Is Cristiano Ronaldo Really To Blame For Coke’s Big Stock Price Fall?

The idea that Coca-Cola’s overall brand worth could take a $4B hit just because famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo chooses to replace bottles of Coke on a table with bottles of water during a press conference seems a little farfetched. Still, that’s the working theory of more than a few stock analysts, and if they are right it’s a worrying sign for many reasons.

Firstly, because people’s belief in one of the world’s most valuable brands is this fragile. More importantly, because there is a business model for banking on this type of volatility to transform it into millions of dollars of profit. And with that much money at stake, it won’t be long before these types of moments will be staged and intentionally monetized by someone instead of accidentally caught on camera.