Coca-Cola’s connection to the cinema business is inextricable and can be traced right back to the earliest days of cinema
Atlanta, Georgia, agreed it was a case of fortuitous timing;
balance was a massive success considering its maverick
prohibition of alcohol and a booming film industry helped
approach and total inexperience as a movie-maker.
the synergy between Coke and the movies considerably. Coca-Cola’s presence in cinemas at that stage was
Surely the temptation to plant Coca-Cola logos in the
and a clear strategy about product placement came much
background of the movies it produced was overwhelming
later. “We didn’t start from that perspective; it started from
at this time? Delaney wasn’t so sure. “We probably
seeing cinema as a way to work and build our brand and
consciously didn’t because they knew people wouldn’t
associate ourselves with an amazing evening out,” he
appreciate it. It’s all about: what’s the right film? Does the
added. “Our relationship didn’t start with selling Coke, it
placement fit with our brand? Does it fit with their film? Is
was about brand partnership celebrating cinema-going.”
it done in a way that is natural and inobtrusive?” front of Molly Ringwald in “The Breakfast Club” for example
Coca-Cola took its partnership with movies so seriously it
— and the dream next level in which the product itself
actually bought a major studio, Columbia Pictures, in 1982.
becomes integral to the narrative. Get it right and, from a
Incredibly, Diet Coke was just weeks from being released
marketing perspective, it can be an amazing part of the
onto the market. There are few companies that would
film. Sometimes it even becomes a part of film history
consider branching out into two completely new areas
and an instantly recogniseable scene. Think of Superman
simultaneously, but the decision-maker behind the move
getting smashed into the Coke sign. ET opening a can of
was unfazed. Fearless and ambitious, the newly elected
Coke. The scene in which Will Ferrell’s Buddy chugs a two-
chairman and CEO Roberto Goizueta (a Cuban refugee
litre Coke bottle in “Elf”. Justine Fletcher smiles. “Coca-Cola
who arrived in the US 22 years previously with $40 in his
is part of Americana. It’s a cultural leader.”
pocket and $100 worth of Coca-Cola shares) stunned his
Coca-Cola’s initial foray into the cinema industry in
board at the time, saying: “We’re going to take risks. What
the 1920s led to an ongoing and remarkable series of
always has been will not necessarily always be forever.’’ He
campaigns over many decades with the soft drinks giant
added, ‘’Nothing energises an organisation like speed.”
aligning itself to various social causes. Fletcher told me,
its limitations in an unbelievably unpredictable and high-stakes environment, Coke took a step back at the time when it shrewdly
“Coca-Cola took its partnership with movies so seriously it actually bought Columbia Pictures back in 1982”
“The drink isn’t as important as the message. It’s about bringing people together.” Utimately this was, of course, intended to shift soda, but the campaigns were so sensitively produced and the tone exactly right that, while Coca-Cola has attracted criticism at times, it is vastly disproportionate to the goodwill the brand has attracted.
On the right side of history During the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Coca-Cola
assembled a dream team of CBS, HBO and Columbia
was seen on the right side of history time and again, with
Pictures and created Columbia Tri-Star. Their combined
ads featuring happy black and white people sitting side-by-
expertise over the following seven years produced a
side on segregation benches nursing a Coke, for example. In
remarkable stable of box office hits: “Ghostbusters”,
the 1970s, as the Vietnam war raged, one iconic campaign
“Stripes”, “The Karate Kid”, “Tootsie” and “Stand By Me”,
stood out. Spoken of in reverent tones in the Coke building
culminating in a Best Picture Oscar for the seminal,
as ‘Hilltops’, you will know it better by the lyrics: “I’d Like To
groundbreaking bio-pic “Ghandi” in 1982. Their TV work is
Buy The World A Coke.” Fletcher explained: “It’s about
less critically acclaimed but it certainly paid the bills:
bringing people together. That is the message of Coke.”
“Diff’rent Strokes”, “Wheel of Fortune”, “The Young & The
Delaney warms to this. “We’ve taken some bold moves
Restless”, “Days of Our Lives” and “Jeopardy!” were all
and sometimes that is criticised; you’re not going to please
household names syndicated worldwide.
everyone, but being progressive means you need to have a
By 1989 Goizueta concluded that a ‘back to basics’
viewpoint on the world.” Doing it right therefore, as with
approach was appropriate and a refocus on what the
Hilltops, means your brand becomes part of our culture,
company knew — the drinks industry — was required.
which must be the ultimate ambition for a marketeer.
Columbia was sold to Sony, netting a tidy $500m profit for
Understatedly, Delaney added, “Sometimes it can backfire.”
Coca-Cola; with hindsight, the company’s ownership on
In 2017 a big budget, big name ad produced by rival
www.cinematech.today
042_COLA_JUNE19.indd 45
There’s product placement — a can of Coke on a desk in
From fans to film-maker
Recognising
Making Coca-Cola an intrinsic part of the moviegoing experience saw a conscious effort on the part of the brand’s marketeers
Putting Coke in the picture
limited to point of sale in the lobbies, Delaney explained,
0 6 / 1 9
>
4 1
21/05/2019 10:10
