After a wave of controversy hit the company regarding Coca-Cola's milk ads for their new product Fairlife, The Coca-Cola Company has decided to take them off the public not long after they were first released.
It seems that Coca-Cola's milk ads didn't bode well with consumers, or at least not with feminist groups around the world. Last week, renowned United Kingdom newspaper The Guardian released an article about the ad campaign written by Laura Bates, the founder of the country's Everyday Sexism Project. In the report, the company was heavily criticized for using the old tactic of exploiting the female body for commercial purpose, trying to sell something as ubiquitous as milk.
The now discontinued Coca-Cola milk ads showed women in 40s and 50s pin-up fashion, clad only in "dresses" made out of milk. To these images, created by famed London-based photographer Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz, the advertisements added phrases such as "Drink what she's wearing," a message that many considered sexist and detrimental to women.
The now infamous Coca-Cola milk ads were created to introduce the new addition to the company's range of products. The product, going by the name of Fairlife, is something like milk but not quite the same (the company says it's better than regular milk, as it contains about 50 percent less sugar, 30 percent more calcium, 50 percent more protein and no lactose), was released so the soft drinks company could venture into another market, as the obesity epidemic has caused many around the world to stay clear off sodas, with Coca-Cola's drinks being among the most iconic.
In any case, according to CNN, the Coca-Cola milk ads have now been officially let go by the company. In a statement published on Fairlife's website, The Coca-Cola Company said that the ads were just created to capture the attention of consumers, but the campaign was only supposed to run during June, after which it was pulled off.
"The 'pin-ups' advertising may have been eye-catching, but we're taking a totally new approach," said the company regarding its Coca-Cola milk ads.
