Objectives
With the world's attention on the global obesity epidemic, Coca-Cola had many fingers pointing towards it. The world's largest
and most-loved brand had become the site for a difficult cultural conversation — around physical and social health, personal
responsibility, governmental responsibility, and well-being. Within this complex maelstrom of opinions, there was one clear
factor that needed to be called out if Coca-Cola's status as the world's number one brand was to be retained. And that was
that the brand had always been, and was always going to be, a beacon of human happiness.
What was needed was a shift in public opinion from only seeing the company at the center of the health debate to also seeing
Coca-Cola as a brand that has a leading cultural role in making the world a happier place.
So our objective was to quite simply re-instate Coca-Cola to its position as a brand that leads culture — as an icon that has
always inspired the world to be more positive, and act in ways that refresh peoples' optimism and make the world happier.
Yet despite being recognized as an icon of happiness the world over, the task was further complicated by the fact that
everyone now seemed to be talking about happiness — what was once a fresh untapped space had now become somewhat
trite and hackneyed. As the original champions of happiness, we needed to find a truer angle on it, to connect our positioning
to the reality of people's lives today. A tough ask when faced with the jaded cynicism of consumers the world over. We needed
to re-ignite brand love, and improve the perception of Coca-Cola globally, as a culturally-leading brand that makes the world a
happier place. We had our work cut out for us.