Coke ad: It takes 23 minutes to burn off a soda

NEW YORK — Coca-Cola is taking on obesity, this time with an online video showing how fun it could be to burn off the 140 calories in a can of its soda.

In the ad, the world's biggest beverage maker asks what would happen if people paid for a can of Coke by first working off the calories it contained. The ad, which notes that it typically takes 23 minutes of cycling to achieve that, shows a montage of people on a giant stationary bicycle happily trying to earn a can of its cola, with carnival music playing in the background.

The video is unusual because it so frankly addresses how many calories are in its drink. But it also takes a frequent criticism used by health advocates and spins it in a happy light.

"It's so clever on so many levels, but it's twisted too," said Michele Simon, a public health lawyer and author of "Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back."

Simon said she thought the video was a response to the recently released "Fed Up" movie, which is critical of the food industry's marketing tactics. In the movie, a health advocate states that a child would have to bike for an hour and 15 minutes to burn off the calories in a 20-ounce Coke.

Coca-Cola's video comes as soft drinks have faced growing criticism from health advocates who say they fuel obesity and chronic diseases related to diet. Numerous cities have tried to impose special taxes on sugary drinks, although none have succeeded, in large part because of heavy lobbying from the beverage industry.

In New York City, the Board of Health this week asked the state's highest court to reinstate a 16-ounce limit on sugary drinks sold in restaurants, stadiums and other venues. The measure, championed by former mayor Michael Bloomberg, was knocked down by a judge after a lawsuit led by the beverage industry.

Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, began addressing obesity for the first time in a TV ad last year. That ad took a far more serious tone, with a voiceover stating that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind, not just soda.

It's an argument frequently used by food companies, which tend to stress the need for physical activity and moderation when addressing criticism about the nutritional content of their products. But health advocates say that glosses over the reality that many people are simply consuming too many calories and that it would be unrealistic for them to try and offset that with exercise, especially given people's increasingly sedentary lifestyles.

In the meantime, the soda industry is fighting to stop declining sales even without the impact of any special taxes or measures. Just last year, U.S. sales volume declined 3 percent, faster than the 1.2 percent drop the previous year, according to industry tracker Beverage Digest. And critics are increasingly taking aim at other sugary beverages sold by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, such as sports drinks and juices.

Judith Snyder, a Coca-Cola spokeswoman, said the latest video is part of a series that show "moments of delight and surprise" with Coke. She said it's intended to address the theme of energy balance in a lighthearted way.

She said it will be promoted on Facebook and Twitter, but won't run on TV.

At the end of the video, which runs for 1 minute and 40 seconds, the phrase "Movement is happiness" appears on the screen, followed by: "Where will happiness strike next?"

Laura Ries, president of the brand consulting firm Ries & Ries, said that the video could backfire because people might be turned off by the idea that they would need to cycle for 23 minutes just to burn off a Coke.

"They're showing exactly why you wouldn't want to drink a Coke. Twenty-three minutes on a bike is not fun for most people," she said.

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Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi

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GM ousts 15 employees over ignition-switch scandal

WARREN, Mich. — General Motors said Thursday that it has forced out 15 employees for their role in the deadly ignition-switch scandal and will set up a compensation fund for crash victims, as an internal investigation blamed the debacle on engineering ignorance and bureaucratic dithering, not a deliberate cover-up.

GM took more than a decade to recall 2.6 million cars with bad switches that are now linked to at least 13 deaths by the automaker's count.

"Group after group and committee after committee within GM that reviewed the issue failed to take action or acted too slowly," Anton Valukas, the former federal prosecutor hired by the automaker to investigate the reason for the delay, said in a 315-page report. "Although everyone had responsibility to fix the problem, nobody took responsibility."

GM CEO Mary Barra said more than half the 15 employees forced out were senior legal and engineering executives who failed to disclose the defect and were part of a "pattern of incompetence." Five other employees have been disciplined, she said, without identifying any of them.

