WATCH Coca Cola Under Fire For Offensive Indigenous Christmas Advert
Oh Coca Cola, whatever happened to the traditional ‘Holidays are coming’ Christmas adverts, eh?
The soft drink brand has come under fire for their latest Mexican festive ad, which depicts young, white people “volunteering” to do a good deed by bringing bottles of Coca Cola to a remote indigenous village alongside the tagline “Open Your Heart”.
The video shows fair-skinned actors, dubbed “white heroes” by critics, bringing bottles of the soft drink to the Mixe people in Torentepec, a town in the southern state of Oaxaca.
Statistics on the screen claim that 81.6% of Mexico’s indigenous people feel rejected for speaking a language other than Spanish, although there is no source for the stat, with the implication being that Coca Cola will help to make them feel more “accepted”.
The ad has been slammed for “promoting colonialism rather than unity”, with an indigenous lawyer speaking out against the promotion at a press conference in Mexico City.
Elvira Pablo explained: “This type of publicity is an act of discrimination and racism. It is a comment on our type of life and an attempt to put a culture of consumerism in its place.”
Coca Cola pulled the advert after a wave of complaints, with a spokesperson insisting: “Our intention was never to be insensitive to or underestimate any indigenous group.
“We have now removed the video and apologize to anyone who may have been offended.”
The Alliance for Food Help has filed an official complaint against the ad.
