Coca-Cola's 'Equal Love' Ads Spark Anti-Gay Fury in Hungary

[left-of-center2012]

Coca-Cola Co.’s billboards depicting heterosexual and same-sex couples were greeted by a wave of vitriol in Hungary, touching on a theme which conservative governments in the east of the European Union have increasingly focused on. The pictures feature couples with the hashtag #loveislove, timed for Budapest’s popular Sziget Festival, a week-long music event that carries the theme of "Love Revolution" this year.

News websites close to the ruling Fidesz party attacked the Coca-Cola campaign saying it promotes same-sex love over heterosexuality. Fidesz lawmaker Istvan Boldog called for a boycott of Coke products in a Facebook post, while an anti-abortion group gathered about 25,000 signatures for its online petition to remove the billboards.

Laszlo Kover, the firebrand speaker of parliament, went as far as telling an election forum in May that "decent" gay people should try to "adapt to the world" by not regarding themselves equals with the rest of the society, news website Index reported.

Coca-Cola refused to back down, citing its values of equality and diversity. The billboards "do indeed try to convey a message," Cola-Cola said in an emailed statement Monday. "Our belief that everyone has a right to love and that the feeling of love is the same for all."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coca-cola-equal-love-ads-132708497.html

[Odoreida]

1. Plus. betcha it sells Coca Cola, too.

[Crowman2009]

2. The Fidesz party can go f*** themselves!

No problem with Coca-Cola's LGBT stance. Even though they are a horrible company for different reasons. I'd prefer a smaller independent soda company who's LGBT friendly and doesn't try to kill their workers when they want to unionize.