Coca Cola Christmas Ad, Keeping the Tradition for Over 100 Years

Holidays and Coca-Cola go hand in hand. For almost 100 years!

So how did this happen? Why are the two so connected? The answer is simple: Coca-Cola Christmas marketing campaigns. 

Let's discover together all the secrets behind these campaigns and how it is possible for a soft drink to be so loved in winter!

When Coca-Cola was founded?

It all started in 1886, when John Pemberton, a pharmacist, invented a soft drink called Coca-Cola.

The creation had no real success, lacking a marketing plan, and in 1888, shortly before his death, he sold the Coca-Cola receipt for $238.98 to Asa Candler, who later founded the Coca-Cola Company.

Coupons were first used to promote Coca‑Cola, announcing Coca‑Cola as a “Delicious and Refreshing Drink.” in 1887.

Coca-Cola Marketing History

Today, Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic global brands known by people all around the world.

But, in 1920

The drink sold a lot in the summer, while the company wanted more people to enjoy it in the winter too!

The insightful slogan Thirst Knows No Time Nor Season wanted to position the brand by emphasizing the timeless nature of the drink: all seasons. So they created more ads for it. However, the much-desired success remained to be seen.

Likewise, in the 1920s, the Coca-Cola Company began its Christmas advertising, when Coca-Cola decided to refer to the beloved figure of Santa Claus. Several images of Santa Claus were used, but none proved popular with consumers until 1931.

1931 - 1960

In 1931 Coca-Cola commissioned artist Haddon Sundblom to illustrate Santa Claus drinking Coke on Christmas Eve. Using oil painting and drawing inspiration from Clement Moore's poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas", he created a cheerful Santa Claus with a round figure, red cheeks, and a white beard.

From 1931 to 1964, Sundblom's Coca-Cola illustrations depicted Santa delivering presents, reading letters, taking breaks with Coke, and playing with children.

With this Santa, Coca-Cola glued its brand to Christmas, by sending messages of family togetherness joy, and diversity for decades.

In 1980 

Due to unusual marketing decisions such as New Coke, Coca-Cola has faced a relatively difficult time regarding brand strength. There was also an attempt in 1949 to market the term Coke by using The Sprite Boy character in advertising, intended to convey the message that "Coca-Cola" and "Coke" are two terms that refer to the same product. Both attempts failed, as Coca-Cola was losing market share as proof of how important the right advertising is.

In 1990 - 2020

Coca-Cola has seen an incredibly strong comeback, especially with its Christmas marketing.

Coca-Cola’s Polar Bears
In 1993 we saw the return of polar bears, which were first featured in a Coca-Cola commercial in 1922. At this time, the polar bears promote a strong sense of unity and show that no matter how cold it is, coke is still a good choice of drink!

They gain immediate popularity and return in other adverts. 

• Baby bears were featured in a special holiday commercial where the bear family picked out their Christmas tree. 

• In 2013, the bears were featured in a short movie directed by Ridley Scott.

In 2018, Coca-Cola's special polar bears were back again to celebrate their 25th anniversary in a new Christmas campaign called Christmas Rules inspired by classic holiday moments.

Coca-Cola’s Christmas Truck  

In 1995 shortly after the polar bear campaign, Coca-Cola released the Christmas commercial Holidays Are Coming, which first featured the Coca-Cola Christmas truck with magical lights and an illustration of Santa. 

Called also the Christmas Caravan the special truck travels to different countries and brings the happy feeling of Christmas with it, making everyone excited and joyful. These portrayed a new message:

Christmas ain coming when Coca-Cola says it's coming!

Up to this day, many say that Christmas doesn’t start until they see the Coca-Cola truck advert for the first time, The Holidays are Coming! Almost half of the people (44%) in Britain believe that this commercial marks the start of the holiday season.

Every year, the Coca-Cola Christmas truck tells people that Christmas is here, and it is already a happy tradition!

