Coca-Cola is continuing its Coke Studio run with the release of the first original song to kick off the second season of the Coke Studio global music platform. A new track, “Be Who You Are (Real Magic), written and performed by Grammy winner Jon Batiste, is accompanied by a wildly vibrant music video.
The song and video also features artists NewJeans, J.I.D., Camilo and Cat Burns. The campaign was developed by WPP’s Open X, led by VMLY&R and supported by Ogilvy, EssenceMediacom and Universal Music Group.
The song and video are part of Coca-Cola’s “Real Magic” brand philosophy, which it calls a celebration of real life moments and the magic that happens when people come together, continuing on from its global launch a year ago. The platform promises to be bigger this year, with new artist collision song releases and a program of festival sponsorships, live performances, AR and digital content and on-pack experiences, allowing audiences to discover new music wherever they are in the world, running through September.
The platform will feature nine new multi-artist songs and exclusive Coke Studio sessions from artists around the world, including the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Colombia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, China, Korea and the Philippines.
“I am proud to partner with Coke to share a message of encouragement and humanity with the world through my music,” said Batiste in a statement. “The Coke Studio platform does great at harnessing their global reach to bring artists of different cultures together in celebration of our cultural differences and the ultimate oneness of us all. This is such a non-traditional, innovative approach we’ve taken, and it felt very organic for me to just do my World Music Radio thing.”
In addition to the music, the Coke Studio augmented reality record store will be launching on its digital hub. It will feature an immersive album and mobile digital experience inspired by the “Be Who You Are (Real Magic)” music video. The brand is also sponsoring festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza and one at Tomorrowland Belgium.
“Collaboration is at the heart of this launch bringing together artists from the most different genres and regions of the world on unique creative collisions. We’re honored to be part of a project that creates ‘real magic’ on a global scale,” said Rafael Pitanguy, deputy global chief creative officer, VMLY&R in a statement.
In addition, the campaign will be featured on stage at Cannes Lions on June 21, with Batiste, Shae Gill, Joshua Burke, Kyla Jacobs and Pitanguy.