Speeches

Ad Council Remarks

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
New York
November 18, 2009

As prepared for delivery

Thank you, Jeff (Immelt), for those kind words, and thank you, Ad Council, for this tremendous recognition. Jeff -- having you present this award tonight is a special honor. Your friendship and your leadership are inspiring, and indeed I think the world is in a better place thanks to GE's vision for a healthy and productive planet.

You know, we hear a lot these days about "corporate social responsibility" and "sustainability." The truth is, the Ad Council -- and the advertising community -- have been promoting sustainability for nearly 70 years.

In the early 1940s, no one referred to this work as sustainability-focused, but the ideals were the same. It was about coming together as an industry -- as professionals -- to give your time and your creative genius to help generate greater awareness for some of the biggest challenges facing society. This was both visionary and pioneering.

All of which makes tonight's honor so special and so meaningful to me and to the 1 million associates who make up The Coca-Cola Company and our bottling partners around the world. This is their award -- I am merely their biggest cheerleader.

When I see what our folks are doing all around the world:

• Digging wells in rural Africa so that people have fresh, clean water... or helping create entrepreneurial opportunities across the Continent through our Manual Distribution Center Program...
• Cleaning up beaches, in Bali or elsewhere...
• Distributing water and aid to victims of hurricanes in New Orleans , tsunamis in South Asia, and earthquakes in China...
• Building school houses and wiring classrooms with computers in impoverished areas of Latin America...
• And working with millions of American children to promote sports, fitness and active lifestyles -- among thousands of other projects

And tonight, I feel as though I am with our extended family because no other industry has played a more important role in the success of Coca-Cola for these past 123 years than the advertising industry.

On that note, let me just say one final thought about the work you do and something Jeff raised in his remarks last year. No company... no organization... no nation has ever "shrunk to greatness."

Donald Keough, the great former President of The Coca-Cola Company, teaches the world this in his book "The Ten Commandments of Business Failure." Don says fearing the future and failing to invest in the future is a quick path to business failure. His optimistic and courageous management style is also a reason why he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame.

History has proven, time and again, that cutting off communications to your consumers is just bad business. So it disheartens me to see ad revenues declining again this year across all media. It's shortsighted and it's misguided.

Now is exactly the time for us to focus on what matters most to our businesses, shed what is wasteful and unproductive, keep communicating with customers and stake holders, and continue investing in our brands.

Another great Coca-Cola leader who understood this was our patriarch, Robert Woodruff -- the same gentleman who first formed a relationship with the Ad Council over 60 years ago.

In preparing, for tonight, I went back to one of my favorite Coca-Cola annual reports. It's from the year 1931 . It was written during the midst of the Great Depression.

In the Chairman's letter, Mr. Woodruff said our company was able to generate a profit that year despite a small decrease in volume. The keys to our success in 1931, he said, were staying committed to advertising and communicating with our consumers.

Strong discipline and respect for our consumers helped The Coca-Cola Company endure the greatest financial crisis in American history. The same lesson applies today.

So my message to the advertising community is "keep the faith." These tough days will pass. Smart businesses -- growth businesses -- will engage and stay engaged. New innovations and business models will flourish as at least a billion new consumers will ascend to the middle class in the next 10 years, and as the world gains $20 trillion dollars in additional economic power.

As these consumers and billions of others demand to connect with brands that share their values and their dreams for a better future -- the work you do and the mission of the Ad Council will be more important than ever.

Thank you again for this tremendous honor and for this wonderful evening.

Thank you.