Share

Over the years the best creative campaigns on shots have usually been the ones to shun hard sells and package shots in favour of good entertainment and craft in production. However, it can be tough to pitch a piece of work to a client without the mention of any branding. Luckily for Ogilvy & Mather Paris, Coca-Cola was on the same wavelength when thinking about how to see in and celebrate the 100-year anniversary of its iconic bottle design and the result is a simple and effective campaign that works as well and if not better than a heavily-branded release.


“It is really bold and smart from the client to launch this print without any logo or even product in it,” explains Baptiste Clinet [below], executive creative director at the Parisian agency. “And even if there is nothing that tells you it's Cola-Cola... the brand is everywhere:  from the togetherness, to the shape of the bottle and the iconicity.”

 

 

He’s speaking about the concept of the new integrated work comprising two minimal print ads and a multicultural web film shot by HSI LA director David LaChapelle. The ads feature hands of different creeds and colours coming together in front of a white backdrop to form the powerful shape of the bottle.

According to Clinet, the shape is so striking that it becomes the branding in the work, which is an interesting thought: “Our idea came from the fact that this bottle is one of the most famous pieces of design in the world. We wanted to celebrate it in a way no other product could.”

And with regards to LaChapelle’s involvement, he was another highly regarded and iconic component to make everything work in harmony and shine through on screen.

“David LaChapelle was an obvious choice for us and the client,” says Clinet. “He is as pop as the product and loves doing iconic work. It was very easy to convince him to participate. His answer was that he wanted to do it because the idea and the product were incredibly powerful and iconic. It was an amazing shoot and he is an amazing artist.”

 

 

It isn’t the first time the brand has worked with a famous artist. Names such as Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol have been the focus of past campaigns to bring people together under the umbrella of happiness.

The two print ads released this time around form part of the Together campaign. Called Peace and Love, they epitomise Coke's longstanding 'open happiness' stance and coupled with the recent Paris shootings, it’s a timely theme.

“Yes there’s one [a theme]. A very big one,” Clinet confirms about the ideals of the new work. “Coca-Cola is about bringing people together and to help them share happiness. Celebrating peace and love is in the DNA of the brand. And we all believe that today, more than ever before, it's the thing we need to fight for.”

And it’s the softest, most genuine interpretation of 'fighting' you’ll ever come across in the web film. The spectrum of hands merge in the centre of the screen to form the brand’s bottle design and the impact strong. It’s definitely a case of less is more to communicate the point, all the while celebrating the 100-year milestone.

 

 

“We want people to remember how iconic this amazing piece of design is, and how we all have it in common,” Clinet asserts, and he’d love for it to be applied to everyday life: “By using these specific hands we also want them to remember that there are more things that connect us than separate us. If the campaign can make some people extend their hand to a stranger and say hello, it would be amazing.”

All too often a brand’s advertising can be complicated to confuse consumers and undervalue the message, but it’s clear that Together will hit home as hard as Coca-Cola’s iconic red and white. But the colours aren’t important here unless you’re thinking about the hands:

“With no logo, no product and not even a red background, together with our client we have only one goal: to illustrate that the brand wants to help people to connect and be happy all together,” Clinet concludes. “At Ogilvy Paris we are really proud of having the opportunity to do an ad as simple as this for one of the best brands on earth.”

 

Earlier this week, the agency also launched a brilliant animated film as part of the on-going celebration to celebrate 100 years of the brand’s bottle design. Read about The Tale of Contour in our Ad of the Week article.

"

Connections
powered by Source

Unlock this information and more with a Source membership.

Share