“Santa Claus passed away in Lapland on December 11, 2024 at the age of 72. RIP.”

That is the message that has been published Komvidaa kombucha brand, on their Instagram profile. He assures that the Christmas character “his health was affected over the years due to excessive consumption of sugary drinks on his endless travel around the world.”

A case, as the brand points out, that must remember that the Excessive consumption of these types of drinks affects daily well-being and can have serious and irreversible long-term health consequences. Remember, in this sense, Komvida’s philosophy on well-being and care as the most important thing. “Let’s take care of what we consume, our lives will thank you“, they point out.

The creativity emulates the aesthetics of a newspaper obituary, including the symbol of the Christian cross. The fictitious obituary seeks to raise awareness among consumers about the impact on health that the consumption of sugary drinks and invite reflection on healthy habits. At the same time, it highlights the brand’s product. And Komvida assures that its drink is refreshing, ecological, with probiotics and low in calories, and is postulated as “the healthy alternative to soft drinks.”

In a statement Komvida points out that it is “a striking image” and a “strategy that seeks to raise awareness about the harmful health effects associated with excessive consumption of sugary drinks”. And it affects that, according to experts, excess sugar is linked to serious diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity.

“We knew that this was a risky campaign, but we consider that very little is said about this issue, even though the studies are on the table”said Beatriz Magro, Co-founder of Komvida, in the statement. The brand points out that the campaign “aligns with the brand’s philosophy of offering natural and healthy alternatives to traditional sugar-laden drinks.”

From reason.Why we have contacted the Refreshing Drinks Association (Anfabra), to which Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Damm and Solán de Cabras are associated, to find out their assessment of the campaign. “We will not evaluate a brand’s campaign because our position will always be the defense of good commercial practices and respect between all agents that operate in the market.“, they assure this medium.

Also remember that soft drinks are a very broad category that includes kombuchas according to their technical definition, and include a wide variety of drinks, among which sugar-free options are already the majority. They point out that currently 66% of the soft drinks sold in Spain are options without sugar or with a low content of this ingredient.

Consumer opinion

The action has captured the attention of users, but has also aroused mixed opinions. Some consumers have described as offensive, shameful and inappropriate. “You shouldn’t play with children’s magic. “There are 1,000 ways to explain that sugar is bad, unfollow for the lack of respect for childhood,” comments a user in response to the publication.

“Very bad public” either “An advertisement in very bad taste” These are other opinions that can be read. And other voices comment that kombucha also contains sugar and, in some cases, certain proportions of alcohol due to the fermentation of its ingredients.

There are also those who consider that it is a effective way to capture attention and send a strong message. “Well, it seems perfect to me. Shocking but accurate. Enough of so much nonsense, enough of so much junk food that is shoved into our eyes with misleading advertising“, explains a user.
And some remember that Santa Claus is a fictional character and open the debate in relation to criticism linked to childhood, about the use of social networks among minors.