Many people love Coca-Cola ads. Especially the crazy machines they come up with around the world to get people to do fun things just for a free Coke. But why do people love them? What makes these ads so successful?
Let’s take their “Small World” machines, for example. They placed two vending machines in India and Pakistan. Each had a webcam on it to see each who was approaching the machine. In order to get a free can of Coke, a person from each side had to interact with each other by dancing, smiling, drawing on the screen, and more. All of these things ultimately led to laughter and a free Coke.
So while this is a nice gesture, what is the true thinking behind it? Coca-Cola’s campaign revolves around “happiness.” So yes, all of their ads display some type of happy message. Any other group would stop there. Their ads are pretty good without the unique vending machines. That isn’t enough to make a campaign as successful as Coca-Cola’s. Instead of simply showing people what “happiness” looks like with cute ads, Coke goes as far as to MAKE people happy.
When people use these machines they are literally gleaming with joy. This makes the ad immersive, and people don’t even know they are being advertised to. The goal here is to literally make people happy so when they think Coke, they think happiness and vice versa.
What’s great about this is Coke can claim they are doing something great for the community, while hiding the fact they are actually advertising their brand. They can say they are “spreading happiness.”
While Coca-Cola’s campaign is fun and inspiring, and while it does do a goodness to the community, it’s truly successful because there is thought behind it. It is immersive so you can’t tell it is an advertisement, it is disguised as a good deed, and they don’t just tell you “Coke = Happiness” they prove it to you.
About Nick Kidd
