© James Beard
London Eye has adopted a new name and rebranding following the commencement of a sponsorship agreement with Coca-Cola.
The partnership between Coca-Cola and Merlin Entertainments, which owns the attraction, was announced in September but only began this week. As part of the agreement, the visually iconic landmark will be renamed Coca-Cola London Eye, and the inside of its capsules refitted with the drinks manufacturer’s branding.
Jon Woods, general manager for Coca-Cola UK and Ireland, said: “We are delighted to have secured the sponsorship of Coca-Cola London Eye, an iconic London landmark known around the world. This reaffirms our long standing and successful relationship with Merlin Entertainments.
“Sponsoring Coca-Cola London Eye, an iconic landmark that has its own unique history, will help us play an even greater part in future moments of happiness and celebration in the capital.”
But critics have pointed to the nutritional profile of Coca-Cola products and described the deal as “indecent” and “inappropriate”. A children’s food charity handed out 500 toothbrushes at the relaunch of the attraction, in a move that it says will highlight the worsening state of children’s dental health in the UK.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola tried to allay the concerns of campaigners, and said: “All of our drinks can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet and we have taken a number of actions to help people choose the best drink for them and their families. These include signing up to the government’s responsibility deal and committing to reduce the calories in our drinks, adopting traffic light labelling to provide consumers with simple and clear nutritional information, reformulating many of our brands to reduce their sugar and calorie content and launching smaller packs like our 250ml can.”
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