The automaker said it will establish a compensation program covering those killed or seriously injured in the more than 50 accidents blamed on the switches. GM said not say how much money will be involved, but a Wall Street analyst estimated the payouts will total $1.5 billion.

Barra called the report "brutally tough and deeply troubling."

The report lays bare a company that operated in "silos," with employees who didn't share information and didn't take responsibility for problems or treat them with any urgency.

Valukas also portrayed a corporate culture in which there was heavy pressure to keep costs down, a reluctance to report problems up the chain of command, a skittishness about putting safety concerns on paper, and general bureaucratic resistance to change.

He described what was known as the "GM nod," in which "everyone nods in agreement to a proposed plan of action but then leaves the room and does nothing."

Valukas exonerated Barra and two other top executives, Mark Reuss, chief of global product development, and general counsel Michael Millikin, saying there is no evidence they knew about the problems any earlier than last December.

Since February, GM has recalled 2.6 million older-model Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other small cars because their ignitions can slip out of the "run" position and shut off the engine. That disables the power-assisted steering and brakes, making it difficult to control the car, and deactivates the air bags.

Trial lawyers suing the company put the death toll at more than 60.

"It's somewhat comforting to realize that they do know that some things were done incorrectly and they're aware of that. They made the appropriate measures to make sure it doesn't happen again," said Ken Rimer, whose 18-year-old stepdaughter, Natasha Weigel, was killed in a 2006 Cobalt crash in Wisconsin.

Last month, GM paid a record $35 million fine for failing to promptly report the bad ignition switches to federal highway safety regulators. Federal prosecutors are also investigating and could bring criminal charges against the automaker and some of its employees.

Deep within the company, engineers and others believed the ignition switch flaw was a "customer convenience" issue rather than a safety problem, the report said. Engineers believed that the cars could still be adequately steered when the engines shut off, and they didn't realize the air bags became disabled — even after police, academic experts and others outside GM had recognized the problem, according to the report.

Around GM, engineers were instructed not to use words like "dangerous," ''defect" or "safety" when describing problems in writing, which contributed to the lack of urgency in dealing with the problem, Valukas wrote. In addition, some workers told Valukas they did not take notes at safety meetings because they believed GM lawyers didn't want a paper trail.

In 2005, according to documents supplied recently to Congress, GM failed to make a repair of the switch that would have cost just 57 cents.

In his report, Valukas said he found no evidence that any employee made "an explicit trade-off between safety and cost" in dealing with the switch. But he said there was "tremendous cost pressure" at GM at the time, and he left open the possibility that it influenced the automaker's handling of the problem.

The report could hurt GM in legal proceedings and complicate matters for lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, the compensation expert hired by GM to settle some of the many lawsuits, said Carl Tobias, a law professor and product liability specialist at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

But plaintiffs' lawyers already know most of what's in the report from depositions in previous cases, and Valukas was "careful not to open too much liability exposure," Tobias said.

Under a judge's order, GM is shielded from legal claims from before it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, and company officials wouldn't say Thursday whether they will use that protection against death and injury lawsuits. Lawyers are trying to overturn the shield, alleging GM deceived the judge.

Barra, who took over as CEO in mid-January, didn't directly answer a question about whether she should have figured out the switches were a deadly problem. Before the took the top job, she was product development chief for three years, and safety reported to her through GM's chain of command.

"I wish I had known, because the minute we knew, we took action," she said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., criticized the investigation as "the best report money can buy."

"It absolves upper management, denies deliberate wrongdoing and dismisses corporate culpability," he said.

Barra said Valukas interviewed 230 employees and reviewed 41 million documents to produce the report, which also makes numerous recommendations for handling safety problems more effectively.

Barra has already named a new safety chief and pledged to work quickly through a backlog of potential recalls. As a result, the automaker has recalled a record 15.8 million cars and trucks in North America so far this year.

In addition, GM has put procedures in place to make sure that departments communicate and that safety issues get reported to the top. Barra said people who don't think such problems are being addressed should contact her.

