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New Advertising Shows That Nothing Brings People Together Like The Olympic Games And Coca-Cola


WEBWIRE

Olympic-Themed Ads Invite People to ’Connect with the World Over a Coke’
Olympians Yao Ming and LeBron James Share a Toast to Unity in One of Three New Spots

ATLANTA, July 2008 - With less than one month until the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Coca-Cola is unveiling new advertising that celebrates how the Olympic Games and Coca-Cola bring people together like nothing else.

The three new ads -- the first of which will begin airing this week -- are part of the global ’Coke Side of Life’ campaign, which reflects life’s uplifting, positive moments. The commercials are supplemented by two Coca-Cola Olympic-themed vignettes that began running exclusively on NBC in June.

“When people across the country gather to watch the world’s most compelling sporting event, Coca-Cola will be with them to celebrate the excitement and emotion of the Olympic Games. Our fun, uplifting ads are a great complement to the action of the Games and perfect to enjoy with an ice-cold Coke in hand,” said Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer, Coca-Cola North America. “These new ads bring people together by conveying the universal ideals of optimism, unity and inspiration that Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games have shared and promoted for more than 80 years.”

The first new Coca-Cola ad features Olympians Yao Ming and LeBron James engaging in a friendly, animated “face-off” -- backed by two troupes of choreographed icons representing their respective cultures. The spot celebrates the athletes’ competitive spirit and cultural diversity, while showcasing Coca-Cola as a unifying force and universal icon that belongs to everyone. As the ad concludes, both players display bottles of Coca-Cola -- Yao’s featuring the Coca-Cola logo in Mandarin and James’ bottle with English script. As the players exchange their “national bottles” of Coca-Cola, their animated images transform into the real Yao and James, who toast each other and ’Unity on the Coke Side of Life.’

Another ad, which celebrates the 80-year partnership between Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games, features emotional, historical footage of Olympic and Special Olympic athletes receiving their medals backed by the voiceover, “If you’ve had a Coke in the last 80 years, you’ve had a hand in making every Olympic dream come true.” Legendary athletes in the ad entitled “Ceremony” include U.S. track & field Olympian Carl Lewis, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, French alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy and U.S. sprinter Wyomia Tyus.

The final spot, “Bird’s Nest,” features animated birds in the colors of the Olympic Rings as they fly across the world collecting drinking straws from various bottles and glasses of Coke. The five colorful birds construct a miniature replica of the iconic Beijing Olympic Stadium from the straws and then watch the Opening Ceremony from their new home. This spot will debut during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Two special NBC vignettes -- which began airing in June -- promote Coca-Cola’s collectible Olympic-themed cans bearing the iconic Coca-Cola logo in different languages, including Ethiopian, Russian, Thai, Mandarin and English. In the spots, members of the Coca-Cola “Six Pack” of Olympic athletes who are featured on Coca-Cola Olympic packaging discuss the uplifting experience of the Olympic Games. The “Six Pack” includes Natalie Coughlin (swimming), Shawn Johnson (gymnastics), LeBron James (basketball), Steven Lopez (taekwondo), Andy Potts (triathlon) and Sanya Richards (track & field).

Created by Wieden & Kennedy of Amsterdam, the ad entitled “Yao and LeBron - Unity” will debut this week. “Ceremony,” developed by Leo Burnett of Chicago, will air later in July and “Bird’s Nest,” also created by Wieden & Kennedy, will launch during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 8.

Other Coca-Cola Olympic Program Elements
Coca-Cola Olympic programming also includes an interactive experience at MyCoke.com that brings Coca-Cola and the Olympic Games to life in a fun, global way. One of many activities is “Design the World a Coke,” a program that lets people create their own digital Coke bottle to share with others. James and Yao teamed up to develop their own bottle design honoring the spirit of unity that the Olympic Games inspire around the world. Another featured element is “WE8,” a global collaboration between eight visual artists and eight progressive musicians who have created eight limited-edition aluminum bottle designs and free, downloadable companion songs. Thousands of samples of the special aluminum bottles will be given to visitors at Simon Malls across the country this summer. Also online, My Coke Rewards is offering members a variety of special Olympic-themed rewards and experiences.



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