Coca-Cola ads typically focus on the joy of drinking a cold soft drink, but the brand’s latest campaign tosses the beverage aside in favor of other happy moments.
Three spots, developed by WPP Open X and led by agency David Miami, capture the drink spilling out of the brand’s iconic glass bottle. Moving backwards and forwards through time in slow motion, they show the drinkers disregarding their beverage as they laugh and embrace an exuberant dog, a friend on the street or a newly arrived guest at a party.
The tagline emphasizes that spontaneous joy is “worth every drop.”
“We aimed to capture what Coca-Cola truly represents: not just a drink, but the moments of connection it brings,” David Miami chief creative officer Edgard Gianesi said in a statement. “In our ‘Spills’ campaign, we celebrate those moments when the joy of being with loved ones is so overwhelming that even a spilled Coca-Cola becomes a cherished memory. Every drop is worth the moment.”
The work is reminiscent of Ikea’s Cannes-winning “Proudly Second Best” campaign, which also showed the brand’s product being set aside in favor of tender moments. It’s one of the simpler efforts that Coca-Cola has employed since launching its “Real Magic” campaign in 2021, which has focused on entertaining and amazing customers with work incorporating artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
“’Spills’ showcases the magical moments of embrace when time can feel like it stops for a second, the drink is unknowingly tossed to one side and nothing else matters beyond the embrace,” Coca-Cola global vice president of creative strategy and content Islam ElDessouky said in a statement. “The campaign is the embodiment of our ‘Real Magic’ ethos at Coca-Cola, celebrating the unexpected but heartwarming moments of human connection.”
