Tempest in a Coke bottle
I didn’t watch the Super Bowl this week, but I did keep updated about it with
the Facebook posts. It wasn‘t long
before the posts stopped being about the game and more about the commercials,
which turned out to be more interesting than the rout of the Denver Broncos.
Folks critiqued the commercials, sharing ones they liked and talking about the content of some. It wasn’t long before comments about one ad started trending (as we who work in digital media are fond of saying), and a lot of people were upset. Not because it was too sexy, or too edgy, but they didn’t like the song in it.
Well, technically they liked the song; they just didn’t like that it wasn’t sung in English.
The commercial was for Coca-Cola, and if you haven’t seen it, the spot begins with a woman singing “America the Beautiful.” Then, the song segues into six other languages — Hebrew, Hindi, Keres, Senegalese-French, Tagalog and Spanish. Oh, there also was a gay family depicted in the 60-second spot.
You’d have thought Coca-Cola had reintroduced New Coke. A lot of folks not only got hot, they went ballistic,setting social media ablaze. And it wasn’t because of the gay family, which largely seems to have been an afterthought for critics.
No, it was because “America the Beautiful” wasn’t performed completely in English.
Facebook and Twitter ignited in a firestorm of criticism from people instantly calling for a boycott of Coca-Cola and saying they’ll never drink Coke again, that they’ll choose Pepsi from now on (no mention of Dr Pepper or other soft drinks that I could find), that they were shocked such an American icon could do something so un-American as to let those foreigners sing “America the Beautiful.” I even saw several posts blasting Coca-Cola for the audacity of presenting the National Anthem in a language other than English (although “The Star-Spangled Banner” still is the National Anthem, at least it was at the start of the Super Bowl).
Former congressman Allen West of Georgia said allowing “America the Beautiful” to be sung in a language other than English, Coca-Cola has put the nation “on the road to perdition” and called the spot “a truly disturbing commercial.” Talking head Glenn Beck told his audience Coca-Cola intended “to divide us politically” with the commercial, which is ironic since three weeks earlier Beck was blaming himself for helping divide the country. Michael Patrick Leahy of Brietbart.com was outraged Coca-Cola would take “a deeply Christian patriotic anthem whose theme is unity” and desecrate it by having it sung “in several foreign languages.”
I can appreciate that some folks don’t like what Coca-Cola did. There have been occasions when I, too, have wondered why I should push 1 for English, or why people working and living in America don’t learn at least enough English for safety’s sake (to read road signs and warning signs, communicate with 911, etc.). But, my thoughts were slanted more toward common sense, practical reasoning than nationalism.
However, I obviously missed all the anti-American, anti-Christian and politically charged aspects of the Coke commercial. I didn’t get a sense of division, or disdain, or even anything un-American from the spot. It reminded me a little of the “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” Coca-Cola commercial introduced in 1971 that featured a diverse group of multi-cultured teenagers singing the song on a hillside, each holding a bottle of Coke labeled in their own language (but they all did sing in English). The commercial became one of the milestone, all-time classic ads, and a slightly revised version of the song went on to become a Top 10 single.
What I saw, and heard, in the “America the Beautiful” spot was a beautifully produced spot depicting people from around the world singing the praises of America, expressing their appreciation of our nation’s beauty and bounty, and even showing a little love for our country. I thought I saw all these people from around the globe united by the common theme of America the beautiful, a land blessed by God, a home of brotherhood and unity for us all; in other words, expressing the exact points of the song. To me, it showed no matter where we’re from or what language we speak, we all can come together in peace and harmony, which makes it harder for me to understand the uproar and the vitriolic reaction to the commercial.
Oh, and the folks in the commercial shared their sentiment with bottles of Coca-Cola, probably the most recognizable American icon around the world along with Old Glory, John Wayne and cowboys.
By the way, for those who accused the commercial’s makers of using the language of terrorists, note that Hebrew is the language of Israel, one of our biggest allies. I also learned from looking it up that another of the languages, Keres, is the dialect of the Keres Pueblo people in the state of New Mexico, which technically makes it a true American language.
