Hungary is angry after Coca-Cola ads, featuring gay couples kissing, go up

Coca-Cola has been left with a bitter aftertaste in Hungary. This after a set of advertisements, that include images of same-sex couples kissing and holding beverage bottles, have upset the country’s political class.

The beverage major launched the "Love is Love" campaign in the run-up to the Sziget festival which is scheduled to kick off in Budapest this week. The posters flaunting slogans like, "Zero Sugar, Zero Prejudice" show gay people and couples smiling.

The ads that have gone up at many public spaces including train stations and other parts of Budapest have created a buzz. The global FMCG brand also shared some images on its Hungarian Facebook page over the weekend.


The conservative ruling party, the Fidesz party, has called for a boycott of Coca-Cola products, thanks to the “provocative campaign” unveiled by the brand. Right-wing news portals, too, joined in.

An online petition calling for a boycott and for local officials to ban the ads has garnered about half its goal of 50,000 signatures.

Meanwhile Coca-Cola, on Monday, said that the Sziget festival - expected to draw more than half a million people - was in sync with its ethos.

"We believe both hetero- and homosexuals have the right to love the person they want the way they want," the American cola major said in a statement.