Back to sentimentality
Coca-Cola plans to reverse its poor sales in 2000 with feel-good commercials
Coca-Cola wants to correct poor sales in 2000 with harmonious commercialsBy Thérèse BalduzziCoca-Cola has launched a new international advertising campaign. The Atlanta-based soft drinks company wants to use it to correct last year's unsatisfactory sales. 31 commercials show emotional life situations accentuated with Coca-Cola and introduce the new tagline "Life tastes good".
With the new commercials, Coke is returning to its old style of life-affirming, sentimental stories. Last year, the company ran a humorous campaign in America in which family gatherings ended badly due to a lack of Cokes. The black humor of the "Moments" campaign was not appreciated by the broad, apparently harmony-addicted public.
Having previously discontinued the "Enjoy" campaign, the company handed over global marketing to the Interpublic Group (IPG) in December. The new campaign is a mix of the "Think local, act local" strategy introduced last year by new CEO Douglas N. Daft and Coca-Cola's previous approach of managing everything from its headquarters in Atlanta. Company representatives from international markets were given flexibility in the design of the spots, but had to adhere to the plots from Atlanta.
We are all so nice and prefer to drink only Coke
The campaign was created by the IPG agency McCann Erickson Worldwide and its subsidiary Amster Yard in New York. McCann-Erickson was involved in the USA, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, China, Australia, Germany, England, France, Spain, Poland, the Philippines and Bahrain. The commercials are running in 200 countries.
In one of the first three commercials for the American market, Jakob Dylan, son of Bob and member of the band "The Wallflowers", enjoys a Coke backstage before returning to the stage for an encore. Instead of the "Life tastes good" jingle, he plays one of his own songs. In the China version, Chinese pop star Nicholas Tse takes a Coke break backstage while the audience in the concert stadium roars for an encore. Back on stage, Tse plays the jingle.
The spot "L.I.R.R." was adapted in different ways. (Long Island Rail Road). In the US version, two young couples run onto the last suburban train to Long Island after a concert. While the other passengers fall asleep on the train, one young man grabs a can of Coke from the other's pocket and thinks aloud about how they are only six weeks away from graduating from school and how this is the best night of his life.
In the German version, the young man thinks in purely visual flashbacks and only about the fun they had at the concert. He also drinks Coke, but from a pet bottle. He puts a drop on the lips of his dozing girlfriend - this would probably be too erotic an act for America.
In the "Wedding" commercial, which will be shown internationally, various relatives swarm around the bride for the final preparations. A flower girl holding a Coke bottle makes eye contact with the bride through all the confusion and offers her a sip. The family scene is a far cry from a similar situation in one of last year's commercials. In that spot, a grandmother went on a rampage through the buffet in her wheelchair due to a lack of Cokes.
With the new commercials, Coke is returning to its old style of life-affirming, sentimental stories. Last year, the company ran a humorous campaign in America in which family gatherings ended badly due to a lack of Cokes. The black humor of the "Moments" campaign was not appreciated by the broad, apparently harmony-addicted public.
Having previously discontinued the "Enjoy" campaign, the company handed over global marketing to the Interpublic Group (IPG) in December. The new campaign is a mix of the "Think local, act local" strategy introduced last year by new CEO Douglas N. Daft and Coca-Cola's previous approach of managing everything from its headquarters in Atlanta. Company representatives from international markets were given flexibility in the design of the spots, but had to adhere to the plots from Atlanta.
We are all so nice and prefer to drink only Coke
The campaign was created by the IPG agency McCann Erickson Worldwide and its subsidiary Amster Yard in New York. McCann-Erickson was involved in the USA, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, China, Australia, Germany, England, France, Spain, Poland, the Philippines and Bahrain. The commercials are running in 200 countries.
In one of the first three commercials for the American market, Jakob Dylan, son of Bob and member of the band "The Wallflowers", enjoys a Coke backstage before returning to the stage for an encore. Instead of the "Life tastes good" jingle, he plays one of his own songs. In the China version, Chinese pop star Nicholas Tse takes a Coke break backstage while the audience in the concert stadium roars for an encore. Back on stage, Tse plays the jingle.
The spot "L.I.R.R." was adapted in different ways. (Long Island Rail Road). In the US version, two young couples run onto the last suburban train to Long Island after a concert. While the other passengers fall asleep on the train, one young man grabs a can of Coke from the other's pocket and thinks aloud about how they are only six weeks away from graduating from school and how this is the best night of his life.
In the German version, the young man thinks in purely visual flashbacks and only about the fun they had at the concert. He also drinks Coke, but from a pet bottle. He puts a drop on the lips of his dozing girlfriend - this would probably be too erotic an act for America.
In the "Wedding" commercial, which will be shown internationally, various relatives swarm around the bride for the final preparations. A flower girl holding a Coke bottle makes eye contact with the bride through all the confusion and offers her a sip. The family scene is a far cry from a similar situation in one of last year's commercials. In that spot, a grandmother went on a rampage through the buffet in her wheelchair due to a lack of Cokes.
