Coca-Cola Great Britain (CCGB) is celebrating 80 years of iconic Christmas advertising with an integrated campaign set to spread festive happiness and cheer to consumers in the UK, through TV creatives, experiential, outdoor, on-pack and the world famous Piccadilly Sign.
Coca-Cola has become synonymous with Christmas advertising, since 1931 when Haddon Sundblom first created the world-renowned image of Coca-Cola Santa. This year’s celebratory activity sees the return of the Coca-Cola ‘Holidays are Coming’ ad, marking the unofficial countdown to Christmas on screens from November 12. Further propelling consumers into a celebratory mood, the ‘Snow Globe’ creative takes to screens from December 10, showing how people find happiness by connecting with friends and family, inspired by Coca-Cola. This year, Grammy, BRIT and MTV award nominee Natasha Bedingfield sings the catchy, upbeat soundtrack to the ad, sprinkling some extra special magic.
Photo: An element of Coca-Cola UK Christmas advertising campaign
Building on the success of last year’s experiential Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour, 2011 sees the legendary stars of the ‘Holidays are Coming’ ads come to life across the UK. Embarking on a six-week nationwide tour, the Coca-Cola truck is set to make 100 stops at towns, cities and supermarkets across Great Britain and Ireland. Consumers can keep up to date with the truck tour online at www.cokezone.co.uk.
The campaign will also be supported with 46 and 96 outdoor sheets showcasing Santa and the Coca-Cola truck. Creating further stand out, special builds add an extra magical effect through illuminated lit holes at selected sites.
Photo: An element of Coca-Cola UK Christmas advertising campaign
Bringing the campaign in-store, POS will highlight the truck tour whilst limited-edition packaging featuring the iconic Santa imagery will be available across the range of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero, 2L bottles, 330ml cans and multipacks.
Adding an interactive element to the festivities, the newly refurbished Coca-Cola Piccadilly Sign will feature Christmas wishes, with consumers brought together and invited to Tweet their message to loved ones for a chance to see it up in lights. The activity is the first to be showcased on the revamped Piccadilly Sign, designed to run using 20% less energy. The new sign will sharpen animations and improve colour representation, whilst the size of the sign has increased, making it the largest LED display in the UK.
Zoe Howorth, Market Activation Director for Coca-Cola Great Britain explains, “Coca-Cola has a rich history in Christmas advertising, creating campaigns that resonate with consumers across the world during the holiday period. We’re thrilled to be celebrating 80 years of Sundblom’s much-loved personification of Santa—bringing his creations to a modern day audience and spreading happiness and festive cheer this Christmas.”