Last summer, Coca-Cola took the UK by storm with its “Share a Coke” campaign. Everyone I knew was either obsessed, intrigued, or amused by finding their name on a Coca-Cola bottle. My wonderful niece, knowing that we didn’t have this in the U.S., found three of the four names in my family. She perpetrated Coca-Cola forgery on a fourth. I have to admit, I was far more excited about this than I would expect. I still have the labels, and am just waiting for the right Pinterest project to Modpodge them to.
“Share a Coke” was launched in Australia in 2012 and has since been part of the Coke advertising strategy in 50 countries. This summer, the campaign rolled out in the U.S. I saw my first bottle in our local Subway this morning. Coke has swapped out three of its logos on 20-ounce bottles and replaced them with 250 of the most popular first names among millennials and teens. Larger bottles, such as 1.25- and 2-liters, will brandish names like “Family” and “Friends.” If that’s not your cup of tea, be on the lookout for 12-ounce cans sporting “BFF,” “Grillmaster,” “Bestie,” and “Wingman.”
Of course, this campaign also comes with it’s own hashtag. You can use #ShareaCoke if you want to share your personal Coke story. “For teens and millennials, personalization is not a fad, it’s a way of life,” says Stuart Kronauge, senior vice president of sparkling brands for Coca-Cola North America. “It’s about self-expression, individual storytelling, and staying connected with friends. ‘Share a Coke’ taps into all of those passions.”
The “Share a Coke” cross-country tour, which will feature traveling kiosks, will make 500 stops this summer. Coke drinkers will be able to customize their own Coca-Cola mini-can and a second can for a friend.
So the litmus test of popular names in 2014 will be down to teens and millenials. Did you make the list or will you have to make your own?
I saw a bunch of these when we went to New England last week. The bins are in every Dunkin Donuts and quick stop store. We were laughing how none of the names were common in the states. Maybe they sent over some of the names from other countries? I did find one, my niece’s name, Kelsey, and took a picture of it for her.
We have pretty common names in our family (Michael, Sam, Jacob, Luke, Jeff, Emma, etc) and never found one of those!
Now they have them here in Colorado too but I’ve quit looking through them. 🙂
Geekmom Judy