SUB CATEGORY :

MERCHANDISING/IN-STORE EXPERIENCE

COMPANY ENTERING :

OGILVY MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

TITLE :

THE GALACTIC BOTTLES

BRAND :

COCA-COLA

ADVERTISER :

THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

AGENCY :

OGILVY MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

NIZWANI SHAHAR

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

KURT NOVACK

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

JAZ LEE/PASHYN SETHNA

CREATIVE GROUP HEAD :

AZRAAI AZMI

COPYWRITER :

SHEENA SIDHU

ART DIRECTOR :

IRISS HUNG/DARREN HON

PROGRAM DIRECTOR :

JULIE SAW

CLIENT SERVICE DIRECTOR :

LIEW WAI SIM

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR :

LIDIA ROMLI/ELAINE WONG

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE :

STAN LIM YI SIANG

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

ARINDAM CHATTERJEE

STRATEGIC PLANNER :

SRIKEIT TADEPALLE

MEDIA AGENCY :

MEDIACOM MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

MEDIA PLANNING MANAGER :

SARAVANAN ASOGAN

MEDIA PLANNER :

FIONA LEE/ELIZABETH WEE/KAELY KUAH

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

AFTER 42 YEARS, STAR-WARS, THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MOVIE FRANCHISE WAS COMING TO AN END. THIS WAS A HISTORICAL MOMENT IN POP CULTURE AND EVERY BRAND WANTED IN. SO, WHEN COCA-COLA INKED A SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH DISNEY FOR THE FINAL FILM OF THE STAR-WARS FRANCHISE, WE KNEW THE DEAL WAS NEITHER EXCLUSIVE NOR UNIQUE. COCA-COLA WAS GOING UP AGAINST OTHER MAJOR BRANDS WITH SIMILAR SPONSORSHIP DEALS BUT EXPONENTIALLY LARGER BUDGETS. BUT WHILE THEY SPLASHED THEIR BUDGETS ON LIMITED-EDITION MERCHANDISE AND BIG BUDGET ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS, WE SOUGHT TO CREATE A BRANDED EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY OTHER. INTRODUCING: THE GALACTIC BOTTLES. AN IDEA THAT TURNED OUR COCA-COLA NO SUGAR BOTTLES INTO A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME STAR-WARS COLLECTIBLE. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE COMPRESSED OLED TECHNOLOGY INTO A PAPER-THIN LABEL TO RECREATE THE ICONIC STAR-WARS LIGHTSABERS ON OUR BOTTLE LABELS. AN EXPERIENCE THAT DIDN’T NEED A SMARTPHONE OR AR APPS. ALL YOU NEEDED TO ACTIVATE IT WAS A SIMPLE TOUCH. BUT WE KNEW THE HARDER IT WAS TO GET IT, THE MORE PEOPLE WOULD WANT IT. SO WE LAUNCHED A TREASURE HUNT WHERE CONSUMERS COULD ONLY GET THEIR HANDS ON THESE BOTTLES BY SOLVING DAILY RIDDLES TO REVEAL SPECIFIC 7-ELEVEN STORES THAT SOLD A LIMITED AMOUNT OF THESE BOTTLES. HINTS WERE REVEALED ON OUR SOCIAL PLATFORMS THE NIGHT BEFORE. THE GALACTIC BOTTLES BECAME A STAR-WARS SENSATION, TRAVELLING FROM SINGAPORE’S COMIC CON TO THE OFFICIAL STAR-WARS MOVIE PREMIERE. IT WAS TRENDING WORLDWIDE IN OVER 30 COUNTRIES WITH COVERAGE ON OVER 250 ARTICLES, SKYROCKETING THE PR VALUE TO OVER SGD $1 MILLION. ON ECOMMERCE SITES LIKE EBAY, THE GALACTIC BOTTLES ARE STILL BEING RESOLD FOR AS HIGH AS SGD $1000. BY TURNING OUR OWN PRODUCT INTO AN INNOVATIVE BRANDED EXPERIENCE, COCA-COLA DOMINATED OTHER BRANDS IN THE STAR WARS CONVERSATION WITH A FRACTION OF THEIR BUDGET.

THE BRIEF :

DESPITE SEALING A SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH DISNEY OVER THE STAR WARS FRANCHISE, COCA-COLA KNEW THEY WERE GOING UP AGAINST MAJOR BRANDS WITH MAJOR SPONSORSHIP DEALS WITH MAJOR BUDGETS TO SPLASH. SO, THE BRIEF TO THE AGENCY WAS SIMPLE. WHEN OTHER MAJOR BRAND’S BIG BUDGETS UNLEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR US, HOW CAN WE LEVEL IT BACK UP WITH CREATIVITY TO STAND OUT IN AN ALREADY CLUTTERED STAR-WARS CONVERSATION?

