Stood in Tesco last week buying a can of Coke I suddenly realised that the full fat Coke can is no where near as eye-catching as the Diet-Coke can. And whys that I wonder?

The size zero fiasco is clearly still quite a large deal and it’s evident that companies are aiming their products towards certain people. Diet-Coke is usually construed as being a girls drink, as, let’s face it, we always seem to be on diets. But here’s the clincher, girls obviously feel they need to slim it down when they’re being offered Marc Jacobs handbags as a prize for buying Diet-Coke, or is it a prize for attempting to be thinner?

I mean if we’re being nutritional about this, if you’re seriously on a diet, you can’t drink Diet-Coke. Normal and diet are both as bad as each other, there isn’t a healthy choice when it comes to the fizz. The adverts they choose to show, feature quite good looking men, along with a bunch of giggling girls. What are they suggesting? If we drink Diet-Coke, we’re thin and attract the best looking men? It’s just unrealistic and quite honestly stupid. The adverts with the stick girls… Quite literally what they are getting at – “Drink Diet Coke and you’ll be stick thin and have a massive head”. No wonder we get called fat Britain. There are so many mixed messages and as huge consumers we buy into them.

Diet Coke has more sugar in one can than ‘full fat’. How girls don’t realise this is quite baffling. Then again, if girls on diets believe that switching fizzy drinks to a diet substitute is going to do anything at all for their waistlines then Coca-Cola have clearly got the right idea; they know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to advertising. Having a can with bows and hearts and little things girls will notice is genius really.

I realise some people will drink Diet-Coke as they prefer it, but if people are honestly switching to a can of diet to try and cut some pounds or to win a Marc Jacobs bag, I wouldn’t bother. Waste of time and dieting if that’s your goal.

What are diet drinks all about anyway? I’ve been with friends when they have ordered takeaways but asked for Diet-Coke, Clearly curbing the calories there. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that and to be on an actual diet is hard work and requires motivation. But are people aware? It says diet on the can – Must be less fattening, mustn’t it?

In a world where being thin is portrayed as fashionable, is it wrong for companies like Coca-Cola to promote their products in a way where health and body image is as risk? Personally, I do think so and where there is so much focus on self appearance in terms of the media, it’s not fair on girls to feel pressurised to look a certain way, to be then tricked into buying a product which isn’t going to help them at all.