Soft drink advertising and consumption in the United States 1984–2007

Gary B. Wilcox, Sara Kamal and Harsha Gangadharbatla

In recent years, the carbonated soft drink (CSD) industry has come in for a lot of criticism from consumer advocacy and special interest groups for producing and marketing a product that is considered one of the causes of obesity.

Soft drink advertising and consumption in the United States 1984–2007

Gary B. Wilcox and Sara KamalUniversity of Texas at Austin

Harsha GangadharbatlaUniversity of Oregon

INTRODUCTION

On average, an individual in the United States consumes 192 gallons of liquid per year, with carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) accounting for slightly over 28% (American Beverage Association 2007). The growth of the CSD industry since the mid-1960s has been notably outpacing both increases in the population and the economy (Muris et al.1993). This increase in per capita consumption has come at the expense of both coffee and tap...

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