‘I’ll Rise’: Andra Day, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s Team Up With SHAZAM To Present New Visual-Recognition Technology For Content Distribution

Coca-Cola and McDonald's today launched the Rise Up ESSENCE® Festival program, a first-of-its-kind collaboration featuring Grammy-nominated artist Andra Day and the lyrics of her hit single, "Rise Up" on close to 40 million Coca-Cola cups in select McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S.


The partners are teaming up with Shazam to feature new visual recognition technology for content distribution as an extension of the "Share A Coke and a Song" program that will feature lyrics on the packaging of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coca-Cola Life.

Each cup becomes a portal to an exclusive digital experience where music enthusiasts can scan the specially marked Coca-Cola cups and watch a short film titled I Rise, which features Day and other African-American women sharing the strides they are making in their communities.

Coca-Cola cups at participating McDonald's restaurants will exclusively feature Day’s image and lyrics of her song "Rise Up." When music fans and McDonald's customers purchase

Coca-Cola fountain products at McDonald’s restaurants, they will learn how to enter the

Coca-Cola Rise Up ESSENCE® Fest Sweepstakes* for a chance to see Day perform at the 2016 ESSENCE® Festival in New Orleans, June 30-July 3.

"I am overjoyed to be a part of this program,” said Day. “The reach of Coke and McDonald’s is undeniable, and I'm thrilled these iconic brands are joining forces to inspire local communities through messages of peace and motivation in unique ways. It’s an added bonus that they are using the lyrics to ‘Rise Up’ as a part of those messages."

Day will join media and fans at the McDonald’s in New York’s Times Square today at 3:30pm to offer a first look at the Coke cups with Andra’s face and lyrics. The event will be hosted by WBLS radio personality Shaila Scott from “Middays with Shaila” and feature performances by the Brooklyn United Marching Band and dancers.

The ESSENCE® Festival creates special moments for women to focus on themselves, rejuvenate, and connect with others. During the festival, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s will present exclusive daily performances, celebrity appearances and prize giveaways.

"For this year’s ESSENCE® Festival program, we wanted to captivate the essence of the ESSENCE® audience with a strong and positive message and bring it far beyond the actual event,” said Dan White, vice president, U.S., The McDonald's Division of The Coca-Cola Company. “Andra is perfect. Her song is an incredible modern day empowerment anthem, and bringing it to people in their everyday moments makes it so special. Andra’s lyrics exemplify the mission of this campaign – to empower and connect with our fans. Our desire is to spark a social media discussion for fans to join in and share empowering stories.”

This multimedia collaboration was brought to life by Coca-Cola's music marketing agency partner, Deviant Ventures.