Brand: Coca-Cola
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here
Target: Coke Lovers
Rating: ****
Reviewer: David

Description:
A bearded young man puts a Euro into a Coca-Cola vending machine and we’re transported behind the plastic face of the machine into a fantasy world where the coin rolls down a mountainside and splashes into a waterfall. An empty Coca-Cola bottle flys past, borne by three plump flying bugs. They drop the bottle into a tower where it is filled with Coke. Furry creatures kiss the outside of the bottle as the bottle cap is catapulted into place. Then a giant hand sends the bottle screaming along a track through a tunnel. When it reemerges it is in an artic landscape, where snowmen are put through a snowblower that chills the Coke bottle. The bottle drops through a hole and appears in a skyscape, plopping into a moving walkway where it is feted and cheered by cannons shooting confetti. At the end of this walkway, the bottle rolls down a chute and ends up in the bin of the vending machine, where the young man picks it up. As he drinks it, we see him pause to look down at the bottle and then the machine and smile as he walks on.

What Works:
Although it is hard to argue that this spot is positioned quite as well as Wieden USA’s marquis spot for the brand (see our review here), it is a marvelous feat of imagination. This work from Wieden + Kennedy’s Amsterdam office shows a startling ingenuity which is absent from most of the advertising for this category. As we have noted previously, we believe that the strongest position for brand Coca-Cola is as a social connector. Coke brings people together and is uniquely connected to the best moments in our life. This spot does not argue with this positioning for Coke but expands on the magical nature of the ‘reason why’ Coke is able to connect people. Although the brand user in this spot is a solitary young man, Coke brings an entire social experience into the bottle he purchases. The concept of the drink bringing group happiness to an individual may be difficult in theory but it is executed well in this spot.

Of course it is the stunning graphics and brilliant realization of this ‘Coke Side of Life’ that moves this spot and makes it endlessly viewable. Wieden understands that great advertising must be compelling and this spot scores high on entertainment value without losing the brand. The spot has excellent ownability because the execution feels very much akin to the iconic Coke Polar Bear spots - it has the same emotional intensity with superior animation.

What Doesn’t:
It is fair to wonder whether the stretch between the magical world that Coca-Cola creates in this spot and the mundane world where consumers buy bottles and cans of Coke will be too wide for this spot to have an effect on Coke sales or brand equity. It really is a very high-concept production, which lacks significant linkage to the world we live in. On balance, however, we believe that this spot will be strongly positive for the brand.

Branding Bottom Line:
Coke surprises us again with an engaging, magical spot.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Coca-Cola. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.