What was the campaign?
In 2018, Romania ranked in the top 10 unhappiest countries in the world, with studies showing that media outlets would show more pessimistic/negative news than positive. Coca Cola saw an opportunity to spread their brand missions of “open happiness” and “taste the feeling”. So, to try and fight against the pessimism of the national media, Coca Cola devised the #HalfFull campaign which aimed to highlight the positive news coming out of the country through ads and a new bottle that only showed the top half of the drink.
Here is a link to the preview of the campaign from McCann Worldgroup:
The campaign appeared OOH, in online videos, social media, and TV, and Coca Cola continued to work and implement a “half full” segment in news programmes within the country. As well as this, drinkers could collect their own “half full” bottle by interacting with the brand on social media.
What were the values of this campaign?
Benevolence
Encouraging positivity and pride within Romanians is a clear example of the impact brands can have on culture and conversations. An effort to rectify a national “pessimism” through such a simple and authentic lens shows a real understanding of the country and aligns nicely with Coca Cola’s mission of spreading positivity through the experience of drinking it.
Hedonism
The positive news stories and new bottle also encouraged more of a celebration of Romania, increasing pride and joy for Romanians within the country, and working with news outlets was a direct way of making news more enjoyable for its audience. Also, encouraging interaction on social media was a means to bring people closer together and share the “half full” perspective.
So, that’s a quick summary of this campaign from Coca-Cola – thanks for reading!
George Clapp (Research Manager, OMTM)
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