Let’s be honest — it wouldn’t be the Super Bowl without a controversial commercial that pushed America’s buttons. This year, Coca-Cola’s “It’s Beautiful” commercial won the chaos causing prize and will dominate the media for the next few weeks. In case you haven’t seen it yet, the commercial is a heartwarming montage of typical “American” activities, such as taking a road trip, going to pool parties and spending time with family, set to the song “America the Beautiful.” Sounds like a typical patriotic advertisement, right? Not so much. To the shock of many Americans, “America the Beautiful” was sung in seven different languages, and the families featured were men and women in a diverse array of races, ethnicities and sexualities. “It’s Beautiful” also featured the first gay couple in Super Bowl commercial history, breaking barriers of all kinds.
Needless to say, not all of America is happy. Minutes after the advertisement was aired, thousands of disgruntled Americans shared their grievances on social media. The hashtag #speakamerican went viral on Twitter, and many resolved to never buy Coke products again. A sizable percentage of the country was appalled that such a patriotic song could be sung in a language other than English, believing it went against the values of our country. However, Coca-Cola didn’t necessarily define America in a new way. Rather, they brought to light a reality that has existed for centuries. The United States is a diverse, multiethnic and multilingual country, and it is about time our country begins to realize what it means to be an American.
Whether people like it or not, more people are making their way to the United States every year. Some often forget that America is a country founded and sustained by immigrants. Except for Native Americans, virtually every person in the United States has ancestors from another country. While English is spoken by the majority of people in America, there is no “official” national language. Some Americans may believe the use of multiple languages in a patriotic song is offensive, but the multilingual nature of the song is more of a reality today than it ever was before. Many Americans, yes, American citizens, watching the Super Bowl speak at least one of the languages used in the advertisement.
Looking back at other controversial Super Bowl commercials, many, including the infamous Groupon, Go Daddy and SalesGenie advertisements promote messages of racism, sexism and bigotry. “It’s Beautiful” may diverge from stereotypes and expectations of our country, but why should we criticize a message embracing all races, ethnicities and sexualities? The fact that one of the largest corporations in the world was able to celebrate our differences is a step in the right direction. Whether this commercial was a genius marketing plan by Coca-Cola to increase sales or a genuine promotion of diversity, this minute-long clip has sparked a conversation that desperately needed to be initiated.