Back to it / In the early stages of the pandemic, Coca-Cola suspended all marketing activity in response to Covid-19’s economic impact. CEO James Quincey told investors in April that he was convinced ‘in this initial phase, there is limited effectiveness in broad-based brand marketing’. Instead, Coca-Cola redirected its resources toward supporting its bottling and retail partners, while also donating $100m to Covid relief efforts.
Marketing authority Peter Field has been vocal about the dangers of going dark at this time and big brands such as P&G have doubled down on marketing. Yet, many brand responses have been deemed tone-deaf or cliché. Coca-Cola, instead, took a moment to reflect, avoided these pitfalls and has re-entered adland with a brand-focused spot that chimes with the current mood of the nation.
National sentiment / This ad was strategically released at a time when people in the UK are feeling cautiously optimistic about returning to normality. Finding a balance between reflection and optimism is needed to resonate with the current mood of the nation – which is slowly but surely returning to pre-coronavirus levels.
Orlando Wood, chief innovation officer at testing agency System1 and author of Lemon, explains that, historically, following periods of disease and crisis comes creativity with an increased emotional focus. That is, creativity that stirs a right-side brain reaction that emphasises humanness, connection and emotion. We saw glimpses of this throughout the pandemic as community spirit rose and neighbours clapped for carers once a week. Now, ‘ads that feature living characters, betweenness, humour and empathy will connect better’, says Bloom. ‘Advertising will need to embrace people’s need for entertainment and escapism.’
Still open / ‘Open happiness’ has been Coca-Cola’s long-standing slogan and this spot articulates the brand’s identity in a post-lockdown context. Communicating an emotional message that resonates, while connecting back to your brand, is a difficult balance to strike. Product shots that feel disconnected to the content or clichéd piano music just doesn’t cut it anymore. But being ‘open to change’ and new possibilities, as the ad suggests, sits comfortably with Coca-Cola’s ethos and strengthens the brand’s ownership of happiness and optimism: ‘The idea of openness in these times carried such courage and optimism that we immediately felt it was something Coke could truly own,’ says Emiliano Trieveiler, creative director of 72andSunny Amsterdam.
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