Frothy controversy after Coke rolls out ‘sexist’ ads for new milk line

Beverage giant Coca-Cola landed itself in fizzy water after an ad campaign for its new upscale milk brand was slammed as “sexist” by social media users.

The ads, which feature pictures of women dripping in skimpy dresses made of milk, were made to promote the soft drink brand’s new Fairlife dairy product, which hits shelves this month in the United States.

In response to the controversy, the company said that it will take a “totally new approach” to marketing the product and added: “Who knew Fairlife, LLC, woud make international headlines with our new ultra-filtered milk, even before being launched?”

“The ‘pin-ups’ advertising may have been eye-catching, but we’re taking a totally new approach…that campaign was retired in June and we’re super excited about what’s to come,” the statement said.

Fairlife is advertised to be healthier than traditional milk, and is advertised as having 50 percent more protein and calcium and half the sugar of regular milk - at twice the price.

And as American consumers reduce their intake of unhealthy soft drinks, Coca-Cola believes that the product will revive their dwindling profits.

“It’s basically the premiumization of milk,” Sandy Douglas, a senior vice president at Coca-Cola's North American operation at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer Conference last week, according to UK-based newspaper the Daily Mail.