By Jose Serrano (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Dec 03, 2015 09:46 PM EST
Tags Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola commerical, Coca Cola Commercial, Coca-Cola Mexico, Coca Cola Mexico commerical

Coca-Cola is apologizing for a commercial posted to their YouTube channel depicting young, white people handing the caffeinated beverage to indigenous people of a remote Mexican community.

The ad reads "This Christmas a group of young people decided to give something very special to the indigenous community of Totontepec (Villa) de Morelos in Oaxaca," as a crew of light-skinned volunteers cheerfully drive through the town, waving at passersby, before getting to work on a Coke-themed Christmas tree.

While well-intended, many consumer rights and health organizations are pointing out that Mexico has a growing obesity rate partially fueled by sugary soda drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The ad also tries to address prejudice against those who speak indigenous languages by citing that 81.6 percent of Mexico's indigenous people feel rejected for not speaking something other than Spanish.

Twitter users were quick to point out how their approach reeks of colonialism.

The company emailed a statement to the media Wednesday saying that they meant to spread a message of "union and happiness."

"We never sought to offend or belittle this or any other indigenous group," the statement read, adding that Coca-Cola has continuously promoted unity and friendship in its nearly 90-year presence in Mexico. "We deeply regret that the message was misinterpreted, when our intention was exactly the opposite of the criticism we received."

According to a 2012 National Survey of Health and Nutrition report, more than half of he population of Mexico City is either obese or overweight. They surpassed the United States as the world's heaviest country a year later; the average Mexican drinks 43 gallons of soda per year.

The commercial, which is still available on other YouTube channels, can be seen below.

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