Coca Cola’s Super Bowl commercial featuring a multilingual rendition of “America the Beautiful” was refreshing to many — but left a bitter taste in the mouth of conservative pundits.
The one-minute ad called “It’s beautiful” — in which the patriotic standard is sung in seven different languages — was meant to showcase the country’s “incredible diversity,” in the words of the soft drink company.
Apparently, this Coke commercial caused an uproar because the song “America the Beautiful” wasn’t so “American” anymore in the eyes of many. The hashtag #BoycottCoke was actually trending for quite sometime during the Super Bowl after the ad was shown.
Former Republican Congressman Allen West wrote a blog post saying,
“If we cannot be proud enough as a country to sing “American the Beautiful” in English in a commercial during the Super Bowl, by a company as American as they come — doggone we are on the road to perdition.”
That was only the beginning – conservative columnist and Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes tweeted his question of the day regarding the ad, writing:
“So was Coca-Cola saying America is beautiful because new immigrants don’t learn to speak English?”
America is beautiful and Coca-Cola is for everyone. “It’s Beautiful” was created to celebrate Coke moments among all Americans who together enjoy ice cold, refreshing Coke. For centuries America has opened its arms to people of many countries who have helped to build this great nation. “It’s Beautiful” provides a snapshot of the real lives of Americans representing diverse ethnicities, religions, races and families, all found in the United States. All those featured in the ad are Americans and “America The Beautiful” was sung by bilingual American young women.
We believe “It’s Beautiful” is a great example of the magic that makes our country so special, and a powerful message that spreads optimism, promotes inclusion and celebrates humanity – values that are core to Coca-Cola.
Check out some of the rich behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the singers:
What are your thoughts on this commercial?
