Woman finds hurtful message inside Vitamin Water bottle cap
Was it an unfortunate combination of random words or a poor attempt at being bilingual? Either way, Coca-Cola has apologized to a Canadian woman who unscrewed the cap from her bottle of Vitamin Water and found the words "YOU RETARD" printed inside.
"The R-word is just something we don't say in our family," Blake Loates told Metro, adding that her younger sister has cerebral palsy. The sisters' father wrote several letters to Coca-Cola asking for an explanation. According to the company, its caps currently feature "a random English word followed by a random French word" ("retard" means to be late in French), but it took responsibility for the mistake. "We did not mean to offend at all," Coke's Canadian director of brand communications said. "We are certainly very apologetic for this oversight."
"The R-word is just something we don't say in our family," Blake Loates told Metro, adding that her younger sister has cerebral palsy. The sisters' father wrote several letters to Coca-Cola asking for an explanation. According to the company, its caps currently feature "a random English word followed by a random French word" ("retard" means to be late in French), but it took responsibility for the mistake. "We did not mean to offend at all," Coke's Canadian director of brand communications said. "We are certainly very apologetic for this oversight."
Posted by: Kyle | Sep 19, 2021 10:09:17 PM
This is the funniest thing I have seen this summer. I'm still chuckling.
Posted by: DR. YAW TWIMASI | Sep 19, 2021 10:14:37 PM
THIS IS RATHER AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT!!. BUT LET'S THIS BE A LESSON TO ALL OF US WHO USES THESE "ENHANCED PRODUCTS". I HAVE NEVER TASTED ANY OF THESE SO CALLED" MODERN DECEPTIVE INVENTIONS"!!!. AS A SCIENTIST I WILL NEVER ADVICE ANYBODY TO USE ANY OF THESE "CHEMICALS" WHOSE HARMFUL PROPERTIES SUPERSIDES ITS USEFULNESS. " A WORD OF CAUTION, PLEASE, DO NOT USE THE LANGUAGE BARRIER AS AN EXCUSE FOR THESE INCIDENCE!! BEWARE DEAR FRIENDS GOOD HEALTH CAN NOT BE PURCHASE FROM A STORE, BUT SICKNESS CAN!!!. A WORD TO A WISE IS ENOUGH . CHEERS.
Dr. Yaw Twimasi, Vancouver, BC
Posted by: Sue | Sep 19, 2021 10:14:56 PM
it would hurt if you or a family member had a learning disability
Posted by: janet | Sep 19, 2021 10:16:37 PM
Coca cola's explanation is lame. Random words! what kind of excuse is that i'm sharing this to all my facebook friends & asking them to think 2x when they buy Coca Cola product. For me right now i am not buying or drinking or even for free a Coca Cola product even if its the last thing left during the end of times. BYE BYE COCA COLA PRODUCTS!!!
Posted by: Rose | Sep 19, 2021 10:17:32 PM
You jerk,,You ugly,,You fat,,You Sicko,,You Homo,,You Slob,,You Moron,,You Stupid,,You prick,,You Bitch,,You Failure,,,,,,,,all ment to hurt or harm and are derogatory. You Late,,,give me a break.
Sorry if I have offended anyone and left them out,,,but your day will come and you will eventually be hurt and insulted and hopefully then you will reflect back on your comment,,about this whole issue being hogwash and we are all blowing this out of proportion You KNOW NOTHING.
Touche Betsy ;) BTW I apologize.
Posted by: lori burke | Sep 19, 2021 10:17:48 PM
That is what happens when you are forced to put words in french!!!!! ENGLISH PEOPLE learn it!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Obviously | Sep 19, 2021 10:23:36 PM
Obviously it was neither an unfortunate combination of words nor a poor attempt at bilingualism... this was a cold, calculated, targeted covert operation that singled out this defenseless individual from a global population of over 7 billion... there is no other reasonable explanation than to assume that Coca Cola is a front for a terrorist organization, or the CIA, that is waging psychological warfare on those to helpless to defend their own egos from bottle caps thereby requiring their daddy to write letters expressing the permanent trauma sustained by the opening of the overpriced water bottle and reading two insignificant words that have changed the course of her life forever requiring that justice must be served in the court of public opinion... only a retard would accept less than a $5 million dollar settlement... anything less would be an insult... come to think of it, the last time I pulled the tab on a Coke can, I swear it sounded like it made a couple of racial slurs about my heritage... will someone please take a close up of me holding the can and showing off my dirty fingernails too? DAD!!!! HELP!!!! write a letter for me!!!!
... woman finds hurtful message in a bottle cap...
and what else hurts?
the truth... the truth hurts...
Posted by: Trisha | Sep 19, 2021 10:24:00 PM
I have a sister who is mentally il, if she had opened that she wou have been very upset and I don't care who dosen't like this letter. Why do u have to put writing on it anyway? I think it's just STUPID and I'm really SICK of dealing with STUPID PEOPLE, YA YOU. If she had opened it and found that, something would have been done, believe me. When it comes to my sister, I am very pertected over her. So knock it off with those STIPID, STUPID WORDS. Get A LIFE U MORONS. U don't care who u hurt do u?
Posted by: Manson | Sep 19, 2021 10:24:37 PM
Well for all of you saying those words meant nothing and they would not complain if anything came up on theirs, What would happen if the words .. GAGNE and CAR showed up in your bottle cap would you try to claim a car? They might have only have been put in at random but I`m sure a lot of people who are arguing here will try to say that THEY WERE supposed to be winners.
