Coca-Cola’s iconic signage and outdoor advertising and the company’s advertising history

Stylish signs and outdoor advertisements with the Coca-Cola label are installed, the company is an innovator not only in the beverage industry. The global manufacturer really knows how to achieve recognition among almost 100% of the world’s inhabitants. And even if you don’t drink Coca-Cola, then you definitely know this brand. Today we will tell you about some of the advertising tricks and experiments that made this manufacturer famous.

Coca Cola Christmas Truck

Christmas Coca-Cola trucks – well-known outdoor advertising on transport

Coca-Cola trucks have become one of the iconic solutions in the field of outdoor advertising. They are known in every country, and their appearance becomes a real festive event. They transport products and gifts for Christmas in special trucks decorated with neon, lights and, of course, banner ads. Each year they move along a certain route. In many cities, many tourists with children gather to see this wonderful Christmas spectacle.

Рождественский грузовик Кока-Колы возле детского дома Красноярска — Coca-Cola Christmas truck near the Krasnoyarsk orphanage

In English they are known as Coca-Cola Christmas Caravan. Despite the general belief that these trucks appeared sometime in the 1960s, they are much less years old. The story begins in 1995. The company has been developing a Christmas advertising campaign. The task was set globally, to develop a Christmas symbol, which will also become a symbol of the company.

The W.B. agency took up this issue. Doner. Experts suggested the idea of outdoor advertising on transport and a New Year’s caravan. To accomplish the task, they hired Industrial Light and Magic, which had previously dealt with the lighting of Star Wars scenes. The first trucks were decorated with 30 thousand light bulbs and images of Santa on a red background. No one could say for sure how such a decision would be perceived.

At the same time, the advertisement became an instant hit, and along the course of the caravan, many people with children gathered to celebrate the New Year and Christmas. The tradition became so popular that the Coca-Cola caravan movement was banned in several European countries, including the UK. And it looks really impressive.

In 1996, trucks got a new look for Santa, designed by artist Haddon Sandblom. Christmas gifts from Coca-Cola began to be sold in packaging with such Santa all over the world.

In 1998, the company broadcasted a commercial with trucks all over the world. Such advertisements simultaneously appeared on the main TV channels in more than 100 countries.

In 1999, the most memorable video was released, where cars drove out of the fireplace to the delight of grandfather and grandson.

The Coca-Cola caravan is not an ad agency idea

In fact, the Coca-Cola caravan did not appear thanks to the W.B. Doner, it was invented by accident by the employees of the company. Moreover, the first time the action started in Russia in 2000, in Krasnoyarsk. It all started casually. The driver of the holiday truck asked where to take the remaining 25 packs of the drink after visiting the outlets. Olga Surotkina, head of the PR department, found the address of the nearest orphanage and sent trucks there.

They drove in unexpectedly in the evening, the pupils were already going to bed. To the joyful shouts of the children: “Coca-Cola has arrived,” the holiday packages were unloaded. Having handed them over to the employees, the drivers turned the caravan into the office.

In 2001, everything was more prepared. The cars are decorated with an LED cord that was purchased from employees’ money. The script was realized in the context of the video “The Holiday Comes to Us”. The drivers were dressed in green elf suits and illuminated with LEDs. The speakers were attached to the cars. The trucks were very beautiful, and a whole volunteer movement started among the Coca-Cola employees.

Trucks looked especially beautiful on the Krasnoyarsk bridge, crossing the Yenisei.

Coca-Cola’s most iconic advertising signs

Coca-Cola, like its employees, can be unique. They are not afraid of experimentation. The largest billboard in the Southern Hemisphere is installed in Sydney. Regarding the status of “the largest”, of course, this is an exaggeration. But Sydney people consider it a landmark of the city, referring to it as the “Coca-Cola Sign or” Coke Sign “. The advertisement was installed in 1974. In Sydney, this outdoor ad was listed as a cultural heritage site.

A huge Coca-Cola sign is located at the corner of William Street and Darlinghurst Road. It is often called the Gateway to the Cross, implying the intersection of streets. The size of outdoor advertising is 41 * 13 m. The sign is made of vertical neon tubes and is illuminated by an additional 800 fluorescent lamps, which are installed behind reflectors capable of “showing” 13 patterns on the billboard.

Coca Cola Shield in China

Sometimes signs and outdoor advertisements become the target of political revenge. This was the case with the Coca-Cola billboard in China. It was installed in 1974 and has been leased since 2004. On April 23, 2008, the billboard became the object of political advertising. A banner was placed on it against China’s actions against Tibet. In 2015, the advertising sign was updated. The difference was that the new outdoor advertising was energy efficient and could change color.

New 3D Shield in New York

A new miracle of the advertising industry appeared in New York, far surpassing the famous bottle of coca in Las Vegas. It is also an interactive billboard that changes not only the image, but also the shape on a vertical plane using retractable cubes. It looks impressive.