Brands with iconic, recognizable logos rarely do anything to alter them, nor do they let vendors disrupt the logo’s integrity. Since 75% of people recognize a brand by its logo, Coca-Cola and WPP’s dedicated Open X team felt safe taking the logo and crushing it to celebrate recycling.
As one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands on the planet, but one that is cognizant of its need to recycle its cans and bottles, Coca-Cola worked with Open X Ogilvy New York to inspire people to make recycling part of their daily experience with the brand.
The global OOH campaign, “Recycle Me” initially launched in Latin America and is currently running on numerous OOH and DOOH sites in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, as well as in print advertising and on social channels. It will be rolling out in other markets over time.
The images and films depict the Coca-Cola logo after a can has been crushed during the recycling process. This call to action, taken right from the side of the can, is designed to put recycling front of mind and encourage the consumer to take positive action after consuming a can of Coke.
The effort was led by Open X with the idea stemming from Ogilvy New York. Guillermo Vega, global creative network lead at Ogilvy said that Ogilvy’s ethos of “Borderless Creativity” fits perfectly with how WPP Open X delivers for The Coca-Cola Company, which is to leverage the agency’s diverse range of talent, perspectives and skillsets globally to develop ideas that create impact.
“In this case, we put out several briefs for Coca-Cola Trademark to Ogilvy’s global network before our annual global creative meeting earlier this year, and this idea came from the Ogilvy New York team,” said Vega, who added that the brief centered on celebrating the iconic nature of the Coca-Cola brand and its trademark red in a captivating and meaningful way. The twisting idea stood out because of its design, craft and simplicity.
“Part of what makes the Coca-Cola brand one of the most recognizable in the world is its logo and packaging, and this campaign taps into those powerful assets,” said Vega.
The effort supports Coca-Cola’s “World Without Waste” strategy, promoting the idea that sustainability is a collective responsibility and to encouraging recycling on a mass scale.
“We recognized that there was a unique opportunity to leverage an aspect of the product itself, the ‘Recycle Me’ call to action that is on the side of every can, Samira Ansari, chief creative officer of Ogilvy New York told ADWEEK. “The logo is usually one of the elements that are untouchable, so imagine asking a client to crush their logo—but when you realize that even after all the different ways we crushed it, the logo was still recognizable, creating a unique opportunity. “We are so appreciative of our brave clients for supporting and championing creativity in all its forms—even crushed ones.”
Ansari said that the agency used a range of techniques to mimic the various ways people can crush a can, including industrial presses, air compressors, and a number of other techniques.
“Then we extracted the logos from those crushed cans for each piece of creative. What is unique about this campaign is that each execution uses a distinct version of a crushed can,” added Ansari.
An OOH placement for the crushed Coca-Cola label in Argentina.
Even famed marketer Fernando Machado got in on the brand love, stating on his LinkedIn page, “One of the best things I’ve seen from Coke in a very long time. Simple and beautiful.”