In Bangladesh, a Coca-Cola ad aimed at distancing the company from perceived ties with Israel has gained widespread criticism amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gazahttps://t.co/i93JjWbSWP
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 14, 2024
– The Coca-Cola ad shows a man being offered Coke on a hot day, the man refuses after saying it’s associated with ‘that place’
– The man offering then says Coke is not an “Israeli product” (Israel is not specifically mentioned), implying it is misinformation and that Coca-Cola is an international product and even has a factory in Palestine
– The ad does not mention that the factory in Palestine is on land illegally occupied by Israel in the West Bank
– As the backlash grew, Coca-Cola removed the ad from its social media however it reposted the ad to YouTube later with comments disabled
– The actors Saraf Ahmed Zibon and Shimul Sharma as well as the directors have issued public apologies
– In Bangladesh, sales of Coke are reported to have fallen by 23% since the beginning of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza in October
– On Wednesday an online shoe company in Bangladesh called ‘ZIS leather’ seemingly responded with an ad of a man in their shoes kicking a Coke bottle
