Complaints Against Coca-Cola’s “Taste The Feeling” Dismissed

Multiple complaints against two versions of Coca-Cola’s “Taste The Feeling” re-brand have been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Board (ASB). People complained a poster implied fellatio and a TVC was too sexually graphic for prime time.

Poster

The complaints against the above poster include:

Seriously if Coke can’t sell its sugar without resorting to making a beautiful young women suck off a coke bottle, they should give up.
This is part of a new campaign by coke called taste the feeling; they have a few models. The equivalent young guy is a shirtless dude with a guitar sucking back a coke with a refreshed look on his face. The girl, however, looks like she is about to commit an act of fellatio on her bottle.
I am not a prude and have no issue with fellatio, but this is just such blatant sexism it’s wrong.
It’s also not doing wonders for young girls’ self esteem.

Coca-Cola South Pacific (CCSP) responded with: “We consider that most members of the community viewing the Coca-Cola advertisement would see a beautiful woman holding an icy-cold bottle of Coca-Cola, without any sexist or highly sexual connotations.

“There is nothing in the advertisement which indicates that the woman depicted is subject to unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.”

The ASB ruled in favour of CCSP: “The Board noted that the woman is holding a bottle of Coca-Cola in her hand and considered that it is clearly the advertiser’s product and is not intended to represent a penis. There is no obvious reference to any sexual activity, including fellatio, in this advertisement.”

TVC

The complaint was that the TVC was too “sexual and graphic for prime time television when my kids are awake and watching. Inappropriate.”

Coca-Cola South Pacific argued “the moment in the commercial that the viewer expresses concern in relation to appears at approximately eight second and lasts for approximately three seconds. It shows a young couple in the library kissing passionately.

“It does not use sexual appeal in a manner which is exploitative or degrading to either the guy or the girl”.

The ASB ruled in favour of Coca-Cola, noting the ad had been rated “W” by the Commercials Advice for Free TV Ausrtalia which means the ad complies with a General classification.

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