Coca‑Cola Continues To Spread The Magic Of Christmas
Sundblom-inspired art unveiled as part of the brand's Christmas campaign
Coca‑Cola Great Britain (CCGB) unveils its plans for its much-anticipated through-the-line multi-million pound Christmas campaign, signalling that the festive holiday season is just around the corner.
This year's campaign, which runs in two phases - ‘anticipation' and ‘celebration' - is an integrated campaign combining outdoor, TV, digital and an on-pack promotion.
The brand's festive campaign kicks off on 17th November with the iconic ‘Holidays are Coming' TV advert. The creative, however, has been reworked by Mother to initially launch as five second teaser blip-verts, running for a week, to build excitement and anticipation. This is in response to insight revealing consumers love the first time they hear the familiar jingle at the start of the ad - many citing it as the unofficial countdown to Christmas. The blip-verts are then being replaced by the well-known and popular 30 second bursts, airing for a further week.
In addition, ‘Coca‑Cola' has, for the first time in over 75 years, revisited its famous Haddon Sundblom art-work by commissioning a contemporary Swedish artist to recreate Sundblom's famous Santa Claus for its outdoor ads - but this time he's sprinkling the magic of ‘Coca‑Cola' within everyday contemporary settings.
The artist, Mikael Erikkson, has created three oil on canvas paintings that reflect the warmth and nostalgia of Sundblom's classic Santa Claus - who is synonymous with ‘Coca‑Cola' and Christmas. Mother has adapted Eriksson's portrayal for high-impact 96 and 46 sheet outdoor ads.
Running in tandem with ‘The Holidays Are Coming', the first outdoor creative sees Santa getting his famous ‘Coca‑Cola' truck ready for Christmas.
The second burst of TV in the campaign begins on 1st December with the replacing of ‘The Holidays are Coming' with the return of the celebratory ‘Greatest Gift' in 30 and 60 second TV spots. In parallel, Erikkson's next two Sundblom-inspired outdoor executions are unveiled, this time Santa is giving gifts of ‘Coca‑Cola' to a Christmas shopper in the High Street, plus a group of travellers on the underground.
Cathryn Sleight, Marketing Director for CCGB, explains: "With such a rich history in Christmas TV advertising, we're really looking to build the anticipation and celebration during the festive season. The ‘Coca‑Cola' Santa Claus has traditionally taken a starring role in our festive TV ads and it was this that inspired us to revist his iconic imagery, given he has been well-known and loved across the world since the 1930s. Sundblom's paintings conjure such warmth and magic, and in recreating them as special oil canvases we're looking to continue bringing some festive ‘Coca‑Cola' magic to resonate with consumers both old and new."
The campaign also incorporates digital elements, designed by AKQA. These include Christmas ‘cards' to send to friends via mobiles, a Google maps application which allows users to get creative by decorating their own home or friends' houses with sparkling vrtual Christmas lights and lastly, a new ‘gift-giving' application on Facebook.
Furthermore, ‘Coca‑Cola' is releasing special holographic Christmas 10 packs and is running an exciting on pack promotion on all 500 ml and 2 litre bottles of ‘Coca‑Cola' and ‘diet Coke' - with the chance to win festive themed prizes and rewards via the ‘Coke Zone' website.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
'Coca‑Cola', 'Coke', 'diet Coke', 'diet Coca‑Cola', 'Coca‑Cola Zero', 'Coke Zero', 'Fanta', 'Sprite', 'Minute Maid' and 'Powerade' are registered trade marks of The Coca‑Cola Company. 'Glaceau Vitaminwater' is a registered trade mark of Energy Brands, Inc.
The Coca‑Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with ‘Coca‑Cola', recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company's portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including ‘Diet Coke', ‘Fanta', ‘Sprite', ‘Coca‑Cola Zero', ‘glaceau vitaminwater', ‘Powerade', ‘Minute Maid' and ‘Georgia Coffee'. Globally, it is the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, the Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about the Company, please visit the website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.
Mikael Eriksson is a Swedish artist, born in 1963. Soon after graduating in Art and Design from renowned Swedish college Berghs School of Communication, Mikael was snatched by Rithuset, a premium illustration, design and animation studio, which he now co-owns, that has had a profound impact in Scandinavian design in the last 30 years.
With over 20 years of experience specialising in illustrating people and creating characters, Mikael has worked in collaborations with large domestic and international companies such as SAS, Levi's, Volvo, Tetrapak, Diners Club and Volkswagen amongst others.