Posted by: janet | Sep 19, 2021 10:26:50 PM
No no no more Coca Cola products in our home were looking to some other healthy way of living. Plain water local bottled water in Vancouver. Who is the RETARD NOW? For the people who are judging the woman who discovered the cap, "what up with you?." Instead of depending our fellow consumer why will you idiots side a big company who is just sucking your money then insulting you. Where did understanding for simple situation went?
Posted by: trisha | Sep 19, 2021 10:30:17 PM
YA THERE REALLY ARE A LOT OF RETARDS IN THIS WORLD, WHO DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHO THEY HURT. ARE U A RETARD? BETTER GET CHECKED BY YOUR HEAD DR. D
Posted by: trisha | Sep 19, 2021 10:34:03 PM
OH AND BY THE WAY, I HATE COKE, I DRINK PEPSI, AT LEAST THERE NOT SO STUPID.
Posted by: Chris | Sep 19, 2021 10:34:17 PM
She should get a grip. Who cares what a bottle cap says? And if she's so sensitive, maybe she should just stay home. If I'd gotten that, I would have laughed!
Posted by: Screamingpencil | Sep 19, 2021 10:34:42 PM
101: Wow, how informed you are. I guess I'm the only one out of 8,000,000+ Quebecers that speaks and understands english then. Oh and by the way, it's "Should have been" not "Should of been". Where did you learn english?
Posted by: David | Sep 19, 2021 10:36:21 PM
I cant believe people that say get over it and that this woman is overly sensitive.... read the article
she has a child that is both physically and mentally handicapped ...It would be hard not to be offended
Posted by: gabo | Sep 19, 2021 10:47:23 PM
lol they make a big deal about these ,what about the f..... cereal cover with chocolate for diet that is call'' skinny cow ''jajjajaja every company make fun of people all over the world the retards are the one still buy everything and make thes companies rich than they are .
Posted by: Mike the retard | Sep 19, 2021 10:48:46 PM
This is pathetic. Another person trying to get on the news for trivial matters. Their moment of glory for a simple thing as that. So many will offend at the most simple things. If you need a cause to get outraged, there are plenty of worthy ones that would make a real difference.
Posted by: Mike the retard | Sep 19, 2021 10:50:51 PM
@101 now that is such a stupid comment. Shows how much you know about things. Have you even ever been there? *facepalm* so many trolls out there.
Posted by: Rob | Sep 19, 2021 10:52:37 PM
FRED:
You can step down from your high and mighty pedestal. You just sound butthurt. by the way, I haven't had a softdrink in 20 years.
Back at ya Mr. High and Mighty ...
Posted by: Bob Bernell | Sep 19, 2021 10:54:02 PM
Exclusionary and discriminatory language is one thing. The bigger obscenity is the wholesale marketing of bottled water in places where it isn't necessary, surely one of the biggest and environmentally destructive scams on the planet - massive plastic pollution, privatization of a previously public resource (look into what Coca-Cola Inc is doing to public water supplies in countries like India).
Posted by: John | Sep 19, 2021 10:54:51 PM
Oh boy, what'll they think of next! I guess she got the attention she craved, now she really needs to get out and get a life!! Nuff said
Posted by: yon | Sep 19, 2021 10:58:50 PM
Yup...just goes to show you that stupid people work everywhere. Random words??? What genius Marketing person thought this up??? And how could this word not get filtered out? I hope this Marketing Idea gets posted on the Stupidest Things A Marketing Company can do.
Posted by: Babikir | Sep 19, 2021 11:06:29 PM
It's so simple so easy..Throw the cap in the garbage and drink the water. It is not a big issue ..why we try to complicate the things and maximize zeroes ..Madam: how many error did you committed since you began that day until you explore that huge secret .. It's a quiet positive attitude to overcome the others mistakes and focus on ours.A question: What's your reaction if that word was regard or could. Happy next Vitamin.
Posted by: Carol | Sep 19, 2021 11:17:56 PM
what's offensive is her dirty nails
Posted by: doreen hume | Sep 19, 2021 11:29:19 PM
if it was intended to be french it would have been preceded by vous not you
Posted by: tweety.j | Sep 19, 2021 11:32:25 PM
Retard is an actual, medical term, and the fact that someone went and took it so personally that they had to write hate mail to a company about something like this shows how mixed up people's priorities are. I also agree that someone who pays for water in a toxic container is stupid, unless they have no other choice, like if it was an emergency.
Posted by: jamie | Sep 19, 2021 11:36:16 PM
Anyone who buys any drink with artificial sweeteners is an idiot. Health wise they are not good for you and they increase fat cells at a higher rate than sugar does
Posted by: Bitch | Sep 19, 2021 11:38:56 PM
Do ur research people (retard) is only a comon term to use by people who are so low on the intulactual scale that they have to use low class words to try to put some one down. But really if u looked the word up it has no meaning to a disabled person oranything of that kind. Open ur eyes and get with reality.
Posted by: Sar | Sep 19, 2021 11:38:57 PM
Lady, I'm just gonna throw this out there .... but I bet you could sell that for some cash on ebay ....
Posted by: tweety.j | Sep 19, 2021 11:39:20 PM
AND BY THE WAY, MENTALLY ILL MEANS CRAZY, MENTALLY CHALLENGED, MENTALLY RETARDED, AND DEVELOPMENTALLY CHALLENGED MEAN RETARDED, TRISHA. So yeah, calling someone who is mentally ILL a retard would be offensive.