Coca-Cola's new ad nods to its literary past in famous classic works

Coca-Cola and WPP Open X, in collaboration with VML New York, have launched a new advertising campaign—'Coca-Cola Classic'—that highlights the brand's extensive cultural legacy in literature. 

The soft-drink giant has employed Artificial Intelligence (AI) to sift through thousands of time-honoured classics to pinpoint instances where Coca-Cola is mentioned. Three similar ads creatively depict excerpts from The Shining by Stephen King, Extreme Metaphors by JG Ballard, and A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul.

While the Coca-Cola Classic ad campaign only dates as far back as 2012 for Extreme Metaphors, 1977 for The Shining and 1961 for A House For Mr. Biswas, the history of Coca-Cola extends much further back, spanning 139 years to be precise. 

The soft drink was invented on May 8, 1886, in the modest pharmacy of Dr. John Pemberton located in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally, it was intended to serve as a nerve tonic, a remedy for headaches, and a temperance drink to substitute for alcohol. Yes, Coca-Cola is that old.

Another important piece of history offers insight into the culturally classic nature of Coca-Cola: the now-iconic, nearly universal red Santa Claus was created as part of an advertising campaign by Coca-Cola in the 1930s. The brand engaged Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom for its Christmas marketing, depicting Santa in red to enhance brand recall associated with the Father of Christmas.

Coca-Cola's latest promotional trio features a typewriter format, incorporating errors and glitches to evoke an authentic antique feel in its ‘Classic’ ad campaign, effectively showcasing the literary excerpts in a visually engaging way.

There's one tiny tweak, though. Although King, Ballard, and Naipaul never used the iconic red Spencerian script to write "Coca-Cola" in their manuscripts, incorporating the logo during typing added meaningful visual impact to the ad's overall message.

Interestingly, the original Coca-Cola logo was the brainchild of Frank M Robinson, who was the business partner and bookkeeper of John Pemberton, the drink’s inventor. The logo was designed by hand, using the elegant Spencerian script that was popular during that period.

“Some brands make culture. Coca-Cola is written into it by the greatest authors in history”, reads the caption of the Coca-Cola Classic ad series on YouTube. Stephen King, JG Ballard, and VS Naipaul seem to agree.