In 2014, the campaign was voted as the favorite Christmas advertisement ever, and in 2020, Coca-Cola’s ad was crowned the most effective Christmas campaign.

Share a Coke this Holiday

In 2015 Coca-Cola brought warmth and joy to the holiday season with its "Share a Coke this Holiday" campaign, built on the success of the Share a Coke campaign, which began in 2011. 

For this time, Coca-Cola bottle labels were personalized by printing popular holiday terms and festive graphics, like snowflakes, and Santa. All these created a sense of nostalgia and festive cheer among consumers.

The holiday edition encourages people to share Coke with their loved ones, in this way emphasizing the idea of sharing moments and creating memories with family and friends during the festive season.

In 2016, Coca-Cola continued to bring holiday cheer with its "A Coke for Christmas" advert. The focus remained on celebrating the festive season with Coca-Cola.- Who will you give a Coke to this Christmas?

In 2020 - 2024 

2020 - Real Magic

In 2020, Coca-Cola launched Have Yourself a Merry Christmas ad, which combines two heartwarming stories to capture the essence of Christmas. On the one hand, the "Letter Story" follows a father's journey to fulfill his daughter's wish, emphasizing family, love, and giving. On the other hand, festive Coca-Cola trucks spread cheers and evoke the joy of Christmas. The ad’s message is that even in challenging times, the magic of Christmas still exists and all that matters about Christmas is being with the ones you love.

2021 came with Coca-Cola Real Magic Christmas, which told stories of people coming together to celebrate Christmas despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting that the real magic of Christmas is created by the moments of celebration together, conveying the message  "The real magic of Christmas is the love we share".

2022 -  Christmas always finds its way

Coca-Cola's Christmas Always Finds Its Way campaign was launched in 2022 and consisted of a trilogy of short films that were released on Amazon Prime Video. The campaign was a global success, with the films seen in more than 100 countries.

The films were all heartwarming stories about the power of Christmas to bring people together, showing the importance of family, friendship, and love. They also launched the Christmas advert The Magic of Christmas 2022 with Coca-Cola, sharing the belief that anything is possible.

2023 - The World Needs More Santas

In 2023, the Coca-Cola Christmas campaign focused on the idea that anyone could be Santa and we all can make the world a better place by being kind to others. Even small acts of kindness can make a big difference. With a positive message and beautiful cinematography The World Needs More Santas commercial is so successful, mainly because it resonated with people's desire for a better world. 

Real Magic” through the power of AI

This holiday season Coca-Cola also invites fans worldwide to create and share “Real Magic” through the power of AI. You can visit CreateRealMagic.com to make digital greeting cards using iconic Coca‑Cola images and characters. Then, you can download the cards, send them to family and friends, or share them on social media. Pratik Thakar from Coca-Cola says it's a way to connect people during the holidays, combining the brand's history with a bright future. People from over 40 countries can use it, and it supports Coca-Cola's global festive campaign about being kind, like your own Santa and spreading good vibes.

Having said that, we can say that Coca-Cola established itself as a lifestyle accompaniment rather than a product, and its marketing continued like this for years:

• Telling stories

• Creating nostalgia

• Providing experiences

• Delivering messages of family, togetherness, joy and diversity

It took a century of marketing, but it all came together where Coca-Cola and Christmas are ingrained in people's minds. They give people an experience instead of a product. How? Let’s see further!

Coca-Cola Marketing Strategies

All these are due to Coca-Cola's incredibly successful marketing strategies, making the company one of the most recognizable brands in the world. They combine traditional and digital approaches based on several key principles.

Emotional Connection 

Coca-Cola ads evoke emotions of happiness and nostalgia. These emotional connections are built through: 

Storytelling

They use stories to spread a feeling of joy and togetherness by presenting themes of family bonds, friendship, kindness, and love during a festive time like Christmas. When you see a Coca-Cola ad, you feel happy. And this happiness is interconnected with Coca-Cola.

Music

Coca-Cola has a long history of using music in its marketing campaigns. The most famous song used in Coca-Cola Christmas commercials is Wonderful Dream (Holidays are Coming).

