If I had to describe my visit to the Coca Cola factory in one word it would be: fantastical. The tour guide and rhetoric surrounding Coca Cola elevated the company and product to almost religious like proportions. Coca cola was a savior; a way out of poverty and a beacon of light and hope for all people in the world. I felt like I was in a comedy sketch that wouldn’t end, the introduction video alone made me want to bust out in laughter. I was hoping they were being sarcastic as they described Coca Cola as the reason for the universe’s existence and a symbol of mans achievement of perfection. The branding the video presented was Coca Cola was a hip, cool, trendy drink that has served the world a quality product to better the lives of billions of people. Coca Cola as a global force, unifying humans across the world in our quest for refreshment was the message but I wasn’t buying it. The second video explored Coca Colas initiative to bring clean water to villages across Vietnam and the acts of good will the company has had in improving social conditions. Scholarships, new jobs and more opportunity for social advancement were a few of the pillars the company employed to give us a warmhearted feeling as we drink our soda beverage.
We were supposed to ignore all the environmental and health problems the brand has caused people through out the years and only focus on the positives of this monstrous company. The capitalist devil that is Coca Cola was hiding his horns and instead constructing a halo out of corn syrup and smiling faces in front of a camera. In this alternative universe where Coca Cola isn’t a teeth rotting, diabetes inducing sludge of commercial goo, the consumer should feel proud when they buy their next order of burger and a diet coke. The smiling Vietnamese faces drinking fresh water is an act of good will and we are suppose to be proud of our favorite soft drink brand. The wheels of capitalism keep turning and now they are being oiled by false rhetoric of pure intentions and tours of factories lead by pawns in their quest for world domination. Soon Coca Cola will come out of our faucets instead of water and babies’ first words will be “coke please”. This sounds like a post apocalyptic science fiction novel but in our money driven global system, when is enough enough? “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” the more things change the more things stay the same. For Coca Cola this means the more they change their image to be a force of good in the world the more they actually pollute, destroy the natural environment and forever alter the political landscape with their funding and capitalist ideals. The more people ignore the over empowered super house that is Coke, the more they can get away with.