By adding the pronunciation to people’s names, a Coke can became much more than an acknowledgement of identity – it became a teacher, a change maker. The work is relevant to Direct because wherever there was a Coke can there was an opportunity to learn, or at the very least, to just try. A Coca-Cola can became an invitation to say a name without fear. A Coke can became a way to bridge language divides, an education tool and a symbol of cultural pride.

It’s been 25 years since apartheid was dismantled. Our country now recognises 11 official languages. But the truth is: We still can’t say each other’s names.

The original ‘Share A Coke’ campaign that put people’s names on cans was a global success. We were asked to reignite the campaign. Because of our past, we knew that a campaign about names should aim to bring South Africans together. We wanted to open up conversations about identity that we’ve always swept under the rug. With a budget of $4 million, we needed to make this countrywide summer campaign one of the most successful to date and steady brand love in a rapidly declining market.

In 2018, Coca-Cola added the phonetics of each name from all the different cultures and languages to our cans - teaching South Africans to greet each other, by name, correctly.

The big idea: Coca-Cola introduces South Africa to South Africa.

To ensure total inclusivity, we consulted with The Department of Home Affairs to gather data on South Africa’s most popular names per region based on all 11 languages. Working with linguistic professors and writers, we developed a simple, non-academic phonetic system.

We made sure that wherever there was a Coke can, there was an opportunity to learn. And with the message, “Share a Coke with Me”, everyday South Africans shared their name pronunciations and invited others to do the same.

The target audience was ALL South Africans who experience the residual effects of racial segregation, as well as youth aged between 13-19. Our secondary market focused on young adults aged 20-29.

It was important for us that a campaign about language and identity reached all parts of South Africa. Every element of the campaign began with the can, and was designed to be a learning opportunity – from radio to activations, to our web series and Out of Home. Soapies (or telenovela) culture is massive in South Africa. We even got some of SA’s biggest soap operas to include the phonetic cans into their storylines.

Via the small media space of a Coke can, all South Africans could finally learn to say each other’s names correctly.

For a campaign about social cohesion and respect, we wanted to feature everyday South Africans and cast for names, not faces. We began a nationwide casting and those people were part of over 30 pieces of TV and online content, and were featured in over 400 outdoor sites across the country. Radio told stories about name mispronunciations, while highlighting the interesting differences in our languages. Our langauages have complex ‘click’ sounds. These were broken down in entertaining Sound Guides online. People with the most difficult names took over a national radio station for the day. And, by telling a vending machine your name, you could get your own personalised can. “Share a Coke with me”, invited South Africans to get out of their comfort zones and to try to say each other’s names.

With only $4m total spend over 3 months we did the impossible:

-158% increase in brand love (during 3-month campaign period), in a context of declining love in the soda category.

-27% increase in consumption of Coke Zero (which was the hero pack during our campaign).

-5.4% overall Coca-Cola volume growth, compared with the same period in the previous year. This, in a country with over 90% penetration.

-3.2 billion impressions – engagement up by 195% compared to same period in previous year where a global-adapt campaign was flighted.

(For a deeper dive into results, kindly consult the section marked “Confidential Info for Jury”)

AmaCreatives – an organisation that highlights African Creativity in all mediums and platforms - had this to say about the campaign, “Coca-Cola gives power back to the people of South Africa.” “This is what we call a CREATIVE MZABALAZO!!” (creative revolution).