Insight
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable rights in the US. Throughout the country’s history, people from all walks of life and cultures have come to the country in seek of those three things. Coca-Cola’s global positioning of “Open Happiness” aligns on that last part, and in the US the brand feels that is can and should support all Americans’ pursuit of happiness. No matter your ancestry, no matter your beliefs, we are all American.
Unfortunately, not everyone holds the same opinion about what it means to be an American. Issues of race, sexuality, immigration and family type are provoking intense debate. Taking a stand for inclusiveness on such a large stage would likely draw both supporters and detractors to the brand. MediaVest needed to define an unalienable position for Coca-Cola that, even though it would attract the negative, would be whole-heartedly supported by the positive.
Strategy
As a diverse country, the US features multitudes of ethnicities and backgrounds that, while different, all have a common, relatable goal of becoming an accepted part of the American cultural tapestry. The agency identified 13 micro-audience segments, such as the LGBT community and Muslim-Americans, who would be the most vocal supporters of a message of inclusiveness.
With these groups identified, Coca-Cola wanted to create content and foster conversation that would help them realise that they were as much a part of this big melting pot as anyone else. As the biggest media event in the world, the Super Bowl was the brand’s opportunity to help the country start a new era of happiness.
Execution
During the Super Bowl, Coca-Cola unveiled the 60-second video “It’s Beautiful”, a stirring rendition of the traditional patriotic song “America the Beautiful” sung in nine languages from around the world that are also spoken by many in the US. It also featured people from the diverse ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, races and family types found in America today.
After the game, the video was shared across Coca-Cola’s social communities along with the hashtag #AmericaIsBeautiful. It immediately became a source of positive audience conversation, but was quickly overshadowed by negative #SpeakAmerican and #BoycottCoke hashtags expressing anger about “non-Americans” and even supposed “terrorists” being featured in the spot.
Anticipating this backlash, MediaVest created and trafficked 10 pieces of content in real-time, each relevant to the identified micro-segments. These videos gave people the support and confidence to run a social counter-campaign by themselves. It profiled the singers in the “It’s Beautiful” video who had sung in Tagalog, Arabic, French-Senegalese, Keres and Spanish, amongst other languages, showing they were no less “American” than any other viewers.
Results
Coca-Cola took a stand to support the diversity of the US and the pursuit of happiness that all people share. The brand was rewarded by a country looking for a cause to support, increasing sales +1% in the month following. Additionally:
- The #AmericaIsBeautiful hashtag trended No. 1 for the first 24 hours
- 10.5MM commercial views on YouTube within 24 hours of the game
- Net positive brand sentiment (higher than last year’s Super Bowl spot)
- WSJ named it one of the few Super Bowl spots with lasting impact.
And perhaps the biggest success is that the positive conversation it started, which was in danger of getting turned to the negative, came back to focus on the positive. Those who believed #AmericaIsBeautiful drowned out the naysayers for good within hours of the start of the effort.