Icelandic Glacial gays up classic Diet Coke ad

Photo: Screenshot from Iceland Glacial video

Photo: Screenshot from Iceland Glacial video

Icelandic water company Icelandic Water Holdings has released a new advert for its Icelandic Glacial water, giving a modern, positive, inclusive spin on an advertising classic from the 90s.

Speaking to gayiceland.is, Chairman and co-founder of the company Jón Ólafsson says that “it felt like the right thing to do, just very natural, to include a gay character”. The response to the new advert has been pleasingly positive, reports Roald Viðar Eyvindsson here.

Who could forget the classic 90s Diet Coke advert where a group of female office workers down tools at 11:30 am precisely and trot over to the window to watch a ripped shirtless builder sip his drink?

Iceland’s 2016 version involves the naked torso of hunky surfer Brock O’Hurn and – crucially – a love-struck male among the admiring office audience.

“I don’t discriminate between people based on their sexuality or their gender, race, faiths etc. In my mind people are people; either they’re good human beings, beautiful on the inside, or they’re not. Simple as that,” Ólafsson tells Eyvindsson.

Have a look at the two adverts here and see what you think…

Diet Coke, 1994

Icelandic Glacial, 2016

Weather

Partly cloudy

Today

4 °C

Clear sky

Tomorrow

3 °C

Clear sky

Saturday

1 °C