Coca-cola: Finding Light In The Dark

Credits & Description:

Agency: Memac Ogilvy, Fp7/Dxb
Brand: Coca-Cola Middle East
Country: United Arab Emirates
Advertising Agency: Fp7/Dxb, Dubai
Entrant Company: Memac Ogilvy, Dubai
Media Agency: Memac Ogilvy, Dubai
Pr Agency: Memac Ogilvy, Dubai
Production Company: Deja Vu, Dubai
Regional Business Director / Media Director / Associate Director / Digital Manager / Media Supervisor: Abed Daya (Um)
Planning Director: Evan Kearney (Memac Ogilvy)
Associate Creative Directors: Nayaab Rais (Fp7/Dxb)
Regional Business Director / Media Director / Associate Director / Digital Manager / Media Supervisor: Ricardo Campo Perez (Um)
Regional Business Director / Media Director / Associate Director / Digital Manager / Media Supervisor: Antoine Challita (Um)
Imc Manager / Imc Director: Islam Eldessouky (Coca-Cola Middle East)
Global Executive Creative Director: John Mescall (Mccann)
Director: Mazen Fayad (Freelance)
Executive Creative Director: Ramzi Moutran (Memac Ogilvy & Mather)
Pr Director: Sami Moutran (Memac Ogilvy & Mather)
Group Account Director / Memac Ogilvy Pr / Memac Ogilvy Pr: Charlotte Tansill (Social@Ogilvy / Ogilvy Pr)
Marketing Manager / Brand Manager / Brand Manager: Effie Kontopoulou (Coca-Cola Middle East)
Art Director / Copywriter: Gavin Stradi (Memac Ogilvy & Mather)
Chief Creative Officer: Paul Shearer (Memac Ogilvy & Mather)
Art Director / Copywriter: Sarah Bamford (Memac Ogilvy & Mather)
Imc Manager / Imc Director: Wasim Basir (Coca-Cola Middle East)
Creative Director: Sascha Kuntze (Memac Ogilvy)
General Manager – Business Unit / Account Director: Tarek Ali Ahmad (Fp7/Dxb)
General Manager – Business Unit / Account Director: Aya Shedid (Fp7/Dxb)
Media Planner / Media Executive / Media Executive / Head Of Um Society / Social Media Executive: Khaldoun Zaghir (Um)
Media Planner / Media Executive / Media Executive / Head Of Um Society / Social Media Executive: Tammam El Atrache (Um)
Marketing Manager: Tolga Cebe (Coca-Cola Middle East)
Global Creative Chairman: Rob Reilly (Mccann)
Sr Art Director: Sarah Bamford (Memac Ogilvy & Mather)
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Tham Khai Meng (Ogilvy & Mather)
Media Planner / Media Executive / Media Executive / Head Of Um Society / Social Media Executive: Carla El Hachem (Um)
Group Account Director / Memac Ogilvy Pr / Memac Ogilvy Pr: Dalia Halab (Social@Ogilvy / Ogilvy Pr)
Executive Creative Director: Paul Banham (Fp7/Dxb)
Executive Producer / Producer: Pratixa Kanojia (Déjà Vu)
Business Director: Tarek Shawki (Memac Ogilvy)
Marketing Manager / Brand Manager / Brand Manager: Amina Ijaz (Coca-Cola Middle East)
Media Planner / Media Executive / Media Executive / Head Of Um Society / Social Media Executive: Hazem El Ghousin (Um)
Marketing Manager / Brand Manager / Brand Manager: Ibrahim Wagdy (Coca-Cola Middle East)
Associate Creative Directors: Josephine Younes (Fp7/Dxb)
Executive Producer / Producer: Manasvi Gosalia (Déjà Vu)
Senior Designer: Sameer Ketkar (Fp7/Dxb)
Group Account Director / Memac Ogilvy Pr / Memac Ogilvy Pr: Shefali Vyas (Social@Ogilvy / Ogilvy Pr)
Regional Head Of Strategic Planning, Creative Strategy: Tahaab Rais (Fp7/Mena)
Regional Business Director / Media Director / Associate Director / Digital Manager / Media Supervisor: Elias Elkoussa (Um)
Media Planner / Media Executive / Media Executive / Head Of Um Society / Social Media Executive: Farah Ibrahim (Um)
Regional Business Director / Media Director / Associate Director / Digital Manager / Media Supervisor: Marsha Hofstee (Um)
Execution:
We filmed the event in entire darkness. All dialogue was unscripted. No crew was allowed in the room to allow for a genuine conversation to unfold.The documentation of it was put on Facebook and Youtube as a film at the beginning of Ramadan. With the help of (unpaid) influencers that were present at the table it quickly reached a wide audience sparking a reaction in the entire Middle East.Within a week it was picked up by international media and celebrities across 200 countries. It struck a cord in many regions of the world, relating to their zeitgeists, whether it was the refugee situation in Europe, the presidential election in the US or the global fear of terrorism.Unbranded Coca-Cola cans provoked mass media to report, while the influencers independently created more content reacting to people all around the world, inspiring them to open up to strangers.
