Coca Cola’s Super Bowl Ad Was Inclusive AF

Did you watch the big game last night? I still can’t believe they won, right? Ok, now that the mundane banter about the game we definitely don’t care about is over, we can talk about what actually matters. I’d like to say the highlight of the evening was the halftime show, but you can’t leave a man to do Janet Jackson’s job.

No, one of our favorite moments of the evening (next to selfie kid) had to be the Coca Cola ad. It was definitely the most inclusive and queer friendly of this year’s Super Bowl commercial lineup. And that includes the Dirty Dancing themed NFL spot with Eli Manning.

There’s a Coke for him and her and them and he and she. And though we all are different, we’re better as a “we.”

P.S. Every ❤️ gets a special reply from us! #EnjoyYours pic.twitter.com/BNEovkWmZP

— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) February 5, 2018

Entitled “The Wonder of Us,” the minute-long promo for America’s favorite soft drink featured a diverse cast and some symbols of Pride. With a same-sex female couple and a presumably genderqueer person in a rainbow color, the ad was accompanied by a poem that expresses the brand’s inclusion and diversity, “There’s a Coke for he, and she, and her, and me, and them.” Since it aired, it’s attracted much positive feedback from viewers who often feel underrepresented.

It matters when an iconic brand like @CocaCola includes non-binary people who use they/them/theirs pronouns. We need all young people to know that their gender identity is respected and valid. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 https://t.co/BUrlItr7Js

— Amit Paley (@amitpaley) February 5, 2018

Appreciating @CocaCola’s decision to feature a person with a disability living a colorful, vibrant life in a wheelchair in their #TheWonderofUs ad.#MediaWeLike #3percentSB

— Audrey Sample (@sample_audrey) February 5, 2018

I think Coke casually dropped a singular they into that ad?

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) February 5, 2018

The commercial was directed by Alma Har’el, founder of Free the Bid, a nonprofit that strives to include more female directors in advertising. She was one of only four women to direct one of the coveted Super Bowl ads this year. The poem was also written by a woman, Becca Wadlinger, a copywriter for the ad agency that produced the spot.

“For this particular message, it is a strategic choice for us,” Coca-Cola North America’s vice president of content and creative excellence Brynn Bardacke told Adweek. “It’s such a big audience and we want to celebrate the diversity of that audience. It isn’t as much about it being advertising’s biggest stage as we feel like it is the ability to reach all of those billions of unique you’s.”

Your move, Pepsi!