Coca-Cola’s gender-inclusive Super Bowl ad is affecting people in all the right ways
During the Super Bowl, we turn to the commercials for a good laugh, a celebrity cameo, or a shocking cultural moment. Sometimes a Super Bowl ad will mix social justice with capitalism in an insensitive way (we’re looking at you, Dodge Ram). Rarely does a Super Bowl ad touch the lives of the individuals watching it in a real and supportive way. Many people who saw the Coca-Cola ad on Sunday noticed that the brand used the non-binary gender pronoun “them.”
“There’s a Coke for he and she and her and me and them,” says the voiceover as it pans across a variety of human faces. The spot, directed by Alma Har’el, has been gaining a ton of acclaim for its small, but powerful, attention to gender-inclusive pronouns.
“Thank you to @Alma.harel and @cocacola for turning a space that so many brands use superficially into a platform for representation and change,” shared one Instagram user. “Coca-Cola used ‘Them’ as a singular pronoun during the big sports ball game,” wrote another.
Naturally, the moment caught the attention of many on social media, including GLAAD, which tweeted the crying emoji in response.
❤️😭❤️😭❤️ #SuperBowl https://t.co/qVrZSbfihX
— GLAAD (@glaad) February 5, 2018
COCA-COLA USED ‘THEM’ AS A SINGULAR PRONOUN DURING THE BIG SPORTS BALL GAME https://t.co/4qsuux14dD
— Jackson Bird (@jackisnotabird) February 5, 2018
My mom and I are 😭 pic.twitter.com/tc8okbp3qP
— Parker (@nonbeenaree) February 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/960395186135220224
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeziPuhlxB8
You can watch the entire spot below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPi9nTE70aA?start=57&feature=oembed
The best thing about the ad was that it didn’t exploit the gender binary to sell sodas but represented humans as we are. The ad claimed that there’s a Coke for everyone, and everyone includes: me, he, she, and them. Simple as that.