Strategy:
We wanted to emotionally resonate with people across the Middle East - all races, classes, genders and beliefs; anyone who’s been prejudiced towards others or experienced prejudice against themselves. Our strategy was based on a fundamental truth: We're caring, supportive and empathetic to those we know. And we remain indifferent and judgmental when it comes to those we don’t. Problem being that quick judgments based on visual cues prevent us from getting to know a stranger.We needed to tell an impactful story, which shows that even the best of us could be swept away by our latent prejudices.The idea was viral by design. A simple thought that resonates with even the most cynical person because it’s based on a human truth. With our story we wanted to trigger a small change in people’s perception, one that had the power to snowball across the globe.
Campaign Description:
Ramadan is a month of fasting from dawn to dusk, when people are encouraged to be more tolerant and united.At an Iftar – an evening meal to break fast - we got six people from different walks of life to come together and do one simple thing: have a conversation. The only difference being that it would be done in the dark. After speaking to each other during the meal and forming honest impressions of the people they were dining with, we turned on the lights revealing what everyone looked like, surprising them with how far off they had been, proving that it’s best not to judge a person based on their appearance.As part of event, we persuaded Coca-Cola – a company built on branding – to unbrand itself too, to really help reinforce our message. These unbranded cans were distributed to the influencers, triggering viral content expansion.
Outcome:
Brand and Business Effectiveness:•97% positive sentiments •Coca-Cola Consumption Intent increased +51% vs. Ramadan 2014•Coca-Cola Brand Love increased +15% vs. Ramadan 2014 •Coca-Cola’s brand equity of Bringing People Closer Together increased +39% vs. Ramadan 2014Media Effectiveness:•53.9 million impressions•$30.7 million worth of PR and earned media•25,600+ online articles were generated•AdWeek’s 2nd most viral videos (H1 – 2015)Social Effectiveness:•Featured on leading news and media platforms regionally and worldwide such as CNN, TIME, Mashable, Nasdaq, Fox, Huffington Post, Washington Times, Yahoo! Finance, becoming a trending topic regionally and globally.•Endorsed by regional influencers, international celebrities •Became part of conversations around US Politics with mentions related to Donald Trump too such as “Donald Trump needs to see this Coca-Cola spot!”.•Over 18 million YouTube views; 70% organic•Coca-Cola’s 2nd most viewed video globally, ever•35% engagement on Facebook and 33% on Twitter (global averages are around 1%)
Synopsis:
As a brand, Coca-Cola strongly believes in and endorses tolerance, equality and togetherness. These values struggle to stay alive when faced with the intolerance and prejudice that is prevalent in our world today.Everyone falls into the trap of being judgmental. The world paints a certain picture of race, beliefs and even gender. And that leads us to form a judgment about people, trigger a latent prejudice and stereotype them. In Ramadan, a season centered around the values of togetherness, unity and equality, Coca-Cola in the Middle East had an opportunity. What would happen if a region that’s more divided than most taught the world the importance of tolerance?