On 16 February, at a press launch in East London beneath the shadow of the Olympic Stadium, IOC TOP programme partner Coca-Cola unveiled its global London 2012 marketing campaign – ‘Move To The Beat’.
The initiative’s spearhead is a Coca-Cola music release, Anywhere In The World, a track by GRAMMY award winning producer Mark Ronson with lyrics and vocals provided by 2011 Mercury Music Prize nominee Katy B. The anthem will be used across Coca-Cola’s 2012 activation work.
Ronson and Katy B unveiling the track at Coca-Cola’s ambient outdoor art work The Beat Wall. The dramatic Beat Wall is an urban artwork painted by a collective of internationally acclaimed young artists, situated in Hackney, East London. It is 25 metre wide by 10 metre tall and was curated by photorealists Neil Edward, Hadley Ever and Smug.
The Beat Wall is a visualised piece of story-telling. It aims to tell a story about how the sounds of sport and music are fused together and it is symbolic of the Move To The Beat campaign’s ambition to bring teens closer to the Olympic Games and to sport in general. It aims to boost Games excitement and anticipation among teens and harness their passion for music
Its objective is to gain inspiration from London’s musical heritage.
Ronson travelled the world in order to gain inspiration for the anthem and he met young athletes to record the sounds of their sport, before teaming up with chart-topper Katy B to provide the vocals.
At least five athletes perform live beats on the track: Russia’ Kseniya Vdovina ran on a treadmill, GB’s Darius Knight played table tennis, Singapore’s Dayyan Jaffar recreated archery and the USA’s David Oliver cleared hurdles on a raised track, while Mexico’s Maria Espinoza yelled out Taekwondo shouts.
“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 wall’s unveiling coincides with the launch of the Coca Cola ‘Track The Beat’ Facebook app and the Move to the Beat TV ad. The spot is rolling out across Europe and then the rest of the world 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 will be able to discover the beats that feature in the Move to the Beat anthem, download wallpapers and screen savers of imagery from the wall.
They will also see a preview of Mother’s Move to the Beat TVC on Facebook ahead of its broadcast release. The ad was shot amidst a live audience of London teens and features Ronson and Katy B performing alongside some of the star athletes whose sporting sounds are used on the track.
The commercial premieres in the UK during the 2012 Brit Awards on 21 February.
There will also be an accompanying feature-length ‘making of’ style documentary – a 30-minute edit of which is aired on the UK’s Channel 4.
The anthem 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.
Further activation will include in-store displays, out of home advertising, experiential programs, mobile and digital initiatives and builds on the brand’s “Open Happiness” platform.
This main campaign follows in the footsteps of last year’s UK-only ‘Future Flame’ initiative – an integrated advertising campaign celebrating the young people who help make Britain burn brighter by bringing happiness to their local areas through passions such as sport, music and dance, community and the environment.
Led by a TVC which stars young Brit actor Thomas Turgoose running with a flaming torch through rural and urban Britain, inspiring young people he passes to “Nominate a friend and give them the chance to run with the Olympic Torch”.
The objective of this marketing element was to encourage people in the UK to nominate young people doing positive things in their communities, who will be selected by a judging panel which will include music artists, media personalities, community ambassadors and London 2012 hopefuls, to carry the Olympic Flame in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay next summer.
It was supported by cinema, radio and outdoor advertising, on-pack communication, PR, regional experiential events and digital amplification.
Comment
Applicants were encouraged to submit video nominations for those they feel deserved to carry the Olympic Torch – such as the following example:
Sponsorship activation has changed out of all recognition since Coca-Cola first sponsored the Games back in 1928 in Amsterdam.
The soft drinks’ giant is actually the longest continuous backer of the Olympic Games and is a member of the IOC Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme for non-alcoholic beverages and has backed every Games since Amsterdam.
One fairly novel aspect of this campaign is the way the brand encouraged viral spread of pre-launch excitement by losining its grip on campaign creative.
Indeed, in summer 2011 Coca-Cola lifted the lid a little on the creative process of its Olympic work for the first time ever by inviting teens to attend the free Ronson-led gig. Those present were allowed to capture and share photos and videos of the shoot – thus breaking with the advertiser tradition of keeping ads closely under wraps.
Of course, the plan was that these consumer-created and shared experiences would spread virally, create conversations and build pre-launch excitement through the following six months.
“We approached our London 2012 campaign in a bold new way in order to create stories that teens would love and that they would want to share,” said Jonathan Mildenhall, Vice President of Global Advertising Strategy and Content Excellence at The Coca-Cola Company.
“This wasn’t about shooting a television commercial. It was about inspiring teens to move and capturing the story from multiple angles and viewpoints in order to create pieces of film that could be spread across multiple media platforms.”
At the press launch, James Eadie, Olympic portfolio director at Coca-Cola GB, said it had put music at the heart of its 2012 work because music is a fantastic passion for Londoners and teens in particular.
“This is a great opportunity for us, it’s not just about London but about our global campaign that will take music and fuse it with sport in an innovative way that will go out there and engage with teens around the world.”
Links:
Coca-Cola Move To The Beat Facebook Page
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.