- calendar_today August 23, 2025
BTS’ V Under Fire for ‘Insensitive’ Brand Partnership
The recent decision of BTS member Kim Taehyung, popularly known as V, to become the new face of the Coca-Cola Zero brand in South Korea has come under fire in the last week from international fans. According to the Korean news outlet ET, the endorsement was announced on July 31 and included a music video teaser. The deal, which is effective until September 2, made V the center of attention among anti-Israel BDS protesters who find it “tone deaf” and “deeply disappointing” for the singer to appear in a promotional video while genocide continues in Gaza.
The events
As part of Coca-Cola Korea’s most recent campaign, which features the hashtag #BestCokeEver, the hashtag debuted on July 31 with prominent commercial art and a brand-new surprise: V has been chosen as the brand ambassador in place of his HYBE label mates, the girl group NewJeans. For any global product of Coca-Cola, it is not the first time that a high-profile K-pop idol or Korean celebrity has been a face or representative, but it has become the center of criticism as the Gaza issue has been discussed and raised in recent years.
The problem with the campaign
It is important to note that much of the negative attention BTS and, by extension, V is now receiving has to do with the gap between the perceived image and identity of BTS and the newer endorsement agreement for Coca-Cola. BTS, since its inception, has identified itself in public as fighting for social justice and equality. They have spoken out about anti-Asian discrimination and have, in the past, made public gestures of support for the BLM movement.
One of the main problems that have been raised so far in this situation is that while BTS has seemingly not been silent about many things, it has been eerily quiet about Gaza and the humanitarian crisis. This perceived silence on their part has come into further disrepute as V has been given a prominent endorsement for a company that some BDS supporters have claimed to profit from and conduct business in occupied Israeli lands.
It was revealed in the leaked posts of V’s old account, which was done by Coppelius last year, that V had posted a food image of McDonald’s fries on July 9 last year, in which he used hashtags such as #FOODLIFE in a relaxed mood. A McDonald’s fast-food chain with the same issues and its business ethics has raised the hackles of some fans who already had pre-existing suspicions about V, in particular. Others have said that this time, he crossed the line with Coca-Cola.
The deeper roots of the backlash
Coca-Cola’s advertisement also angered people in 2024 in Bangladesh, in which it did not directly deny having a connection to Israel, but claimed it “does not have a facility or office in Israel,” with BDS and pro-Palestine groups showing that there was no evidence that Coca-Cola was directly operating from within the boundaries of Israel proper.
A new report by WhoProfits, the Israel and Palestine Resource Centre, which keeps watch on corporations in Palestine during the Israeli occupation, has since placed Coca-Cola Israel on the list of companies operating in the country. WhoProfits specifically named the Atarot Settlement Industrial Zone as one of the sites where Coca-Cola Israel has an industrial park. Coca-Cola’s Tabor Winery has also been placed on that list as it sources its grapes from the illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights.
The actual situation
Owing to these facts, Coca-Cola has been in the sights of BDS boycotts for years, and is frequently brought up in anti-Israel activity on Twitter, especially during any major Israeli military action. For many fans, this new announcement that V is representing the brand feels like he has gone further than just buying a product and now touting the company, which has also now seen the music video pulled.
Fan reaction to the situation so far has been to bombard social media platforms with messages and statements about the recent endorsement. Many are calling on him to retract his decision to sign the deal with Coca-Cola as a means of denouncing the atrocities in Gaza and Gaza City. This has extended to calls for people not to purchase Coca-Cola products.
A popular screenshot that went viral last year regarding the calls for boycotts reads:
“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.”
In other cases, while specific reference to V has been made by a smaller segment of the fandom, the sentiment of the frustration that BTS has yet to speak about Gaza has come to be quite ubiquitous as of late. Some international ARMYs have been heard to comment that BTS must take responsibility for the fact that silence from those who have a platform on the Gaza issue is perceived as the same as tacit consent.