Also, according to USA TODAY, a longer, 90-second version of the commercial is to air during the opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Folks critiqued the commercials, sharing ones they liked and talking about the content of some. It wasn’t long before comments about one ad started trending (as we who work in digital media are fond of saying), and a lot of people were upset. Not because it was too sexy, or too edgy, but they didn’t like the song in it.
Well, technically they liked the song; they just didn’t like that it wasn’t sung in English.
The commercial was for Coca-Cola, and if you haven’t seen it, the spot begins with a woman singing “America the Beautiful.” Then, the song segues into six other languages — Hebrew, Hindi, Keres, Senegalese-French, Tagalog and Spanish. Oh, there also was a gay family depicted in the 60-second spot.
You’d have thought Coca-Cola had reintroduced New Coke. A lot of folks not only got hot, they went ballistic,setting social media ablaze. And it wasn’t because of the gay family, which largely seems to have been an afterthought for critics.
No, it was because “America the Beautiful” wasn’t performed completely in English.
Facebook and Twitter ignited in a firestorm of criticism from people instantly calling for a boycott of Coca-Cola and saying they’ll never drink Coke again, that they’ll choose Pepsi from now on (no mention of Dr Pepper or other soft drinks that I could find), that they were shocked such an American icon could do something so un-American as to let those foreigners sing “America the Beautiful.” I even saw several posts blasting Coca-Cola for the audacity of presenting the National Anthem in a language other than English (although “The Star-Spangled Banner” still is the National Anthem, at least it was at the start of the Super Bowl).
Former congressman Allen West of Georgia said allowing “America the Beautiful” to be sung in a language other than English, Coca-Cola has put the nation “on the road to perdition” and called the spot “a truly disturbing commercial.” Talking head Glenn Beck told his audience Coca-Cola intended “to divide us politically” with the commercial, which is ironic since three weeks earlier Beck was blaming himself for helping divide the country. Michael Patrick Leahy of Brietbart.com was outraged Coca-Cola would take “a deeply Christian patriotic anthem whose theme is unity” and desecrate it by having it sung “in several foreign languages.”
I can appreciate that some folks don’t like what Coca-Cola did. There have been occasions when I, too, have wondered why I should push 1 for English, or why people working and living in America don’t learn at least enough English for safety’s sake (to read road signs and warning signs, communicate with 911, etc.). But, my thoughts were slanted more toward common sense, practical reasoning than nationalism.
However, I obviously missed all the anti-American, anti-Christian and politically charged aspects of the Coke commercial. I didn’t get a sense of division, or disdain, or even anything un-American from the spot. It reminded me a little of the “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” Coca-Cola commercial introduced in 1971 that featured a diverse group of multi-cultured teenagers singing the song on a hillside, each holding a bottle of Coke labeled in their own language (but they all did sing in English). The commercial became one of the milestone, all-time classic ads, and a slightly revised version of the song went on to become a Top 10 single.
What I saw, and heard, in the “America the Beautiful” spot was a beautifully produced spot depicting people from around the world singing the praises of America, expressing their appreciation of our nation’s beauty and bounty, and even showing a little love for our country. I thought I saw all these people from around the globe united by the common theme of America the beautiful, a land blessed by God, a home of brotherhood and unity for us all; in other words, expressing the exact points of the song. To me, it showed no matter where we’re from or what language we speak, we all can come together in peace and harmony, which makes it harder for me to understand the uproar and the vitriolic reaction to the commercial.
Oh, and the folks in the commercial shared their sentiment with bottles of Coca-Cola, probably the most recognizable American icon around the world along with Old Glory, John Wayne and cowboys.
By the way, for those who accused the commercial’s makers of using the language of terrorists, note that Hebrew is the language of Israel, one of our biggest allies. I also learned from looking it up that another of the languages, Keres, is the dialect of the Keres Pueblo people in the state of New Mexico, which technically makes it a true American language.
Also, according to USA TODAY, a longer, 90-second version of the commercial is to air during the opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
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