Coca-Cola apologizes for offensive bottle cap message

aboutface
Where I live, we don't find humour in denigration or unkindness.

Where I live we do not publicly whine when ever we see a word we do not like....

But that bottle cap hurt my feelings.

reply to post by hellobruce


Right. We learn to pick our battles. When a huge multinational corporation rolls out a campaign and imposes it in a public way on us, then we certainly can and should call them out on their failings.

eNumbra
But that bottle cap hurt my feelings.

Take the bottle cap to the suprem courts and sue it!

reply to post by eNumbra


What are you, ten? Think!

It is a product put out by a multinational company. If their products offend, we certainly have the right to call them out on it. And yes, people who are bullied do have feelings and don't need a product to remind them of it.

reply to post by aboutface


Buts its a bottle cap!

I was bullied badly.

But a bottle cap with some random words on it would have meant ZERO as I was smart enough to know that a inert object is incapable of giving offense as it can not know me or my circumstances!

Anyone who gets offended at a bottle cap is a retard!

aboutface

If you had a child with developmental issues who is constantly being bullied, that would certainly trigger a response, whether you yourself at present might not react in that way.

That would make sense if there was hostile context. As it stands this is just a word. A word that means to slow or delay.

Maybe somebody at Coke knew this person, knew were to place this bottle that it would be bought by this person and only this person and intended offense to this person. In that case offense would be justified.

As it is now we should expect this person for the sake of consistency to express offense at every manual, sign, book, dictionary, dialogue or anywhere else this word may appear.

If this person is consistent then that person should be treated in therapy.

reply to post by crazyewok


You are deliberately trying to bait me by resorting to name-calling in your post? It doesn't speak much for you. Please stop further posting in this thread.

aboutface
reply to post by crazyewok

 

You are deliberately trying to bait me by resorting to name-calling u your post? It doesn't speak much for you. Please stop further posting in this thread.

Na I d rather not. Free speach and all!

And I never called you a name. Im just disagreeing with you which is my right.

My point still stands anyone who gets offended at random words on a piece of plastic has issues.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


I disagree. Businesses operate with the knowledge that public perception is really important. That's why they go on marketing campaigns to get people on board. If they, as in this case, failed to realize that it may well be perceived by some as offensive, then it should tell them something when people do take offense: That some people will perceive it negatively and perhaps alter their purchasing habits to them exclude their products. That is not a desirable business outcome.

This story is not about a bottle cap. It is about big business and its marketing strategy.

reply to post by aboutface


The moral of the story is that in a world of 8 billion+ plus there will be always some lunatic out there.

I've been in public service one way or another for the past three decades. No matter what you do some nut will always show up expressing outrage or offense or disgust and that nut will have a handful of followers who for whatever reason cannot see the nut for what he is.

This offended person is at worst a lunatic and at best just trying to cash in. You are following the nut. Be careful where you get led.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

I think rather that the moral of the story in this thread is that we in my bilingual community hold different values from others who do not live in our area. In my culture, the term 'you retard' is an offensive and derogatory term and m community stands together against those to whom it is meted out. Our schools do not condone or tolerate it. I regret that I was unable to communicate that to the posters in this thread who thought it was about a lid cover.

reply to post by aboutface


Too late to edit, but in post above I meant our community stands with those against whom it is meted out.

reply to post by aboutface


Calm down. Do you know anything about the process of printing these little things on the insides of the caps? You go on and on about how stupid the people must be to let this happen but you apparently have no clue what the process is. I will give you the benefit that I may be wrong before I point out to you just how stupid all your angry name calling is.

aboutface


Coca Cola apologized because they know that it is offensive.

As such a huge corporation, what other option could they possibly have had? Do you think anyone suggested sending her a free case of vitamin water with "screw you" written on the caps? Doubt it.

Unity_99
So they put the truth out a bit too eh. Most masons and elites do force themselves to display truth. So along with fleecing consumer for money, they inform the customer, You Retard for buying our poison!!!! That is so funny!

What is poisonous about vitamin water?
I know it is a ripoff but poisonous?

aboutface
reply to post by Auricom

 

Yes she was offended. If you had a child with developmental issues who is constantly being bullied, that would certainly trigger a response, whether you yourself at present might not react in that way. Your reaction of rolling the eyes is a judgmental one. You obviously cannot yet place yourself in the shoes of another.

As we mature, we begin to consider the rest of our community and the injustices poured upon some. We don't remain juvenile forever. At some point we have to think a little deeper as a functioning member of society.

Let me see here, she has a child with mental disabilities who is bullied because of them? She bought a bottle and found "you retard" under the cap. Her brilliant idea was to make sure the kid knew about it, the whole family knew about it, everyone could get upset and hurt over it, instead of just ignoring it and you know, not making her child center stage over her little hissy fit.

You tell me if you had that child with those problems, you would point out things to him that should offend him and them plaster it all over the place.

Just about every shower gel in my bathroom has something like Gel douche on them, should I complain??


I fail to see why, if an ordinary word is used by a small group as an insult, it should be deemed bad, especially if it is a foreign word!

reply to post by aboutface


I was bullied when I was a kid, if a bottle cap called me a retard, I would just beat up the bottle cap. Problem solved.

reply to post by eNumbra


Can't say I wouldn't do the same. However depending on our own sense of place in this world, at some point would you not wonder just what other messages people might be getting too? At what point would your sense of community responsibility kick in?