Coca-Cola Announces New ‘One Brand’ Global Marketing Approach

Marking a significant shift in its marketing strategy, Coca-Cola announced that for the first time, all Coke Trademark brands will be united in one global creative campaign: “Taste the Feeling.”

Chief Marketing Officer Marcos de Quinto, who unveiled the “one brand” approach at a media event in Paris, said the strategy extends the equity and iconic appeal of the world’s No. 1 beverage brand to Coca-Cola Light/Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life. It also underscores the company’s commitment to choice, offering consumers whichever Coca-Cola suits their taste, lifestyle and diet – with or without calories, with or without caffeine.

“We are reinforcing that Coca-Cola is for everybody,” de Quinto said. “Coca-Cola is one brand with different variants, all of which share the same values and visual iconography. People want their Coca-Cola in different ways, but whichever one they want, they want a Coca-Cola brand with great taste and refreshment.”

“Taste the Feeling” will bring to life the idea that drinking a Coca-Cola – any Coca-Cola – is a simple pleasure that makes everyday moments more special. While Coke’s award-winning “Open Happiness” campaign leaned heavily on what the brand stands for over the last seven years, “Taste the Feeling” will feature universal storytelling with the product at the heart to reflect both the functional and emotional aspects of the Coca-Cola experience.

“We’ve found over time that the more we position Coca-Cola as an icon, the smaller we become,” de Quinto said. “The bigness of Coca-Cola resides in the fact that it’s a simple pleasure – so the humbler we are, the bigger we are. We want to help remind people why they love the product as much as they love the brand.”

The fully integrated “Taste the Feeling” campaign – which will roll out around the world throughout 2016 – celebrates the experience of drinking an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola takes center stage in every piece of what Rodolfo Echeverria, VP of global creative, connections and digital, calls “emotional product communication.”

“We’re going from ‘Open Happiness’ to exploring the role Coca-Cola plays in happiness,” he added. “We make simple, everyday moments more special.”

An international network of agencies is developing the “Taste the Feeling” work. Four agencies – Mercado-McCann, Santo, Sra. Rushmore and Oglivy & Mather – produced an initial round of 10 TV commercials, digital, print, out-of-home and shopper materials. Six additional shops will contribute creative as the campaign evolves.

The TV ads, six of which launched January 19 and can be seen in the YouTube playlist above, offer intimate glimpses into stories, feelings and moments people share while enjoying Coca-Cola. At the close of each spot, the family of Coca-Cola products unite under the iconic red Coca-Cola disc. Several alternate versions of the ads were produced with locally relevant casts and culturally relevant vignettes.

The campaign kicks off with the lead commercial, “Anthem,” which presents a series of moments linked by a Coca-Cola, such as ice-skating with friends, a first date, a first kiss and a first love.

Music plays a key role in all “Taste the Feeling” communications. A song produced by Swedish artist and producer Avicii and featuring soulful singer Conrad Sewell serves as the “Taste the Feeling” campaign anthem. A first acoustic version by Sewell is being featured in various TV spots for the new campaign, including “Anthem”, and the lead single with Avicii will be released soon. Avicii also will produce additional versions of “Taste the Feeling” for Coke’s UEFA EURO 2016 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games campaigns later in 2016.

“Taste the Feeling” includes a new audio signature inspired by the sounds of enjoying a Coca-Cola – the pop of the cap, the fizz and, ultimately, refreshment. The mnemonic, created in partnership with Deviant Ventures, replaces the five-note melody featured in the “Open Happiness” campaign.

“Taste the Feeling” is anchored in compelling visual storytelling through more than 100 images shot by noted fashion photographers Guy Aroch and Nacho Ricci. The photos, which will be featured in print, outdoor, in-store and digital advertising, use a “Norman Rockwell Meets Instagram” visual style to capture authentic, unscripted moments in a contemporary way, Echeverria explained. Each shot combines familiar Coca-Cola icons, like the contour glass bottle and red disk, with elements of both intimacy and mystery.

Coca-Cola is central to each moment; without it, there is no story. Images are cropped in a way that closes in on the Coca-Cola bottle, while still telling a personal story.

“The photography features human moments that blur the boundaries between who people are and what they love to do,” said James Sommerville, VP of global design. “In all the creative, Coca-Cola plays a lead role in the scene, enhancing the color, texture and emotion of the images. Every interaction is unique and made more special through the enjoyment of a Coca-Cola, any Coca-Cola.”

The images show a diverse cross-section of people from around the world enjoying “their” Coca-Cola in simple, everyday moments.

“We want to bring the brand closer to the people through these images,” Echeverria adds. “We also wanted to leave them open to interpretation, so in many cases a photo might not complete the narrative.”

  Advertising, Beverage, Campaign, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Life, Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coca-Cola, Global, Marketing, Mercado McCann, Non Alcoholic, Oglivy & Mather, Santo, Sra Rushmore, Taste the Feeling