Coca-Cola donates advert cash to Egyptian villages

Coca-Cola has announced on its Egypt Facebook page that it will scrap its Ramadan TV advertising campaign and instead donate the money to help develop more than 100 Egyptian villages.

"This year, Coca-Cola's Ramadan month adverts can only be viewed on Facebook and YouTube, and instead of showing the adverts on TV, we will contribute to the development of more than 100 poverty-stricken villages in Egypt", the company said in an 11-second video.

The company did not state to which villages it would donate.

The announcement followed questions raised on social media about the reasons behind the delay of Coca-Cola's traditional Ramadan advertsing campaign.

Last week, the company responded to the questions by posting on its Facebook page: "We hear you, and Ramadan cannot pass without us joining you," with the Arabic hashtag "wait for us".

According to local media, the step came after Egyptian army recruit Khaled Fathy suggested the idea, posted on Facebook by his friend Ahmed Mohamed Wahdan.

"I wish after all this delay Coca-Cola would come up with a short advert at the end of Ramadan month to announce that it appreciates the concerns on its delay and that it has decided to replace this year's advert with development projects, such as hospitals and so on.

"By doing so, Coca-Cola would have fulfilled its community development duties and won the respect of those who criticise the lavish TV shows and adverts".

"We do not bring back the dead, we help the living, that is why we decided to take your suggestion", Ahmed Adel said in a comment, in reference to the controversial Pepsi advert, featuring a number of late Egyptian cinema icons dancing and singing together.