In light of the Typoon Haiyan disaster, everyone has stepped in with an attempt to do their bit to help, including brands. Coca-Cola recently announced that it had put its advertising efforts on hold while the company pulled together resources to help people to recover from one of the worst typhoons ever.

“We would like to express our deepest sympathies to those affected by this tragic disaster in the Philippines,” said chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent.  “Our dedicated associates are on the ground offering assistance, and we are committed to helping the communities rebuild.”

Coca-Cola Philippines and their bottling partner, Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, began donating water for relief efforts straight after the storm to the Philippine Red Cross, The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Armed Forces of the Phillippines.

While many people are applauding Coke’s efforts in helping typhoon victims, some have questioned whether suspending their ads is just one big marketing ploy for the company. And whether the absence of the Coke ads will make a positive impact on their sales still remains to be seen – the absence of one advertisement in a maze of advertisements will probably not be that notable. This move is more of a symbolic attempt at good publicity, with which there’s nothing much wrong morally speaking, as long as the money is being redirected to the people who really need it.

Coca Cola is well known for its humanitarian efforts, exemplified in one of its most notable recent campaigns ‘A Million Reasons to Believe in Thailand’, which was multi-award winning at the Festival of Media Asia and Festival of Media Global Awards.