Barra, who testified on Capitol Hill in April but deflected many questions by saying she was waiting for the results of Valukas' investigation, is certain to be called back.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she intends to hold a hearing this summer.

"I won't be letting GM leadership, or federal regulators, escape accountability for these tragedies," she said in a statement. "The families of those affected deserve no less."

Barra, a 34-year GM veteran, told 1,000 employees gathered at the automaker's suburban Detroit technical center that the report was "enormously painful."

"I want you to never forget it," she said in a speech that was also broadcast to the company's 212,000 employees worldwide.

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Associated Press writers Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis and Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.

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The Ticker

Foreclosures rise in Mass.

Foreclosures in Massachusetts rose again last month, but experts say it is nothing to worry about.

Foreclosure petitions rose by 126 percent compared to April 2013, for a total of 740, according to The Warren Group. Still, Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said the rise is because of a backlog in foreclosure petitions.

"I don't think it's indicative of the real estate market going south," Warren said. "Mortgages (that were) delinquent are now coming through the pipeline."

Warren said lenders have pushed back foreclosures as they parse Massachusetts' recent changes to foreclosure laws.

Foxwoods denies New Bedford interest

Foxwoods is dismissing speculation that it has shifted focus from Fall River to New Bedford as the possible home for a new, resort-style casino.

Dale Wolbrink, a Foxwoods spokeswoman, said the Connecticut-based casino operator has not determined possible sites in Fall River "unsuitable," despite local media reports. But she declined to comment on whether the casino is in talks with New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell about possible sites in his city, including the city-owned Whaling City Golf Course.

In March, Foxwoods unveiled plans for a $750 million resort casino at Fall River's New Harbour Mall. The proposal came after Milford residents voted down its $1 billion casino plan in 2013.

Mitchell said his administration has had "active discussions" with various casino operators, including Foxwoods, but declined to elaborate.

Today

 Labor Department releases employment data for May.

 Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for April.

THE SHUFFLE

Mohegan Sun has announced the appointment of George Galinsky to senior vice president of marketing communications for the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. In this new position, Galinsky will assist with property collaboration on all communications and cross property promotion, and help with synergy for brand, budget, media and production efficiencies.

 DLA Piper has announced that Nicole Daley has rejoined the Boston office as counsel in the corporate and finance practice. Daley previously served as associate general counsel at Comverse Inc., a global provider of telecommunications business solutions. Earlier in her career, Daley was an associate and of counsel in DLA Piper's Phoenix office.

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Melrose development rock solid

Wood Partners is betting big on Melrose and so far it's paying off.

The first two buildings of the developer's 212-unit Alta Stone Place are 98 percent leased — with 67 units rented — and pre-leasing has just begun on two others, one a 93-unit building carved out of the historic brick factory built in 1881 for the Boston Rubber and Shoe Co. founded by sneaker pioneer Elisha Converse. The renovated factory will open in January. Three of the buildings are new construction, including the 52-unit D building pre-leasing for October.

Wood is planning to add 88 more units to the complex in a new building separated from the factory building by Marty's Furniture.

And across the street, the Atlanta-based developer is breaking ground next week on a 94-unit self-contained apartment complex.

"Melrose is a fantastic residential community with a small-town feel, and we're happy to have more opportunities to build here," said Steven Azar, a development associate in Wood's Boston-area office. "Renovating a historic building really gives Stone Place the kind of character you don't always see in apartment complexes."

The project has luxury amenities including an outdoor pool and patio with grilling stations. There's a full fitness facility with a yoga studio. A clubroom has lots of couches as well as a pool table, and an adjacent cafe.

Prices for the new units start at $1,626 for 552-square-foot studios, one bedrooms from $1,795 to $2,192, two bedrooms starting at $2,483 and 10 three-bedroom units for about $3,400 a month. Each apartment comes with one free outdoor parking space, and covered parking is $50 a month.

"We're attracting a wide range of renters, from those working in the Financial District downtown, local empty nesters and even some young families sending their children to school in Melrose," said Alethea Barrette, northeast regional property manager of Wood Residential Services.

