Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola is promoting an anthology of short films on Amazon Prime Video as part of its holiday marketing this year, per a news release shared with Marketing Dive.
- The series comes from a new “Real Magic Presents” extension of the “Real Magic” brand platform the soft drink marketer introduced in 2021. “Christmas Always Finds Its Way” was created with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, which teamed with production company Prettybird for the project.
- WPP’s OpenX and Grey also assisted on the push spearheaded by Coke’s Latin American arm. Marketers like Coke are evolving their content marketing and product integration strategy as ad-free and ad-light streamers conquer linear TV.
Dive Insight:
Coke is broadening its “Real Magic” concept into the realm of streaming entertainment with the new “Real Magic Presents” unit and series of three short films. The “Christmas Always Finds Its Way” collection, which dropped Dec. 7, highlights diverse storytellers and a shared theme of human connection.
The beverage giant frequently makes a splashy media play around the holidays, with a strong historical connection to Santa Claus. But many of the traditional ad-supported levers for reaching consumers are on the wane, while marketers are contending with a dour economy that’s led to pullbacks affecting channels including TV.
“Real Magic Presents” focuses less on product to instead emphasize entertainment value and sentimentality, which could be rewarded by harried shoppers seeking a distraction. The initiative ropes in acclaimed filmmakers from around the globe, including Vellas (Brazil), JB Braud (France) and Alex Buono (U.S.).
In Vellas’ short, “Alma,” a Mexican town famed for producing Christmas decorations recaptures the seasonal spirit after a down period. Braud’s “Les Petits Mondes De Noël” is set in Paris and fittingly takes a romantic angle, depicting an estranged couple rediscovering their spark while working on window displays at neighboring stores. “Christmas Bites,” from Buono, leans into comedy, showing a vampire meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time — along with confronting his rival, Santa.
The content is available to Prime Video subscribers, with Amazon deploying several promotional tactics to raise awareness. The e-commerce giant’s Fire TV and IMDb properties are marketing the rollout through branded content, while custom Amazon Fresh bags bring in a physical component. Twitch, the company’s livestreaming service, is additionally doing watch-along events in Europe.
Amazon has ramped up its branded offerings for Prime Video as advertising become a bigger growth driver. Marquee programming like NFL “Thursday Night Football” has attracted more marketers into the fold, while experiments like “Real Magic Presents” demonstrate how deep-pocketed brands can activate on the platform without needing to rely on commercials.
“This program exemplifies the growing opportunities to create new forms of entertainment content and engage audiences in enhanced and rich ways,” said Tanner Elton, vice president of U.S. Sales at Amazon Ads, in a press statement around the Coke release.
Amazon’s advertising sales segment jumped 25% year-on-year in the third quarter to reach $9.5 billion, a growth rate that bested digital rivals. Other streamers are welcoming advertisements to generate more revenue in a tight market. Netflix launched its ad-supported tier in November while a similar option from Disney+ goes live today (Dec. 8).
