Monday, February 3, 2014

Coca-Cola 'America' ad sparks strong reactions

Coca-Cola's Super Bowl ad has sparked both outrage and kudos on Twitter and Facebook.

The ad, entitled "It's Beautiful," features the patriotic song "America the Beautiful" sung in eight languages. The ad shows people of different ethnicities.

MORE: Super Bowl Ad Meter winners
HIGHLIGHTS: Our favorite Super Bowl moments

The ad also shows two dads rollerskating with their daughter. This was the first Super Bowl ad to feature a gay family, according to GLAAD, a lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender media advocacy organization.

The inclusion of different languages sparked comments on Coca-Cola's Facebook page calling the ad a disgrace and unpatriotic.

"Speak English or go home," said one commenter on the page. Another commented, "Screwed up a beautiful song. No Coke for my family."

Twitter also erupted with criticism of the ad.

Hey @CocaCola This is America. English, please. #SB48

— Saved By The Blood (@vonzion) February 3, 2014

Hey #coke we speak English in America #AmericaIsBeautiful ... Awful commercial

— alexander c (@theAFAUSTshow) February 3, 2014

But many others praised Coca-Cola for reflecting the country's diversity.

Thanks @CocaCola for reminding us that we are beautiful because of and not in spite of our linguistic diversity. #AmericaIsBeautiful

— Ashley Karlsson (@AshleyKarlsson) February 3, 2014

Ashamed that people are upset by the Coca-Cola commercial. We're a melting pot y'all. I think it was a good portrait of our diversity. ??

— Small Town Belle™ (@BelleTownUSA) February 3, 2014

Coca-Cola will debut a 90-second version of the ad during the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics on Feb. 7, according to a company release.

"We hope the ad gets people talking and thinking about what it means to be proud to be American," said Katie Bayne, president of Coca-Cola North America, in the release.

Follow @JolieLeeDC on Twitter.

No comments:

Post a Comment