Coca-Cola has faced criticism from consumers in Russia using social-media site VK for posting a map of the country that left out the Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in early 2014, reports TheGuardian.com.
The map was part of Coca-Cola’s New Year’s greeting to users of the website, and was replaced with an image including the Crimea, as well as the Kuril Islands, also claimed by Moscow, and Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania.
However, by including the Crimea in its map of Russia, Coca-Cola is now under fire in the Ukraine, where there were calls to boycott the drink.
On Tuesday, the global drinks giant removed the New Year’s message completely, while its Ukrainian subsidiary posted on Facebook, 'Dear friends! Thank you for your attention. It has been decided to delete the item which caused the upset.'
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jenny Whelan. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
