Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola is rolling out its summer campaign in North America with ads themed around unplugging from digital noise, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The effort kicks off with “Road Trip,” a 30-second spot with a cameo from Grammy Award-winning musician Tyla as she pulls up alongside a group of women taking a scenic drive through the desert. The video features the artist’s new single, “Bliss.”
- The ads also display a QR code that can be scanned to access a digital scratch-off sweepstakes with prizes including AMC movie tickets, flight vouchers and trips to destination vacations. Coke joins other marketers in encouraging young consumers to ditch screen time for real-world experiences.
Dive Insight:
Coke’s summer campaign, “Enjoy the moment with a Coca-Cola,” combines elements typical to the soft drink brand’s marketing, including a focus on music, with a plea for consumers to pocket their phones and get outside as the weather warms. The ads, which are running across TV, digital, streaming and social media, are targeted at Gen Zers who have a particularly strong attachment to screen time. “Enjoy the moment with a Coca-Cola” follows Coke recently bringing back its “Share a Coke” personalization platform with digital experiences tailored to Gen Z.
“With this new campaign, we’re encouraging a new generation to slow down and truly enjoy the moment this summer — something as simple as sharing a Coca-Cola can become unforgettable,” said Sue Lynne Cha, vice president of marketing at Coca-Cola North America, in a press statement.
“Road Trip,” the first spot on deck, starts with a college senior isolated in her bedroom, walled in by moving boxes. The cracking open of a Coke bottle and Tyla’s “Bliss” playing over the radio snap her back to reality in the back row of her friend’s convertible as they cruise through the desert on a sunny day. The group is surprised when Tyla herself pulls up alongside their ride and gives them a friendly wave. A second ad slated for June, “Pool Party,” depicts a girl floating in an inner tube as she lets go of distractions to more fully enjoy a summertime gathering.
Coke’s concept shares similarities with other recent marketing efforts addressing smart phone addiction. Heineken’s latest global campaign, “Social off Socials,” envisions a world where online platforms stop functioning. The commercial, which stars Joe Jonas, shows the musician wandering through what initially appears to be a dystopian landscape before arriving at a bar where the social scene is thriving and closes with the tagline, “Social networking since 1873.”
“Enjoy the moment with a Coca-Cola” was created with WPP Open X, led by Ogilvy with support from VML. Publicis is also involved after winning Coke’s media and data account in North America in March. WPP Open X confirmed it retained the soft drink’s company’s creative business last week.
"We are pleased to confirm that The Coca-Cola Company has renewed its partnership with WPP Open X, and we look forward to continuing our momentum as their global marketing network agency partner,” reads a company statement shared with Marketing Dive.
