Coca-Cola Campaign

Coca-Cola’s Happiness Machines launched on January 12, 2010. These machines were designed with one goal: to make Coke a symbol of happiness, optimism, and shared human moments.

The first machine was located in Queens, New York, on the campus of St. John’s University. As students approached the machine to buy a Coca-Cola drink, it unexpectedly dispensed additional items. These included flowers, pizza, larger drinks, gifts, and even a 12-foot hoagie. This surprised and delighted the students at the university.

Due to the unexpected nature of the machine, videos soon spread around the internet through social media. A 30-second commercial for the campaign later appeared on American Idol.

This campaign was a collaboration between Coca-Cola and Definition 6. Definition 6 is a marketing agency with many prestigious clients.

Because of the publicity this campaign generated, it was awarded the prestigious Clio Gold Interactive Award. This is one of the greatest honors in the global advertising and marketing industry. Winning this award places the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine campaign among the very best in the world.

The campaign was later brought to the United Kingdom, Brazil, Asia, and several Middle Eastern countries. It is still studied today as one of the greatest examples of guerrilla marketing and digital marketing.

Lessons
1. Keep the message simple
The message of this campaign was straightforward: Coca-Cola is a symbol of happiness. This was the core idea the company shared with audiences worldwide.

2. Be authentic
The videos shared online were unscripted. They were filmed on students’ phones or captured using a hidden camera in the cafeteria at St. John’s University. The reactions shown in the video were authentic.

3. Distribution
Coca-Cola leveraged other people’s social media platforms to distribute the message organically.