Coca-Cola to launch World Cup ad campaign in UK

Posted Tuesday, April 20, 2010 by theguardian.com

Coca-Cola is to use the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Chelsea on 15 May to launch the multimillion pound UK element of its global football World Cup advertising campaign.

Emmanuel Seuge, the group director of worldwide sports and entertainment marketing at Coca-Cola, said the campaign is the single largest marketing push the soft drink giant has ever run.

The campaign will launch on the back of a TV ad featuring Roger Milla, the player from Cameroon who set the world abuzz with his goal-scoring dances in the 1990 World Cup, that will run in 150 markets.

Coke's ad features original footage of Milla's famous dance – Seuge said it was an added bonus that he happened to be in front of a Coca-Cola hoarding in the clip which has been played around the world millions of times – and suggests that it spurred the often elaborate displays that have since become commonplace.

"That moment is remembered as a trigger for how goals could be celebrated, it is the core of the campaign," said Seuge, speaking to MediaGuardian.co.uk. "We really wanted to look at the context in which the World Cup is happening. Africans have a way to celebrate the World Cup that is completely unique."

Coca-Cola has three TV ads set to run internationally, although the other two will only run online in the UK, based on the company's current theme of "Open Happiness".

The commercials have been developed by ad agency Santo. The Milla ad will run in 150 countries, every territory that Coca-Cola has a presence, and has so far launched in a handful of markets, mostly in Latin America.

A second ad, called "Border Crossing", is to run on TV in a total of about 37 markets, timed to coincide with an 83-country tour of the Fifa World Cup trophy.

A third ad, called "Quest", features the animated adventure of an African boy. It will run on TV in a handful of markets but has primarily been designed for use digitally.

The "Quest" ad ties in with a massive partnership with YouTube, covering 90 markets, that aims to get web surfers to upload their own "celebration".

"We wanted digital to play a central role to engage with younger viewers," said Seuge. "The Quest ad works principally in digital but also works well in cinema."

Coca-Cola has been an official of sponsor of the Fifa World Cup since 1978 and an in-stadia advertiser since 1950.