- Coca-Cola is extending its partnership with Disney via ads, collectible bottles and augmented reality (AR) activations themed around “Star Wars,” according to a press release.
- A brand new spot, “Refresh Your Galaxy,” shows cosplaying fans benefiting from a screening gone mistaken by reenacting key moments from the franchise. Ads and cans also display a QR code that could be scanned to access an AR experience that lets consumers record and share holographic messages.
- Beginning this month, Coke will sell 27 limited-edition cans and bottles with iconic characters from the franchise, while an extra three can be exclusive to Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. The timing aligns with the ramp up in summer travel and as “Star Wars” again lands within the cultural conversation.
Coke is appealing to “Star Wars” diehards with a campaign that features ample references to the long-running space opera, collectible products and a component of personalization through the AR-driven hologram experience. The soft drink brand, which has worked with Disney for 70 years, is capitalizing on summer travel demand and renewed discussion around “Star Wars” thanks to well-received franchise extensions just like the streaming show “Andor,” which recently accomplished its second season.
In the “Refresh Your Galaxy” creative, fans dressed as their favorite characters attend a movie marathon of “Star Wars,” walking through a theater concessions area that resembles the Mos Eisley cantina and eventually settling in to watch “A New Hope” from 1977. The reel breaks throughout the climatic battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, a moment that originally feels disappointing before two people dressed because the Jedi hero and his mentee-turned-archnemesis complete the duel, inspiring others within the audience to reenact key scenes from the series.
“Refresh Your Galaxy,” which was made by WPP’s bespoke Open X agency for Coke in collaboration with Disney, is running in a long-form version, together with 60- and 30-second cutdowns.
The AR element is one other way to let fans place themselves in a galaxy far, distant, emulating the hologram transmissions that continuously appear as a communication device within the franchise. Coke has been prioritizing personalization through on-pack promotions currently, including by bringing back its “Share a Coke” campaign within the spring, inclusive of QR code-enabled digital experiences.
In addition, the campaign capitalizes on a booming marketplace for collectibles through the bottles and cans bearing profiles of iconic characters including Yoda, Obi-Wan, Cassian Andor and Luke Skywalker. The three products exclusive to Disney resorts show The Mandalorian and Grogu, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, a First Order Stormtrooper and Chewbacca.
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