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There are few major brands that are as closely connected to the winter holiday season as Coca-Cola has positioned itself through decades of marketing. The iconic figure of Santa Claus has been a central component of that strategy over the last 92 years.
This year, the company’s holiday campaign has taken its affinity with the kind fellow and his spirit of generosity even further, showcasing a city of Santas alongside the requisite festive song “I Could Be Santa Claus” performed by British singer and songwriter Celeste, which plays throughout.
Running across 80 markets (with non-English speaking countries hearing an orchestral accompaniment instead), the narrative for the nearly two-minute-long film, The World Needs More Santas, focuses on the message of kindness.
The campaign is by WPP’s dedicated arm for the Coca-Cola business Open X, led by agencies VMLY&R, Ogilvy and Essence Mediacom, and the hero film was directed by Pontus Löwenhielm and produced by Stink Films.
“We want to bring people together and we want to be a reminder of goodwill,” Islam Eldessouky, global head of creative strategy and content for Coca-Cola, explained to Adweek.
He also revealed that the company has introduced an internal campaign pitching process across the Open X team, with ideas being encouraged around the ongoing “Real Magic” platform. The ideas taken forward are then qualitatively tested for insights and feedback before deciding whether to go to market.
We really want to showcase our values.
—Islam Eldessouky, global head of creative strategy and content, Coca-Cola
When asked about the value of traditional advertising, such as television in an increasingly digital marketing strategy, he stated that the medium’s use depends on the moment and whether the moment is “big enough to occupy a big space.”
Eldessouky cited moments such as Christmas and the Super Bowl as examples of “big” moments that justify leading with TV, but chose “other vehicles” to communicate the brand message. Events are proving an increasing focus in that respect.
Creating participation
To encourage more participation with the brand, Coca-Cola has been increasingly producing more digitally engaging campaigns in recent years, and the holidays are no exception with an accompanying “Find Your Inner Santa” quiz through the Coca-Cola App and mobile browsers, to determine the user’s type of “inner Santa.”
The use of AI is also present throughout the “Create Real Magic” platform, where users will be able to design and send self-made holiday postcards. The results of both are then prompted to be shared through the users’ social media channels with the hashtag #CocaColaChristmas.