- calendar_today August 23, 2025
Coca-Cola’s Settlement Ties Put V in Hot Seat
While the world is witnessing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, V has recently been announced as the latest representative of the world’s largest beverage company, Coca-Cola Zero.
On July 31, it was revealed that Coca-Cola Korea is promoting its new campaign dubbed #BestCokeEver, with members of the K-pop sensation BTS as the brand’s newest endorsers. Even though such ads featuring celebrities to increase sales are a routine in South Korea, the announcement has attracted criticism, for which the choice of endorsing a company listed in Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in the backdrop of the ongoing genocide in Gaza has been found tone-deaf and deeply disappointing.
Ins and Outs
V, whose real name is Kim Taehyung, will replace his labelmates, NewJeans, as the new face of the promotional activities to be launched shortly.
Sharing the news, the entertainment company HYBE Korea shared a striking visual ahead of its brand reveal on July 31, along with an article with an all-important message. Capping off the campaign unveiling were a series of large black boxes emblazoned with the brand’s catchphrase #BestCokeEver in reverse, with one of the boxes opening up to the South Korean star.
From Advocating to Turning a Blind Eye
More specifically, the criticism that has erupted from such brand announcement has led to the aggravation of his fans, who have failed to understand the reason behind V signing the contract for the recently announced business partnership at a time when the world is directing its focus on the Israeli forces for committing crimes against humanity, mostly against Palestinians.
In contrast, although BTS’ stance has been crystal-clear on particular social issues, such as the Asian hate crimes and the Black Lives Matter movement, there is a total absence of discussion on Gaza, in which the country has been found to stay silent on its behalf.
On an earlier note, V found himself in a similar predicament with a small fraction of BTS’ fans, who also raised concerns when the K-pop idol shared a casual photo of McDonald’s fries last year, to which the world was yet to pay heed to the ongoing ethnic cleansing against Gazans.
The history of a Banned Brand
If the allegations against V did not amplify, Coca-Cola, as a brand, has also come under the scanner of social media users and activists for a 2024 advert it aired in Bangladesh, where the beverage giant had claimed it did not have a presence in Israel.
Responding to it, a spokesperson from the organization said, “Coca-Cola’s latest ad attempts to claim that it is not in Israel when, in fact, it has a large operation there. Take Coca-Cola Israel, which has facilities on stolen Palestinian land in the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone and whose flagship Tabor Winery sources grapes from the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.”
The statement was about the research that the US-based think tank, WhoProfits, had carried out, in which the consultancy group revealed Coca-Cola’s presence in occupied Palestine. Although this was not the first time that activists have urged people to boycott the brand since 2014, many fans from around the world have been rallying behind the movement by sharing content and have not spared V for supporting the brand that stands accused of being complicit in the Israeli occupation.
Fans are the voice of the Voiceless.
Addressing the issue, fans have turned to online platforms and Twitter to vent out their frustrations at the soloist for his unsavory choice. Tweets like “Dear Taehyung BTS, Coca Cola has been operating on the stolen land of the Palestinians, some of whom are your ARMY. Please don’t work with and promote its products. Please educate yourself. Cancel the endorsement and stand with humanity.” have not stopped appearing on Twitter in a series of reactions to the idol’s actions.
Fans who were notably disappointed by the controversy surrounding the social media posts have also taken out their frustrations on BTS for not doing anything about the situation or defending Gaza by demanding its freedom. A detailed survey conducted by Global News Agenda and King’s College London concluded that many fans had found the idol insensitive by not addressing the issue in Gaza in 2023, which is currently undergoing ethnic cleansing in which 61% percent of all Palestinians in Gaza have died.
Matters to Ponder
The bigger issue here is with the continued silence of BTS on the matter and their repertoire in any topic that is not of their interest. An instance like this has also called for an apology from a couple of international ARMYs who had also backed up the idea of taking down the advertisement, as well as V’s social media accounts, for the same cause.
In V’s case, BTS’s choice of taking up Coca-Cola as its newest associate for the next campaign was simply downplayed by their silence, for which the fans have been calling out the group to be canceled. The matter, in this case, has been criticized by many for having no reply and thereby ending on a low note with no chance of recovery.
