Kim Taehyung Under Fire for Endorsing Coca-Cola Amid BDS Calls

The advertisement, which was shared on July 31, 2024, has been met with significant criticism online, with some fans stating that V’s endorsement for Coca-Cola Zero is “tone deaf and deeply disappointing” considering the current genocide in Gaza and the brand being on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) list.

On Tuesday, the BTS member was announced as the official face of Coca-Cola Zero in South Korea. On July 31, the announcement came to fruition as Coca-Cola Korea launched their latest promotion campaign under the hashtag #BestCokeEver, during which they released some high-quality and commercial-like pictures of V, as well as the brand-new reveal of him replacing his HYBE label mates and previous ambassador, girl group NewJeans.

Celebrity endorsement is nothing new to the global entertainment industry, with A-listers and up-and-coming talents alike endorsing their favorite products, from cosmetics to fashion and food brands. However, this recent partnership between V and the beverage brand has sparked a large amount of backlash as fans have swiftly taken to social media platforms to call out the South Korean artist.

Fan backlash aside, the global trend of celebrities signing deals with companies that match their image in the public’s eye has, for BTS’ V, created a new wrinkle that their stans are having a difficult time looking past. The previous actions and comments made by BTS members regarding discrimination against Asians and BLM have put the entertainment company at the forefront of many pro-Palestine fans’ minds.

The group’s reluctance to say anything on the topic of Gaza has now resurfaced as fans have pointed to V’s new promotion campaign and his association with Coca-Cola, which has long been accused of “occupying and profiting” from Israeli-occupied territories in Palestine.

The K-pop idol was even previously called out by his ARMY for a similar controversy regarding another multinational corporation last year. In July 2023, V posted a photo on Instagram that featured a close-up of his McDonald’s fries, as well as a caption that described them as “filthy.”

On the surface, this looks like a mundane activity that every BTS stan can relate to; however, due to similar controversies with the brand, the post was a difficult pill to swallow for many fans. McDonald’s has also been on BDS’s list of companies that operate in Israeli-occupied territories, and, as such, the ARMY members were left disappointed that their bias did not seem to be fully aware of such important issues.

Coincidentally, the backlash towards V and the Coca-Cola endorsement has primarily been from the international community of BTS fans, with many posts sharing similar sentiments that the ARMYs are “paying to support” BTS; therefore, they expect the septet to at least take action where they can. So far, neither the member nor his management company has made any official statements regarding the partnership.

In addition to BTS V being accused of being complicit in his current ad campaign with Coca-Cola, the brand has also been criticized for operating in the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. In 2024, Coca-Cola came under heavy fire in Bangladesh after the brand aired an advertisement that outright denied its business with Israel.

Activists immediately fired back after the ad aired, as they had many contradicting examples of the brand’s connection to the Jewish state. This included evidence of a Coca-Cola Israel facility operating in the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone and its Tabor Winery using grapes from the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.

The two businesses have been “documented and exposed” by WhoProfits, a research center for corporate involvement in the Israeli occupation, which has published a variety of information on the brand, who owns it, and which Israeli settlements it is located in.

As such, BDS lists Coca-Cola Israel as a business to boycott, especially because it derives its products directly from illegal settlements. The research center even stated on its website that the “modus operandi of the company is to operate production lines in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it then bottles the beverage.”

Because of this, and the situation in Gaza, Coca-Cola has found itself on the bad side of BDS activists, most of whom have been pro-Palestine over the past few weeks, and have also joined in on the conversation by making calls for their local communities to boycott Coca-Cola and “their new poster boy,” V.

The global fanbase of the K-pop group BTS has also been extremely vocal in their distaste for the decision and has taken to Twitter to discuss the controversy. As of the time of this article’s publication, there have been more than 200,000 tweets that are focused on BTS and V’s decision to partner with Coca-Cola.

While it is not the first time a celebrity’s endorsement of a brand has caused controversy, it has become increasingly clear that these decisions are now under the scrutiny of the fandoms that support them, making public figures like V more vulnerable to attack when their actions or alliances are found to be at odds with their public image or the values of their fans.

For the HYBE Entertainment member and his management company, it will be interesting to see whether they will issue a response to the calls for BTS to take action on the issue in Gaza or V’s decision to associate with a brand that has been previously called out for operating in illegal settlements.