

Here's the crux: the industry group used 'community standards' to evaluate the ad, while the government group used legislation. In a showdown, who do you think is going to win?