THE STRATEGY :

TO TRULY GAIN MASS APPEAL, WE COULDN’T JUST CATER THIS CAMPAIGN TO STAR-WARS FANS. WE HAD TO ADDRESS THE MOMENT, NOT JUST A NICHE. SO, WE LOOKED AT THE PSYCHOGRAPHIC OF SINGAPORE’S BUTTERFLY GENERATION. WE KNEW THAT THEY WERE PERENNIAL NOVELTY HUNTERS: ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE NEWEST COOL STUFF TO OBSESS ABOUT – EVEN JUST FOR A DAY BEFORE THEY MOVE ON TO THE NEXT NOVELTY, BE IT THE NEWEST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY, NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT, TRENDING ONLINE FADS OR A MAJOR MOVIE RELEASE. THEY NEED TO PARTICIPATE (OR BE SEEN PARTICIPATING) IN EVERY CULTURALLY LANDMARK EVENT OR MOMENT. THIS ISN’T JUST TO SATISFY THEIR HUNGER FOR EXPERIENCES, IT ALSO GIVES THEM SOCIAL BRAG VALUE FOR THEIR INSTA-STORIES. THEY AREN’T NECESSARILY HARDCORE STAR-WARS FANS WHO’VE SEEN EVERY MOVIE BUT SEE THIS MOVIE AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH TRENDING POP-CULTURE. TO CASH IN ON THEIR SLICE OF STAR-WARS FAME, MOST OTHER BIG BRANDS SPLASHED THE CASH ON CREATING BRANDED MERCHANDISE AND BIG-BUDGET ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. BUT RATHER THAN TRY TO OUT-SHOUT THEIR BIG-BUDGET CAMPAIGNS, WE LOOKED TO CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION TO TAP INTO OUR AUDIENCE’S CRAVE FOR EXPERIENCES AND BRAG VALUE TO CREATE A BRANDED EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY OTHER.

THE EXECUTION :

INTRODUCING: THE GALACTIC BOTTLES. AN IDEA THAT TURNED OUR COCA-COLA NO SUGAR BOTTLES INTO A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME STAR-WARS COLLECTIBLE. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE COMPRESSED OLED TECHNOLOGY INTO A PAPER-THIN LABEL TO RECREATE THE ICONIC STAR-WARS LIGHTSABERS ON OUR BOTTLE LABELS. AND THE BEST PART? IT DIDN’T NEED A SMARTPHONE OR ANY AR APPS TO WORK. ALL YOU NEEDED TO ACTIVATE IT WAS A SIMPLE TOUCH, TURNING OUR EVERYDAY PRODUCT INTO AN INNOVATIVE BRANDED EXPERIENCE THAT WAS SIMPLE YET UNIQUE TO US. TO CREATE HYPE AROUND THE PRODUCT, WE KNEW THAT THE HARDER IT WAS TO GET THEIR HANDS ON ONE, THE MORE THEY’D WANT IT. SO WE LAUNCHED 8000 BOTTLES EXCLUSIVELY IN SINGAPORE THROUGH THE GALACTIC HUNT – A TREASURE HUNT WHERE CONSUMERS WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THESE BOTTLES BY SOLVING DAILY RIDDLES TO REVEAL SPECIFIC 7-ELEVEN STORES THAT SOLD A LIMITED AMOUNT OF THESE BOTTLES. HINTS WERE REVEALED ON OUR SOCIAL PLATFORMS THE NIGHT BEFORE, AND EACH SET OF HINTS REVEALED 5 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE ISLAND FOR THE DAY. WE ACTIVATED THIS OVER 3 WEEKENDS FOR A TOTAL OF 45 LOCATIONS.

THE RESULT :

THE GALACTIC BOTTLES BECAME A STAR WARS SENSATION, TRAVELLING FROM SINGAPORE’S COMIC CON TO THE OFFICIAL STAR WARS: RISE OF THE SKYWALKER MOVIE PREMIERE IN LOS ANGELES. IT WAS TRENDING WORLDWIDE IN OVER 30 COUNTRIES WITH OVER 250 ARTICLES WRITTEN IN 30 LANGUAGES BY LARGE MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE HYPEBEAST, GIZMODO AND MASHABLE. THE PR VALUE SKYROCKETED OVER SGD $1 MILLION.
THE FRENZY AND HYPE SAW PEOPLE QUEUING UP FOR THE BOTTLES AS EARLY AS 1.5 HOURS BEFORE START TIMES IN EACH LOCATION WE DROPPED. ON FAMOUS ECOMMERCE SITES LIKE EBAY AND CAROUSEL, THE GALACTIC BOTTLES ARE STILL BEING RESOLD FOR AS HIGH AS SGD $1000. COCA-COLA’S SINGAPORE INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT DOUBLED ITS FOLLOWERS DURING THE CAMPAIGN. WITH TREMENDOUS SHAREABILITY AND WORD OF MOUTH, WE SAW THE CAMPAIGN SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPERFORM COCA-COLA NORMS IN THE METRIC OF APPEAL (+8) TALKABILITY (+4) AND RELEVANCE (+5), THROUGH KANTAR’S DATA. BY TURNING OUR OWN PRODUCT INTO AN EXCLUSIVE AND INNOVATIVE BRANDED EXPERIENCE, COCA-COLA DOMINATED OTHER BRANDS IN THE STAR WARS CONVERSATION WITH A FRACTION OF THEIR BUDGET. EVEN THE PRESIDENT OF LUCASFILM, KATHLEEN KENNEDY, CALLED IT THE ‘BEST-IN-CLASS EXAMPLE OF A BRAND PARTNERSHIP USE OF ‘OUR’ ASSETS’. NOW, THAT’S A FINALE.