Coca-Cola Makes Sharing A Truly Personal Experience


share a cokeFew things in this industry are more exhilarating than launch day for a high-profile national campaign. For that very reason, Dave, Alex and I have had June 10 circled on our calendars for almost seven months.

Well, no more waiting — it’s showtime!

The three of us are at Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta today to assist with the Company’s biggest announcement of the year, with several more Ponies back at Fast Horse headquarters providing key support. What’s the big news, you ask?

After successful stints in Australia and throughout Europe, the Share a Coke program has officially arrived in the U.S.

No big deal. Just my name on a Coca-Cola 20-ounce bottle!

No big deal. Just my name on a Coca-Cola 20-ounce bottle!

This summer, Coca-Cola is dropping its iconic script logo from 20-ounce bottles and replacing it with 250 of the most popular names in the U.S. among teens and Millennials. The company is inviting people to find their name and the names of family, friends, colleague or even the names of people they want to know better and open a little extra happiness this summer by sharing a Coke together.

Though we have been working on this project for more than half a year, I still can’t get over the bigness of it all. Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most recognizable brands – maybe the most. Close your eyes and you can see it — the contour bottle, the white ribbon, the brilliant flowing script.

Coca-Cola has achieved brand ubiquity the world over — a feat few others will ever accomplish. Imagine Nike swapping out the Swoosh or Apple trying a different fruit. Imagine Google going monochromatic or Target sans bullseye. Brands — especially big ones — simply don’t do this kind of thing.

But Coca-Cola is, and man, we’re lucky to be a part of it.

Be sure to check out the beverage aisle at grocery and convenience stores this summer, and surprise someone with a Share a Coke bottle bearing their name. Want to know if your name will be on bottles? Just visit shareacoke.com when it goes live later this week.