The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign first launched in Australia in 2011, and involved changing the traditional wrapping around the Coca-Cola bottle to say ‘Share a Coke with…’ and a popular name. The purpose of the campaign was to create a more personal relationship with consumers and inspire shared moments of happiness.
In Australia, the top 150 most popular names were printed onto millions of bottles and the campaign was so well-received other countries around the world adopted it with their own unique twists.
For instance, in Israel the country’s largest billboards were turned into interactive signs which greeted its citizens by name, China also printed nicknames on their bottles instead of first names, providing an even more personal alternative.
In 2016 a new variation of the campaign was introduced in the U.S. as the ‘Share a Coke and a Song’ campaign, with popular song lyrics printed on Coke bottles. The campaign was quite popular, earning the most-liked photo on Instagram at the time with Selena Gomez posting a photo for the campaign.
Another version of the campaign was also launched in the U.K. in 2017, with over 75 holiday destinations now printed on the labels as opposed to names or lyrics.