Coca Cola’s #opentobetter

Coca-Cola is in trouble. And the way out is not advertising. Does Coke really think the consumer will drink their way back to a “new normal”?

#opentobetter, a UK-based campaign, aims to “help inspire consumers and help them in their bid to start the year off right.”

What is #opentobetter?

It’s new-package design: they’ve dropped the logo, and now, temporarily, the packs feature a series of “inspiring resolutions” to encourage consumers to reflect on 2020 and look ahead. Limited-edition packs of Coca-Cola Original Taste, Coca-Cola zero sugar and Diet Coke packs will switch from the world famous Coca-Cola logo to messages such as “I will never take my friends for granted”, “I promise to listen more, just for you”, “I will never take us for granted”, and “No more excuses: our idea is happening”.

Bryony Lester, Marketing Manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, explains the new Coca-Cola ‘Open To Better’ campaign: “We have launched the ‘Open’ platform, a campaign highlighting how the world has changed and to appreciate what perhaps was previously taken for granted. In 2021, our ambition is to be ‘Open To Better’ and use the power of our packaging to share resolutions of hope and positivity that we hope fans will enjoy sharing with their friends and family.”

Good luck. (Marcus Rashford, we still love you.)

Advertising would be far more effective if Coke actually went beyond design, and worked to improve the planet, and activated its customers to do the same. See: cross-brand activism.