A Coca-Cola Mexico spokesman apologised and said the company had pulled an online ad after it was deemed offensive to the country’s indigenous people by consumers, media and advocacy groups.
Coke director of publicity Diego Bracamontes said the ad was taken down late on Tuesday after about a week online in Mexico and that the company had never meant to offend anyone.
The “Open Your Heart” holiday campaign came under fire with its portrayal of light-skinned white people driving into the remote hills of Oaxaca to hand out Coke to indigenous Mixe people and put up a Coke-themed Christmas tree.
Campaigners from the country’s Alliance for Food Health said it was insulting to indigenous people who are some of the most affected by Mexico’s epidemic rate of obesity, which is fuelled partly by high consumption of sugary soda drinks.
Bracamontes told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the message had been misinterpreted and the campaign was intended to be about unity and happiness across communities.
With Associated Press
