coca-cola
To mark 125 years of coca-cola in Great Britain, we created The Bosses — a micro docu and photography series spotlighting 6 corner shop owners
80+ pieces of coverage across the likes of Metro, Standard and Hypebeast
Challenge
Coca-Cola was marking 125 years in Great Britain, but at a time where its image is still one of an all-American brand. Despite having had a huge influence on British culture and commerce, and owning five bottling plants in the UK that allow it to claim ‘locally produced’ status, there are woefully few British coded images of Coca-Cola on Google.
Strategy
Don’t make the big moment all about the brand – use it as a chance to celebrate the people that make the brand special.
Idea
We turned our attention to corner shops, the hubs at the heart of communities where fizzy drinks are a staple and the business owners are an important part of the Coca-Cola network. Corner shop owners in the UK got some long overdue recognition during the COVID pandemic, but generally, the role isn’t seen as desirable or particularly important, despite having earned the fond colloquial nickname of ‘Boss’ up and down the country.
To celebrate 125 years, we wanted to show corner shop owners as you’ve never seen them before, putting them at the heart of the 125 year celebrations by making six ordinary retailers the stars of The Bosses, a mini documentary series shot by award-winning director Ross Bolidai, and a powerful photography project captured by young National Portrait Photographer, Serena Brown.
Each of the retailers were given a five-figure bursary to gift to a local charity of their choice, and Coca-Cola threw its advertising spend behind the bosses, buying out billboards in their local towns to drive fame and footfall. We placed the beautiful films and the defiantly high-fashion photography series with media, inviting national, broadcast and culture titles to share their stories of loss, triumph, resilience and community strength first-hand.
In all the celebratory content, Coca-Cola’s product, values and impact showed up subtly in an authentically British way.
Impact
94 pieces of earned media coverage to date, from across The Times, The Evening Standard, to Metro, ShortList and Hypebeast.
8 x nationals
96% messaging penetration
56% brand in headline
78% of coverage used branded imagery
Most importantly, one of the local retailers said it was the proudest moment in their career – and another said they were crying seeing their family’s story come to life in the news.
A good story, well told.
94
96%
messaging penetrationpieces of earned
media coverage78%
of coverage used
branded imagery