I always say I can teach the history of America in the 20th Century using only Coca-Cola advertising.
That’s because, in general, advertising is like holding up a mirror to society. Commercials and other creative from a certain year or era typically reflect what’s going on in culture at any given point in time.
But what if society is in turmoil? Coca-Cola has a history of advertising in tough times, as well. During World War II, the company pledged that every soldier in the field would be able to buy a Coke for a nickel, regardless of what it cost the company. We built 64 bottling plants around the world and strove with all our might to make Coke available both to soldiers serving our country and the people back home working in the war-time economy.
Our advertising reflected that effort as the company asked people to work together to help promote the war effort. One of our early Christmas ads featuring the famous Coca-Cola Santa Claus even had a war bond poking out of Santa’s bag. Santa and the company were supporting the war effort.
Fast forward a few decades, and the company premiered the “Real Thing” campaign with photographs depicting Coca-Cola in real life. As part of this series, we produced the “Boys on the Bench” print ad in 1969, featuring a fully integrated scene of African-American and white kids sitting on a park bench in New York drinking Coca-Cola and laughing.
It was a seminal ad, and if you look at what was going on in society back then, it was timely and topical. In 1968, Dr. King was assassinated. The Civil Rights Movement was still in full force as schools were being integrated throughout the country, yet Coca-Cola felt strong enough in its convictions to be able to depict a scene as a natural one.
Whenever I discuss this ad, I point out that only a brand like Coca-Colacould pull off a spot like “Hilltop”. Coca-Cola represented optimism, refreshment and that little moment of time that brings people together. Bill Backer, the McCann Erickson creative director behind "Hilltop", once described Coke as “the catalyst that brings people together.” That scene of those kids on the hill, holding the bottles and singing a simple melody was counterbalanced by what was going on in the world. The Vietnam War was in full force, there was intergenerational strife, riots on campuses, and around the world, there was a general discontent. Yet the company called for people to come together in a moment of optimism and try to celebrate a little bit of peace.
When you get to the core of the ad, though, it’s about the resolution of conflict. It’s about the notion of an African-American man and a small, white boy interacting and it turns out for the positive. The crux of the narrative, once again, is that we can all just get along.
Originally released in 2008, Coca-Cola's "Ceremony" commercial champions the company's longstanding support of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games and Special Olympics. Several iterations of the spot have aired during Olympic Games telecasts, highlighting medal moments throughout history and honoring some of the world's best athletes.
In 2013, Coca-Cola brand invited the people of India and Pakistan to share a simple moment of connection and joy with the help of technology. High-tech vending machines installed in two popular shopping malls in Lahore and New Delhi – two cities separated by only 325 miles, but seemingly worlds apart due to decades of political tension – invited people to put their differences aside and share a simple moment over a Coke. The “Small World Machines” provided a live communications portal linking strangers in two nations divided by more than just borders, with the hope of provoking a small moment of happiness and promoting cultural understanding around the world. Coke used first-of-its-kind 3D touchscreen technology to project a streaming video feed onto the vending machine screen while simultaneously filming through the unit to capture a live emotional exchange. People from both countries and various walks of life were encouraged to complete a friendly task together – wave, touch hands, draw a peace sign or dance – before sharing a Coca-Cola.
In 2014, Coca-Cola celebrated America’s diversity and ideals of optimism, unity and inclusion with a buzzworthy spot that debuted during the Big Game. “America is Beautiful” featured snapshots of American families representing diverse ethnicities, religions, races and families, set to “America the Beautiful” sung by bilingual Americans in seven languages: English, Spanish, Keres, Tagalog, Hindi, Senegalese French and Hebrew.
Our newest work harkens back to the past, to the DNA of what Coca-Colahas done before. If you look at what we did during World War II, with "Hilltop", with our consistent message of optimism, community, diversity, and standing up for something, everything we produce today is a continuation of what Coca-Cola has been doing for the past 131 years.
COCA-COLA ON SOCIAL