A coffee brand has received criticism after it showed an advertisement that seemed to show a girl who had scars in place of where her breasts would be.
Costa Coffee, a popular coffee chain in the United Kingdom, received backlash from people on Twitter regarding its advertisement. The advertisement is claimed to have been spotted on a cafe van, according to NBC News.
In a Twitter post addressed to the coffee company, one person wrote, “You are promoting the mutilation of healthy young girls,” adding they hoped the company would be “boycotted out of existence.”
Dear @CostaCoffee
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) July 31, 2023
You are promoting the mutilation of healthy young girls.
I hope you are boycotted out of existence.#BoycottCostaCoffee pic.twitter.com/cphbdAkbZ3
Another person pointed out the advertisement could be “highly offensive” to women who may have had to go through mastectomies.
“This stuff is highly offensive to women that have had mastectomy due to Breast cancer!” the person wrote, adding it was “unbelievable.”
This stuff is highly offensive to women that have had mastectomy due to Breast cancer! Unbelievable https://t.co/CvabaRMrbk
— ReReRed (@RobinAu02766894) August 1, 2023
Television science documentary producer Malcolm Clark questioned “why on earth” big corporations such as Costa Coffee would be “promoting double mastectomies to girls?”
“This marketing image of so-called ‘top surgery’ is the latest example of brands trying to normalise irreversible and dangerous medical procedures,” Clark wrote.
1./ Why on earth are huge corporations like @CostaCoffee promoting double mastectomies to girls? This marketing image of so-called "top surgery" is the latest example of brands trying to normalise irreversible and dangerous medical procedures.
— Malcolm Clark (@TwisterFilm) August 2, 2023
What forces are driving this?👉 pic.twitter.com/cOmhVfIdnI
“Celebrating women who cut off their healthy breasts is just grotesque,” another Twitter user wrote. “I will never set foot in your coffee shops again.”
Ugh. That is absolutely HORRIBLE @CostaCoffee. Celebrating women who cut off their healthy breasts is just grotesque. I will never set foot in your coffee shops again. #BoycottCostaCoffee https://t.co/ZSAO1Gc5eN
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) July 31, 2023
The British coffee chain is a branch of Coca-Cola, according to Statista, and as of January 2022, was the largest coffee chain in the U.K. with 2,792 locations.
Earlier this year, Bud Light faced backlash after the company advertised a decorative can featuring transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Since then, sales have continued to drop as people continue to boycott the beer.
IJR reached out to Costa Coffee for a statement but did not hear back by the time of publication.
