Senior member of the ruling party in Hungary boycotts pro-LGBT+ Coca-Cola ads

In anticipation of a well-known festival in Hungary, Coca-Cola has created an advertisement that promotes gay acceptance in support of the festival’s theme for this year “Love Revolution”.

The ads depict gay couples smiling and hugging followed by the #LOVEISLOVE and the slogan “zero sugar, zero prejudice”.

 A billboard part of the Coca-Cola campaign supporting gay rights. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/Reuters

On Sunday, István Boldog, Fidesz’s deputy speaker called for a boycott of Coca-Cola products until the ads are removed, during what he labeled as a ‘provocative’ campaign.

On Monday, a Coca-Cola company spokesman said: “The Coca-Cola Company strives for diversity, inclusion and equality in our business, and we support these rights in society as well”.

He continues, ”As a long-standing supporter of the LGBTQI community, we believe everyone has the right to love the person they choose. The campaign currently running in Hungary reflects these values.

The far-right political party Fidesz has stopped endorsing the boycott call, stating that the people of Hungary are free to choose whether they drink Coke or not. 

Hungary’s people are torn although it looks like more and more Hungarians support gay rights. 

“According to a 2018 Háttér study, nearly two-thirds of Hungarians believe gay people should be free to live as they please, up from less than half in 2002.”