An advertising campaign, “Love is Love,” launched by the Coca-Cola Company ahead of a progressive music festival in Budapest, Hungary last week has led to political leaders calling for a boycott of the global soft drink company.
Coke blanketed Budapest with images of couples — including lesbians and gay men — kissing and in friendly intimate poses at train stations, bus stops and other parts of the city. They were posted on the company’s Hungarian Facebook page August 1. The ad campaign led up to the Sziget Festival that ran August 7-13.
Along with the images the posters were emblazoned with statements such as, “Zero Sugar, Zero Prejudice.”
The ads led to some backlash from the country’s conservative leaders.
Hungarian Deputy Speaker and Parliament Member István Boldog, along with conservative media outlets, called for a boycott of Coke products until the ads are removed.
An accompanying online petition for the boycott garnered 39,700 signatures toward its 50,000 goal as of August 13.
A translated version of the petition points out that most international corporations don’t run ads with openly gay content and called Coke’s campaign a test.
“If Hungarian society accepts this, there will be more such steps. Posters, commercials, films, rainbow products, etc. and will become increasingly difficult to stop,” the petition stated.
Coke isn’t backing down from its campaign.
A company spokesperson said in a statement to media outlets that it “strives for diversity, inclusion, and equality in our business, and we support these rights in society as well.”
“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 statement read.
The company hasn’t seen a drop in sales in Hungary due to the controversy, said the spokesperson.
An International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association survey in 2017 found that more than 60% of Hungary’s citizens believe that equal rights should be afforded to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.
Same-sex unions were legalized in Hungary in 2009, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, as does his Fidesz party. Orban hasn’t commented on the Coke ads or the petition against them.
Tomas Dombos, board member of Hatter, Hungary’s oldest gay rights group, told ABC News that LGBT community leaders aren’t sure if the recent anti-gay rhetoric is a political movement or the spouting off of one homophobic leader.
Previously, the party has been focused on anti-immigration.
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