Wayne Rooney may be dropped by Coca-Cola after his alleged liaisons with hookers, according to reports in the press.
Coke’s top bods in Atlanta are apparently pushing the top bods in London to drop Rooney as they are worried it will hurt the brand’s family-friendly image.
If he is dropped he would lose a huge chunk out of endorsement deals – his deal with the drinks manufacturer is reportedly worth £600,000 a year.
It is a tough spot for Coca-Cola, as either keeping Rooney or dropping him could have consequences for the business, as its different brands appeal to different consumers.
Coleen Rooney is a role-model to young women in the UK and as such a role-model to the core market of Diet Coke. If Rooney is kept on it may turn women off the brand. Also Coca-Cola has positioned itself as a family-friendly brand. Women tend to do the shopping for households, if Coke continues to support Rooney it may turn mothers away from the brand and they may be less inclined to buy Coke’s products when doing the family shop.
However Coca-Cola’s other brands may suffer if Rooney is dropped. Rooney is paid by the company to represent their PowerAde and Coke Zero brands, both of these are geared towards a young male market. In fact Zero is often referred to as ‘Bloke Coke’ and PowerAde is pretty much wholly consumed by young men in the 18- to 30-year-old demographic.
They are unlikely to be particularly upset by Rooney’s infidelity (compared to women), as it is viewed as the laddish behaviour that is to be expected of a footballer and an ordinary bloke. A source (probably one of Coke’s London execs) hit home on this point, they said: “Americans cannot fathom the laddish culture that surrounds football.’’
And if Coke drops an icon for young lads/men this may also have an adverse affect on sales of Coca-Cola’s brand geared towards this end of the market.
The company is in a very tricky position as whatever it decision it makes on Rooney’s sponsorship deal it could have damaging effects on its overall brand, its individual brands and its sales.
