An unfortunate mistake

摘要

No-One accused Coca-Cola of deliberately trading off the back of a tragedy, but the placing of billboard advertising for the Burn energy beverage outside a Doha shopping mall drew criticism not only in Qatar but also internationally. With a prominent headline of 'Burn On' in Arabic and English, the outdoor advertising was perceived as highly inappropriate, given the death of 13 children in a childcare facility within the Villaggio Mall. Qatar fielded criticism for what was seen as lax standards applying at the facility and also the standard of fire fighting, especially the locating and evacuation of vulnerable children. Slow and seemingly less than transparent investigation and prosecution caused some initial worries, too.