Model unit 1-205, a 1,115-square-foot two bedroom, two bath renting for $2,620, features a kitchen with espresso-stained cabinets, light-colored granite counters and Whirlpool stainless-steel appliances. There's a large, carpeted living/dining area. The carpeted master bedroom suite has a walk-in closet­ and bathroom with a quartz-topped wood vanity and white subway tile around a soaking tub. The second bedroom is good-sized, with a bathroom across the hall with a tiled walk-in shower.

Wood is also building 973 new apartments in Alta complexes in Wakefield, Watertown, Cambridge and Hopkinton. Barrette says pre-leasing is strong, with the 155-unit Alta at the Estate complex in Watertown already 69 percent rented.

"There's a real need for quality housing in the Boston area," said Barrette. "And developers who pay close attention to design details, amenities and pricing­ will do well."

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Lawyer blasts GM firings

A lawyer for families of people killed and hurt in accidents allegedly caused by faulty ignition switches in now recalled General Motors cars said the automaker's firing of 15 workers doesn't go far enough.

"It's the wrong focus," said Robert C. Hilliard of Corpus Christi, Texas. "It wasn't these employees who created the problem. It was a company attitude that started from the top all the way down. To fire these employees instead of cutting off the head of the snake doesn't fix the problem."

GM says a pattern of incompetence and neglect, not a larger conspiracy or cover-up, is to blame for the more than decade-long delay in recalling older model Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other small cars with defective ignition switches that caused the cars to lose power, disabling the steering, brakes and air bags.

Yesterday, CEO Mary Barra, who released the results of an internal investigation into GM's missteps, said 15 employees — many of them senior legal and engineering executives — have been forced out for failing to disclose the defect, which the company links to 13 deaths and 54 crashes. Five other employees have been disciplined.

U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) told the Herald the report shows GM recognizes it must "clean up a culture of ineptitude."

"But an internal investigation alone is not nearly enough to ensure that a decade-long tragedy like this never happens again," Markey said. "We need to enact legislation that requires auto manufacturers to submit information on possible defects as soon as they become aware of them."

Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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New push to cover Greenway ramps

Three years after the last plans were abandoned to build community and cultural institutions over the open highway ramps that now interrupt the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a greener approach is under consideration.

The state Department of Transportation and Boston Redevelopment Authority will pay up to $150,000 to study how best to satisfy a Big Dig permitting requirement to cover the ramps, which are part of three MassDOT-owned parcels.

"These very ambitious schemes to build over the ramps appear infeasible, and we need a new plan," said BRA planning director Kairos Shen, adding they also were proposed before the Greenway became a park. "We would like to see if there is another way of mitigating the environmental impacts. Is there another kind of landscape solution as opposed to a building solution."

Past proposals for a Boston museum, YMCA community center, and arts and cultural center were deemed too costly, as building would require expensive support platforms over the subsurface highway.

MassDOT and the BRA have hired HDR Inc. as a consultant and will solicit community comment at a public meeting this month.

The requirement to "cover" the ramps was included in environmental permits for the Big Dig.

"We have become more focused on green space in the city, and so the timing … is right for a discussion of what, besides buildings, should go in that space," MassDOT spokeswoman Cyndi Roy Gonzalez said. "It's limiting for us to assume that is the only option."

The Parcel 12 ramp in the North End must be covered by November 2017 under an amendment to the state's recently passed transportation bond bill.

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Janitors balk at being broomed by MBTA

The union representing MBTA janitors yesterday called on lawmakers to oppose plans to cut cleaning staff by one-third and reduce the hours of those still on the job by Sept. 1 — steps they said will lead to dirtier stations as employees bear heavier work loads compounded by the T's recent expansion of late-night service.

"We're asking legislators to send a loud and clear message that this is unacceptable," said Roxana Rivera, district leader of 32BJ Service Employees International Union. "These cuts will put almost 100 janitors out of work ... And the remaining workers will face unsustainable work loads. There's no way they're going to be able to keep up."

