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Coca-Cola Under Fire for Unpaid Extras Advert
by Matthew Hemley
The Stage
October 6, 2011
London: Coca-Cola, one of the world’s wealthiest companies, has been criticised for calling on extras to work in a television advert for free.
Critics claim Coca-Cola’s appeal, which saw it place adverts for unpaid extras on sites such as StarNow, demonstrates how severe the situation regarding companies abusing performers’ rights to the minimum wage has become.
Campaigner Clive Hurst, who frequently speaks out on the issue of actors being asked to work for nothing, claimed it “beggars belief that a world-leading company could stoop quite so low as this” and added that it “shows how things are going from bad to even worse in the entertainment industry”.
Meanwhile, Equity walk-on councillor Henrietta Branwell described it as “appalling” and said: “I think they are trying to get something for nothing. And there are an awful lot of people out there for whom this [opportunity] will mean a lot, but they don’t understand what they are being asked to do. Coca-Cola makes billions in profit every year.”
In adverts posted on StarNow and Talent Talks, Coca-Cola said it had joined forces with “Olympics 2012 to film a TV commercial by staging a music event with international athletes and music stars”.
It appealed for extras aged 16 to 22 to work from 4pm until 11pm in London, adding that the opportunity would be “unpaid but an amazing commercial to be part of”. The advert also offered “free food and lots of Coca-Cola”. The advert is being made by Mother London, one of the UK’s leading advertising agencies.
Hurst, a former Equity councillor, claimed the advert showed how it “still remains perfectly legal for agents to offer such work”.
“When are agencies going to come within the scope of only being allowed to offer work at or above the national minimum wage?” he asked.
Last week, BECTU responded to the Low Pay Commission’s report on minimum wage, stating that “job advertisements which offer clearly unlawful employment” should be brought within the scope of enforcement.
BECTU national official Spencer MacDonald said: “Coca-Cola should have a commitment to the extras and not be taking advantage of their global position.”
However, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola said it was “seeking volunteers to attend a live music event which would be filmed as part of our London 2012 Olympic Games campaign”.
She added that “communications to help find these people have been aimed at the general public”, and claimed only one advert was placed on a website for people working in the entertainment industry, despite the fact The Stage is aware of at least two different sites posting the plea.
The spokeswoman claimed that the advert was “placed without the knowledge or authorisation of Coca-Cola and we immediately had it removed from the site”.
“We accept it has created some confusion, for which we apologise.”
She added: “We are not looking for extras or people to perform any work. We simply want people to come along, share a unique experience and enjoy themselves. We will provide them with food, drink and transport to and from the venue, and they will be free to leave at any time during the event.”
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