Coke brings world-renowned art to life in ‘Masterpiece’ push

• Coca-Cola launched a recent global campaign, “Masterpiece,” that uses classic and contemporary art to highlight diverse creators and elevate its core Coke beverage as a source of upliftment, according to an organization release. 
• Key to the trouble is a two-minute video that sees Coke immersed in a series of paintings from each world-renowned artists and emerging creators before being given to a museum-goer looking for inspiration. The campaign also includes digital collectibles, 3D billboards and an internet gallery highlighting the up-and-comers.
• The campaign rolls out this month in Latin America, followed by Asia, and can extend to other markets later this 12 months. The effort is the newest installment of Coca-Cola’s Real Magic global brand platform.

Coca-Cola’s latest campaign sees the soft-drink marketer looking to appeal to a community of creatives while situating itself as a beverage ideal for moments begging to be uplifted. The effort is essentially the most recent push under its Real Magic initiative, launched in 2021 to highlight connection and shared moments.

Aptly inspired, the campaign’s two-minute short film relies on Andy Warhol’s 1962 Coca-Cola bottle painting as a kickoff point, with one painting’s subject, “Divine Idyll” (2022), extending an arm outside of the frame to grab the Coke, before launching it into the scenes of other iconic works, including famous names like Edvard Munch’s 1895 painting “Scream” and J.M.W. Turner’s 1805 painting “The Shipwreck.” More recently created art, like “The Blow Dryer” (2021) and “Medea” (2022), also make cameos in a nod to emerging artists from Africa, India, the Middle East and Latin America, before the artsy Coke bottle ultimately lands in the hands of J. Vermeer’s 1665 “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” with the topic of the painting opening the bottle for a student struggling to find inspiration.

“‘Masterpiece’ just isn’t a story in which Coke appears… Coke is the story,” said Pratik Thakar, global head of creative strategy and integrated content for Coca‑Cola, in the discharge.

Additionally, Coke launched an internet gallery where consumers can view the short film and explore the over a dozen pieces of artwork either highlighted or featured in the video. Users also can watch interviews with the five emerging creators whose art was featured, including artists Wonderbuhle, Aket, Fatma Ramadan, Stefania Tejada and Vikram Kushwah. Additional assets, including a series of digital collectibles, could help to attract younger consumers.

Coca-Cola has often used its marketing to goal area of interest audiences. For example, the corporate in December appealed to music-lovers with a seven-track sound library and digital beat machine to highlight the recycling efforts of its Sprite, Fresca and Seagram’s beverages. The marketer last 12 months also announced its Creations initiative — an extension of its Real Magic platform — that has seen it unveil a series of limited-edition flavors including one themed to space travel and one other meant to appeal to gamers. 

The global push arrives during a high point for Coca-Cola, which saw revenue grow 7% to $10.1 billion in the fourth quarter and full-year revenue for 2022 grow 11%, according to a recent earnings statement. Other major moves have included a product overhaul of the corporate’s Fanta Orange beverage and a tie-up announced in February that sees Coca-Cola grow to be the primary marketer to benefit from a partnership between Bain & Company and OpenAI to use tools like ChatGPT and DALL.E to enhance its marketing efforts.