Coca-Cola turns strangers into friends

Coca-Cola has joined hands with Chinese photographer Kurt Tang to invite complete strangers in Guangzhou to be friends in front of his camera lens.Dubbed “Friendship Experiment”, the campaign by Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai will see these photos displayed in an exhibition in a gallery in Guangzhou; they, along with the “making of” videos will be shared in an online gallery and through Coca-Cola’s Happiness Network on YouTube and through Chinese social media channels like Sina Weibo and Renren.Richard Cotton, director of creative excellence for Coca-Cola, said the campaign is a part of the global “happiness creator” push.“Capturing on film that initial spark of potential friendship can be very powerful. At its core, the campaign is one photographer, one camera, a couple of Cokes, and people on the street coming together – a fun and meaningful experience that Coca-Cola wants to share as part of our celebration of ‘happiness creators’ in China.”“Coca-Cola is a brand that is able to hit the emotions and aspirations of all Chinese as related to happiness,” said Graham Fink, chief creative officer of O&M China. “So we created an equally unique and nontraditional campaign with a very organic grassroots feel that we hope will turn strangers into friends not only in Guangzhou, but all over the world.”Subsequent “experiments” are under consideration for Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.