Coca-Cola uncaps global marketing plan for 100 years of iconic bottle
Coca-Cola is lining up a flurry of content to celebrate the centenary of its iconic bottle that will see it call on pop culture icons, movie stars, mobile marketing and music to conjure up nostalgic memories among fans.
The year-long push launches at the end of the week (28 February) with an exhibit charting the history of the famous bottle beginning in 1915. Early designs and prototypes of the bottle will feature alongside the more than 100 original pieces of art including two original paintings of the bottle from Andy Warhol.
From here activity will escalate into 14 TV and digital ads that will run worldwide. One animated Ogilvy & Mather Paris-created spot charts the fictional creation of the bottle, beginning as a block of ice in an arctic tundra before it gradually morphs as it travels through tropical jungles and cityscapes before completing its transformation back in the icy setting.
The campaign is soundtracked by the song ‘Nobody Like You’ by singer Francesco Yates, which serves as an ode to the contour shape of the Coca-Cola bottle and the specialness of shared moments.
The brand has also tapped iconic celebrities for a global outdoor, digital and retail campaign. The first wave of activity will iconic stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles who have been ‘kissed by’ the Coca-Cola bottle. Later in the year, modern-day celebrities and music artists will be used for localised activity.
To further promote the history of the brand, Coke has partnered with French publishing house Assouline to release a limited-edition book next month containing global artists and designers’ interpretations of the bottle in their own aesthetic.
A ‘Story of the Coca-Cola Bottle’ app has also been developed, offering a behind-the-scenes look at archives and stories about both the brand and the bottle.
Spend behind the global push has not yet been disclosed, but it comes following disappointing sales in 2014. Coke blamed poor quality marketing at the time, and maintained it turned a corner going into what it predicts will be a “transition year”.
The centenary push could lift boost value sales for the business offf the back of giving greater prominence to the higher priced bottles over aluminium cans.
Coke plans to give away around 30 million bottles worldwide via sampling efforts at festivals and other events.