A Coca-cola ad in Bangladesh sparked a massive debate and fury after social media users accused it of attempting to distance its association with Israel.
Bangladesh, one of the largest Muslim countries in the world, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has consistently campaigned for the right of Palestinians to an independent state.
Dozens of companies, including Coca-Cola, have seen a decline in sales in Muslim-majority countries such as Bangladesh, with consumers calling for a boycott on companies that have links with the Israeli government and the military since the start of the fighting in Gaza.
In an attempt to boost its sales, the company released a 60-second commercial ad on Sunday, arguing that the beverage “has been enjoyed for 138 years by people in 190 countries” including Palestine.
The lead actor in the ad explained that Coca-Cola is not from “that place”, immediately understood by the audiences as Israel. The ad claimed that linking to“that place” was a misinformation.
It did not take long before the ad received massive criticisms as social media users accused it of trying to distance itself from Israel.
Coca-cola, a beverage that earned massive fame for decades, is a product of the United States. Washington on the other hand is a strong ally of Israel known for allotting a massive budget and weapons to the Jewish state.
Bangladesh is one of 29 members states of the United Nations that do not recognize the state of Israel.
