Filipinos lead the world rankings in most number of hours spent online every day; that’s at least 10 hours daily.

In time for the Philippines’ 121st Independence Day, Coke refreshed the way teens celebrated the holiday by freeing them from something they might not realize holds them captive: social media.

With Coke 121 Minutes of Freedom, Coke urged teens to be aware of their habits and make the decision to limit their screen time. Through this, Coke aimed to help teens make connections offline, and reaffirmed the brand’s presence in teens’ key passion points (music, arts, food, fitness, relationships, etc.)

Coke 121 Minutes of Freedom. Turn off social media, turn on real life.

On June 12, the country’s 121st Independence Day, at exactly 1:21pm, for a total of 121 minutes, Coke challenged teens to celebrate their freedom by turning off social media and turning on real life. No liking, sharing, posting, tweeting—just living.

With partner establishments and influencers, Coke offered teens exciting experiences around the metro: art classes, Independence Day-themed rides, fun activities at the park, free from all distractions.

Filipino teens are very dependent on their screens, so convincing them to spend more time offline was a challenge. They stay online for almost everything: entertainment, news, family and friends, and even schoolwork. Coke found the perfect opportunity to set them “free” by leveraging on a holiday, and used Independence Day to redefine what freedom meant to these teens.

To launch the first-ever Coke 121 Minutes of Freedom, Coke met teens where they already were: online. Teens were introduced to the challenge and were guided step-by-step with how-tos and social media posts. Since teens are very social-oriented, influencers helped rally their followers to invite more people to join, expanding the challenge to groups of friends. To top it off, partner establishments pushed for activities that teens could join in groups, showing them that missing out on a few hours offline could actually get them more out of life.

In preparation for the Philippines’ 121st Independence Day, Coke partnered with influencers and establishments to invite teens all over the metro to join the Coke 121 Minutes of Freedom.

As this happened, news outlets and online publications started the conversation on screen time awareness, and how beneficial it can be to spend time away from our devices. The challenge began to spread online, with efforts coming from the brand, influencers, and even from one friend to another.

Together, everyone counted down to 1:21pm, and as influencers called on their followers to turn off social media, partner establishments encouraged teens to turn on real life with no distractions. Coke set up events at a national park, cycling studios, and arts and crafts stores, where participants were free to wander, learn, chill, ride, and try something new while free from their screens!