If you’re like us, and most Americans, you watched or at least attempted to watch the Super Bowl blowout last Sunday. If you are not a Seahawks fan, nor even a football fan, you may have watched the Super Bowl because of the one-of-a-kind commercials.

This year, one ad has been singled out for particular praise and scorn.

            The Coca-Cola commercial is called “It’s Beautiful”  featuring the song “America the Beautiful” sang in multiple languages. It had scenes celebrating Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds and even included a same sex couple (a first in the history of Super Bowl commercials).

            The ad sparked the Twitter hash tag “#SpeakAmerican”, with many arguing that languages other than English should not be used to advertise products, because English is the de facto language of the United States.

            Others were unhappy with the use of multiple languages to make a commercial appeal to racial minorities. They suggested the strategy was reminiscent of RJ Reynold’s targeted advertisements of menthol cigarettes to African-Americans.

            So what’s your take on the commercial? Hit or miss?