Mark Ronson and Katy B today unveiled a giant urban artwork in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium, East London, to launch the Coca-Cola Move to the Beat™ campaign in 11 European Markets

LONDON, Feb. 16, 2012 - The Beat Wall tells the story of how the sounds of sport and music were fused together by GRAMMY award winning producer Mark Ronson, with lyrics and vocals provided by 2011 Mercury Music Prize nominee Katy B. Together they created the Coca-Cola song, Anywhere in the World (the song for the Coca-Cola Olympic Games campaign) which is part of Move to the Beat ™, the global teen focused Coca-Cola campaign that celebrates the beat of London 2012.

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The ambition of Move to the Beat ™ is to bring teens closer to the Olympic Games and to sport in general. Harnessing teens' passion for music, and drawing inspiration from London's musical heritage, the campaign fuses London music with Olympic sport to connect young people to London 2012.

The dramatic Beat Wall, an urban artwork painted by a collective of internationally acclaimed young artists, marks the launch of the Move to the Beat ™ campaign in 11 markets in Europe*. Situated in Hackney, East London, the 25 meter wide by 10 meter tall artwork was created by photorealists Neil Edward, Hadley Ever and Sam Bates .

"Move to the Beat™ is all about getting teens excited about London 2012 by tapping into their passion for music and fusing it with sport," said Mark Ronson. "The Beat Wall uses urban culture to excite and engage teens and is a really cool way of inspiring teens to get involved with the London 2012 Olympic Games."

The Beat Wall is a visual dramatization of the Move to the Beat™ campaign, portraying how Ronson travelled the world gaining inspiration for the song and meeting young athletes to record the sounds of their sport, before teaming up with chart-topper Katy B to provide the vocals. The Move to the Beat ™ campaign is the first time the Coca-Cola brand has activated the Olympic Games on such a scale outside of the host country.

The unveiling of the Beat Wall marks the launch of the Coca-Cola Track the Beat Facebook app and the Move to the Beat™ television commercial which launches across Europe and the globe to engage teens with the spirit of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Track the Beat actively engages teens by encouraging them to 'collect beats' through Facebook to gain access to exclusive content and prizes. Teens using Track the Beat, available at www.facebook.com/coca-cola, will be able to discover the beats that feature in the Move to the Beat™ song, download wall papers and screen savers of imagery from the wall, and will be given a preview to the Move to the Beat ™ television commercial on Facebook ahead of its broadcast release.

Move to the Beat ™ is brought to life through the television commercial which will be broadcast globally and features the song itself. Revealed online today, the ad was filmed in front of a live festival-style audience of London teens and sees Mark Ronson and Katy B performing alongside some of the international athletes whose sporting sounds have been used to provide the beat of the track. The creation of the song was also captured in a feature-length documentary. The song will provide the soundtrack for mobile and digital platforms and Coca-Cola events during the London 2012 Olympic Games while also being available to buy as a single later this year.

"As the longest continuous supporter of the Olympic Games Movement, our ambition at Coca-Cola is to bring teens closer to the Games and to sport in general," said Sanjay Guha, Marketing and Olympic Games Director for North West Europe & Nordics. "The Move to the Beat ™ campaign is all about bringing the Olympic Games to life in a way that engages a teen audience, bringing the social side of the Olympic Games to teens everywhere by tapping into their passion for sport and music live online and providing access to fantastic content via Track the Beat."

For further information, please contact M&C Saatchi on behalf of Coca-Cola:

North West Europe and the Nordics
Minnie Copping: +44 20 7543 4581, minnie.copping@mcsaatchi.com
Helen Yiend: +44 20 7544 3795, helen.yiend@mcsaatchi.com

Notes to editors

The artwork is painted on White Post Lane, London, E9 5EN, overlooked by the Olympic Stadium. It will be on display until mid-March.

The athletes whose sounds form the beat of the track and whose images appear on the wall, are:

  • Darius Knight, 21, table tennis player from Great Britain
  • David Oliver, 29, 110m hurdler from the United States
  • Kseniya Vdovina, 24, 400m sprinter from Russia
  • Dayyan Jaffar, 17, archer from Singapore
  • Maria Espinoza, 23, taekwondo athlete from Mexico

*The 11 European markets are: Great Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland.

The Coca-Cola Beat Wall content avalible to media

Embed codes for video content will be provided to media by Coca-Cola market press offices. Movie files can also be sent to media directly

Content available
Images from creation of Coca-Cola Beat Wall
Photo call images from 16 th February launch (available via Getty images)
Video News Release of launch event
B-Roll of launch event
The making of the Coca-Cola Beat Wall 60 second film

About the Move to the Beat™ television commercial

  • The television commercial -- available in 30 and 60 second edits -- is part of Coca-Cola's fully integrated global marketing campaign for London 2012, designed to reach teenage consumers through in-store displays, out of home advertising, experiential programs, mobile activations and digital initiatives. The commercial builds on Coca-Cola's existing "Open Happiness" brand platform.
  • The Move to the Beat™ television commercial, was created by Mother London, and will begin to air in multiple countries around the world from early 2012 leading up to and during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees. For more information, please visit http://www.coca-colacompany.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo.

Coca-Cola, Open Happiness and Move to the Beat are trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. 

©The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola, Open Happiness, Move to the Beat and The Contour Bottle Symbol are trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company.