BTS’ V Faces Backlash Over Coca-Cola Zero Endorsement Amid Gaza Crisis

BTS’ newest endorsement deal for Coca-Cola Zero is drawing ire from across the globe, with international fans describing the move as “tone deaf and deeply disappointing” against the backdrop of a genocide in Gaza and the company’s place on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) list.

In South Korea, the K-pop group announced the news on July 31, with the chosen poster boy V (Kim Taehyung) taking to his social media accounts to tease the project. According to Coca-Cola Korea’s promotional campaign, which has been pushed with the accompanying hashtag #BestCokeEver, this was marked with reveal trailers with flashy animations and an unexpected reveal.

The brief montage concluded with the declaration “Taehyung replaces NewJeans” as V popped up to replace his HYBE label mates as Coke’s latest brand ambassador. While BTS members often do multiple endorsement deals with major Korean and international conglomerates as part of their day jobs as K-pop idols, many fans online were quick to call attention to this one in particular.

Political Consistency, or Lack Thereof

To be sure, not all of BTS’ recent work has been without criticism, and members of the K-pop group (especially internationally based ARMYs) have previously chided their idols for their silence regarding a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. While BTS has managed to publicly align itself with larger social justice issues in the past, including speaking out about discrimination against Asians and the Black Lives Matter movement, they have remained notably silent on the issue of Gaza.

As the crisis there rages on, some fans have felt that BTS (especially the seemingly outspoken V) should be doing more, or at least speaking out about the genocide. With that in mind, some international fans were not the least bit surprised at V’s decision to sign on to a major Coca-Cola advertising contract.

Coca-Cola’s Reputation in Question

Coca-Cola is not the only brand to have come under fire for its connections to Israel, nor has V come under fire for endorsing before. Just over a year ago, V was met with a minor backlash from fans when he posted a picture of McDonald’s fries in what was otherwise a seemingly innocuous photo, because McDonald’s was another international conglomerate accused of funding Israel.

Fans have noted V’s Coke Zero promotion as a step too far in the world of international conglomerates, especially after the K-pop group had previously established a certain political and social justice precedent in the international public consciousness. For many fans, this behavior is especially disheartening given the K-pop group’s willingness to tackle other political and social issues with a certain amount of force or attention.

Locals and Advocacy Groups Speak Out

Another key factor in this growing condemnation is a long-running controversy over the company’s expansion in and around settlements that many have classified as illegal. In 2024, the company was forced to issue a public apology for an advertisement that had run in Bangladesh in which it claimed to have no connection to Israel.

Activists were quick to draw attention to the existence of Coca-Cola Israel, with some publicly tracking down the supposed Coca-Cola Israel headquarters on Google Maps and posting the locations online. In recent years, WhoProfits, an Israeli research center tracking the footprint of Israeli settlements, has repeatedly drawn attention to a bottling plant in the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone, as well as a winery called Tabor Winery.

As WhoProfits stated, Tabor Winery (supplied by a branch of Coca-Cola Israel) has been found sourcing grapes from the occupied West Bank as well as the Syrian Golan Heights. As a result, many advocacy groups and those sympathetic to their cause have regularly put forward boycott calls against Coca-Cola, as well as putting pressure on V to reconsider.

The Campaign and Backlash

Coca-Cola Korea’s response has been to double down, with an official teaser trailer dropping on July 31 showing BTS member V set to become the latest face of Coca-Cola Zero in South Korea. The overall aim was to promote and endorse V’s new contract with the well-known soda company, with the actual campaign set to go live in August.

The backlash itself, by contrast, has mostly been limited to social media so far, with fans not so much blasting the idol himself as much as their global favorite group for their collective failure to take a clear stance.

Fans were relatively quick to organize online with social media users on platforms like Twitter, calling out V specifically and fans of the group more generally with hashtags like “BTS V, please do not promote Coke Zero, you better know” as well as #BoycottCocaCola and #boycottbts as fans directed their anger in several directions.

Fans have also begun to target V specifically with messages like “Dear Taehyung BTS, Coca Cola has been operating on the stolen land of the Palestinians, some of whom are your ARMY. Please don’t work with and promote its products. Please educate yourself. Cancel the endorsement and stand with humanity.”

V and Coke Korea, by contrast, have not made any public statements thus far, and neither has done so on the matter as of this publication. As for the future of the campaign itself and whether or not it will continue as advertised or as a boycott continues to gain traction, it remains to be seen.