Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Coke celebrates bikini weather, internet responds predictably


The image above turned up today on Ads Of The World. Created by agency Phibious, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, it's a sexed-up — but mostly harmless — transformation of the brand into bikinis.

Within an hour of posting, AOTW's Ivan Raszl pointed out that there was already a parody version going around:


Posted on Facebook by Carlos Ríos, the caption reads "a real Coca-Cola's summer model, shall be like."

This is a common reaction to "junk food" advertising, familiar to readers of Adbusters:



Do you see the problem? Yes, soft drinks and fast food are fattening. But do we need to make fun of people's bodies to make this point?

PETA apparently thinks so, too:

Pic via Buzzfeed

It's another example how conflicting priorities and sensitivities make social media complicated. People who are against the corporate food industry want to make a statement about promoting unhealthy consumption, but in doing so they cross a line into "body shaming" that's hurtful to people other than their intended targets of derision.

2 comments:

  1. Shame on them. Pointless message aside from showing that they're judgemental and stereotyping big time. As an illustrator I really like the visual of the add and the clever usage of space.

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