State Sen. Anthony W. Petruccelli (D-East Boston) said he wants the T to look elsewhere for savings.

"We're very concerned about the quality-of-life effect ... and the burden this would place on displaced workers," Petruccelli said.

Last September, the MBTA awarded two 5-year cleaning contracts totaling $61.8 million that enable the companies to reduce staff after the first year, "provided the changes do not adversely impact quality and performance," T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said in an email.

The T will conduct regular quality inspections, on its own and with auditors, at frequencies adjusted to reflect property type and passenger volumes, Pesaturo said. Over the past 10 weekends, for example, the T has had 215,380 late-night riders since extending service, he said.

The contractor's performance can result in penalties or incentive payments, Pesaturo said. The contractor is required to share at least 50 percent of the latter with the employees, he said.

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Noncompetes out of control

Teenage camp counselors, personal trainers, salon assistants and even interns are being forced to sign controversial noncompete agreements typically reserved for high-tech executives in a sign the practice of blocking employees from jumping to a competitor may be going too far, critics say.

"People perceive this as a problem with high-wage earners, but these are being used across the economy," said state Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead). "A constituent reached out to me because he was stuck in a two-year noncompete with a lawn pesticide company. He was the guy out there spraying lawns. They enforced it on him."

Wellesley father Cimarron Buser told a State House panel last week that his teenage daughter signed a noncompete to become a summer camp counselor at LINX Camps, barring her from joining a competitor — or even baby-sitting for a family met through LINX — for one year.

Buser told the Herald the camp his daughter wants to work for this year won't hire her because it doesn't want to assume liability.

"The reality of it is that it's enforceable, and they can do it," said Buser. "That's the point where you go, 'Wow, this is kind of crazy.'"

LINX President Joe Kahn said the company uses noncompetes because they train employees using their unique methods and have seen families hire their children's counselors mid-summer as babysitters.

"Much like a tech company would be protective of their technology and proprietary information, we're protective of our customer information," said Kahn.

Matt Marx of MIT told the Herald he has come across startling uses of noncompetes in his research, including:

• A private aviator was sued and his fiancee fired after he quit to work for a competitor;

• A personal trainer at a gym left to start his own company before his employer tried to enforce the noncompete — but the gym lost the document; and

• A student told Marx the high-tech firm where he'd be interning for three months requested he sign a one-year noncompete.

"This has been going on for quite some time, and people are just becoming aware that these contracts are being used in all kinds of industries," said Marx.

At a State House hearing, a Worcester hair salon assistant, who signed a noncompete, was fired, found work at another salon and was then slapped by her old employer with a cease-and-desist letter and a demand for $25,000 in damages.

Chris Geehern of Associated Industries of Massachusetts said examples like those cloud the true problem facing high-tech companies.

"It's a distraction, period," said Geehern. "The real issue is how do you preserve genuine intellectual property."

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Emotional robot set for sale in Japan next year

TOKYO — A cooing, gesturing humanoid on wheels that can decipher emotions has been unveiled in Japan by billionaire Masayoshi Son who says robots should be tender and make people smile.

Son's mobile phone company Softbank said Thursday that the robot it has dubbed Pepper will go on sale in Japan in February for 198,000 yen ($1,900). Overseas sales plans are under consideration but undecided.

The machine, which has no legs, but has gently gesticulating hands appeared on a stage in a Tokyo suburb, cooing and humming. It dramatically touched hands with Son in a Genesis or "E.T." moment.

Son, who told the crowd that his longtime dream was to go into the personal robot business, said Pepper has been programmed to read the emotions of people around it by recognizing expressions and voice tones.

"Our aim is to develop affectionate robots that can make people smile," he said.

The 121 centimeter (48 inch) tall, 28 kilogram (62 pound) white Pepper, which has no hair but two large doll-like eyes and a flat-panel display stuck on its chest, was developed jointly with Aldebaran Robotics, which produces autonomous humanoid robots.

