‘That Coca-Cola ad’ only proves the power of boycott

June 13, 2024

Read More:

Coca-Cola Bangladesh ad removed from YouTube after social media backlash

DHAKA – A Coca-Cola Bangladesh ad was launched on June 9, before being hidden from their YouTube channel after severe backlash from the audience on social media, after which it was made public again. Meanwhile, the lead actor featured in the ad, who also directed it, had to issue a statement on social media to defend his stance as a staunch supporter of “humanity” and clarify that his involvement was a strictly “professional” engagement. There have been many criticisms and debates regarding the ad being a PR disaster and the overall effectiveness of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement globally and in Bangladesh. But why did Coca-Cola feel the need to launch an ad clarifying its stance in the first place?

The BDS movement has caught on in many countries across the world to hold brands accountable for their affiliations with Israel and their complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS movement was launched by 170 Palestinian unions, refugee networks, women’s organisations, professional associations, popular resistance committees and other Palestinian civil society bodies in 2005, as a form of non-violent pressure on Israel to end their illegal occupation of Palestine.

The movement recently caught on again in the aftermath of October 7. Soon, pro-Palestine groups in Bangladesh also spontaneously participated in the boycott movement as best as they could. The effectiveness of the boycott movement in Bangladesh was questioned by many, but the fact that Coca-Cola found it necessary to launch an ad addressing this only goes to show that it has worked.