This Coca-Cola Ad Aired During Rio Olympics Is Still Upsetting the 'English-Only' Crowd

A two year old Coke ad once again upset the "English-only" crowd when it was aired during the Rio Olympics.

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Complex Original

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A 2014 Coca-Cola ad, last seen during that year's Super Bowl, once again proved controversial on Friday night when it re-aired during NBC's televised coverage of the Opening Ceremonies of the Rio Olympics. 

The ad, titled "Together Is Beautiful," features the song "America the Beautiful" being sung in many different languages, over footage of people of different races and ethnicities (as well as what appears to be a gay couple with their daughter) undertaking a wide variety of activities. They are riding horses, surfing, dancing, camping, visiting the Grand Canyon—and, of course, drinking plenty of Coke along the way.

The minute-long spot met objections when it was first aired in 2014 by people who did not want to see a patriotic song sung in any language other than English. Unsurprisingly, similar reactions came out when the spot was televised again.

Other people were moved by the ad, and appreciated its multi-lingual, multi-cultural approach.

Some astute viewers noted that the outrage over the ad was simply recent history repeating itself.

 To learn more about all Olympic hopefuls, visit Teamusa.org. The Olympics begin Aug. 5 on NBC.

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