Besides featuring the latest voice recognition, Pepper is loaded with more than a dozen sensors, including two touch sensors in its hands, three touch sensors on its head, and six laser sensors and three bumper sensors in its base.

It also has two cameras and four microphones on its head and has Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking capabilities. Up close, it bears a resemblance to C-3PO in "Star Wars," especially in its clueless look.

But a demonstration Friday at a Softbank retailer in Tokyo highlighted the robot's shortcomings as much as its charm.

Voice recognition takes a while to kick in, when its eyes light up in a listening mode after the robot stops talking, making for less than spontaneous dialogue, similar to the frustration one experiences talking with iPhone's Siri.

Pepper was more fluid with its own chatter, such as asking "Do you do Twitter?" or "Is this the first time you ever spoke to a robot?" But it wouldn't really wait for an answer, rattling on to the next topic.

Sometimes the robot failed to catch a speaker's words and would say: "I could not hear you. Could you say that again?"

When a person shouted in a big voice to test out how well it read emotions, it didn't do much except to say: "You look like an honest person."

In Thursday's demonstration, Pepper sang, "I want to be loved," and it did more singing and gesturing with its hands Friday.

But all its song-and-dance acts seemed to prove was that the machine needs to learn a lot more tricks to impress robot-savvy Japanese. The Softbank shop barely drew a crowd besides a pack of reporters with their cameras.

Cuddly robots are not new in Japan, a nation dominated by "kawaii," or cute culture, but no companion robot has emerged as a major market success yet.

Sony Corp. discontinued the Aibo pet-dog robot in 2006, despite an outcry from its fans. Honda Motor Co. has developed the walking, talking Asimo robot, which appears in Honda showrooms and gala events.

Many other Japanese companies, including Hitachi Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., have developed various robots. There is little emphasis on delivering on practical work, in contrast to industrial robots at factories and military robots for war.

But the potential is great for intelligent machines as the number of elderly requiring care is expected to soar in rapidly-aging Japan. Robotic technology is already used to check on the elderly and robots might also play a role in reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Softbank, which owns Sprint of the U.S., boasts more than 100 million subscribers globally. Aldebaran Robotics, which has offices in France, China, Japan and the U.S., is 78.5 percent owned by Softbank.

"I've believed that the most important role of robots will be as kind and emotional companions to enhance our daily lives, to bring happiness, constantly surprise us and make people grow," said Bruno Maisonnier, founder and chief executive of Aldebaran, who appeared on the stage with Son.

Pepper can get information from cloud-based databases and comes with safety features to avoid crashes and falls, and its capabilities can grow by installing more robot applications, according to Softbank.

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Online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osD6O4LAcpo

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

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Gatorade apologizes over LeBron-related tweets

SAN ANTONIO — Gatorade apologized Friday for comments posted to the company's Twitter feed after Miami Heat star LeBron James cramped up and had to leave Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The tweets were not deleted.

James needed intravenous fluids after the game, during which temperatures inside San Antonio's AT&T Center were measured at nearly 90 degrees after the arena's air conditioning system failed. The Spurs won the game 110-95, pulling away in the final 3:59 after James left the game for good with cramps ravaging his left leg.

"Our apologies for our response to fans' tweets during (Thursday) night's Heat vs. Spurs game," Gatorade said in a release. "We got caught up in the heat of the battle. As a longtime partner of the Miami Heat, we support the entire team."

Gatorade has a long business relationship with the NBA. James is an endorser of Powerade, a Gatorade rival.

One of the tweets, in response to someone who directed a message toward the sports drink's feed, read that, "We were waiting on the sidelines, but he prefers to drink something else."

He may be paid by Powerade, but it appeared James was drinking Gatorade at least once during Game 1 of the finals. Video and photos taken of James on the Heat bench during the second half showed him holding what appeared to be a Gatorade bottle with the label removed, as has been the case on many other occasions.

The original tweet posted by Gatorade came late in Game 1, saying, "With a game this hot, we're right at home."

The Spurs said a power outage was to blame for the air conditioning failure. The team announced Friday it had been repaired.

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