Who's someone you see every day, and often thank, but don't know by name?
Coca-Cola thinks you should make up for being maybe a little rude to that person by buying him or her one of the brand's special bottles with names printed on them.
A new ad from the Philippines shows people gushing about the not-quite-acquaintances who brighten their days, and have earned consistent nicknames: a driver called "bro," a grocery bagger called "kid," a security guard called "boss." Then the people sheepishly admit they have no clue what their fellow humans are actually called. Cue personalized Coca-Cola gifts—the clouds part, the sun shines, and everybody goes home happy.
The three-minute commercial, created by McCann, is documentary-style, but filming true story lines would require some real logistical contortions, so more likely the whole thing is staged. (Did the brand put out a casting call for people who knew other people they liked but didn't really know them, and then embark on an elaborate stalking mission?)
Regardless, it hardly matters. It's a nice bit of marketing as entertainment, meant to make people feel nice. It's what Coke often tries to do, and in this case, it seems to be working. The YouTube clip has some 900,000 views since being posted Thursday. And the comments include plenty of gushing praise. (At press time, there was only one obvious crack about diabetes.)
The real question, though, is how people are supposed to actually find a bottle with the name of whoever it is they want to thank.
CREDITS
Client: Coca-Cola
Agency: McCann Worldgroup
Director: Paolo Villaluna