Iconic imagery

Coca-Cola has created several iconic symbols, such as:

• The Coca-Cola contour bottle is one of the most recognizable bottle designs in the world

• The Coca-Cola script logo was introduced in 1887, and it has remained relatively unchanged ever since

• Santa Claus - a warm, friendly, and joyful character

• The Polar Bears - Coca-Cola’s Christmas mascot that represents the innocence and purity of the holiday season

• Coca-Cola Truck, it’s festive and associated with spreading holiday cheer

Colors

 

The red color is Coca-Cola’s signature and creates feelings of excitement, energy, happiness, celebration, and love. White, on the other hand, represents purity, innocence, and peace.

The combination of red and white has become synonymous with Christmas as well with Coca-Cola. The colors are visible in Santa's outfits, Christmas decorations, and festive packaging. The use of these colors in advertising made Coca-Cola an integral part of the Christmas experience.

Global Marketing

Coca-Cola has a strong presence in over 200 countries. According to Statista, 96% know the brand and 64% use it. It manages to adapt its marketing to different cultures but at the same time stays consistent with the same cool red and white logo everywhere, great advertising. So, whether you're in the city or the jungle, you can probably find someone sipping a Coca-Cola!

Target marketing: From Kids to Global Audiences

As previously mentioned, Coca-Cola aims to spread joy universally, taking into account age, and cultural and global differences. In this way, Coca-Cola targeted its marketing to different demographics.

• For Kids:

It features Santa Claus and interactive activities for fun, making the brand part of their festive experience.

• For Teens and Young Adults:

It evokes nostalgia with old ads and incorporates technologies like AR/VR. These generations are very involved in technology, so Coca-Cola creates interactive digital experiences for them.

• For Older People:

Coca-Cola Christmas focuses on tradition, appealing here to older adults who value family time and traditional Christmas celebrations, recalling their own cherished Christmas memories.

• For People Around the World

Coca-Cola adapts ads to different cultures, collaborates globally, and of course, uses social media to reach international audiences

Global Partnerships and Events

Coca-Cola partners with international organizations and sponsors global Christmas events.

Here are a few of them! Partnership with:

•  The Salvation Army

Coca-Cola supports its bell-ringing campaign and other initiatives that help families in need during the holidays.

• (RED) 

Coca-Cola partnership raises awareness and funds for the fight against HIV/AIDS. This includes a special edition Coca-Cola bottle that is sold during the holidays.

• Toys for Tots 

Coca-Cola helped to collect and distribute toys to children in need during the holidays and bring joy to millions of children around the world.

This year Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is launching the The World Needs More Santas Like You initiative, providing independent shop owners the opportunity to win funds and support to make Christmas special in their communities.

Beyond marketing, through its partnerships, Coca-Cola demonstrates social responsibility, its values, and its dedication to making a positive impact on the world.

Coca-Cola Marketing Chanales 

Coca-Cola uses a variety of different marketing channels for advertising, including:

• Television - Coca-Cola is one of the largest TV advertisers globally

• Print - Coca-Cola places ads in both magazines and newspapers 

• Radio - Coca-Cola advertises on radio stations worldwide 

• Digital - It is one of the most active brands on social media, engaging with its customers and promoting its products

• Out-of-home: Coca-Cola advertises on billboards and buses, making its presence known outside of traditional media channels.

• Affiliate Marketing & Partnerships - With chain restaurants like McDonald's

Thus, Coca-Cola makes sure that everyone knows their taste! Their marketing is everywhere!

Conclusion

Now that we know all these things, let's summarize. Coca-Cola and Christmas have been dancing together for almost a century. 

The secret of Coca-Cola's great success lies in its captivating marketing campaigns. They adapt to changing trends, build emotional connections, always remain relevant, and become, like the cheerful image of Santa Claus, a timeless symbol of holiday cheer. 

The holidays are coming! Have you bought your bottle of Coca-Cola?