I have seen the future and it is in coffee
Well not exactly, but just roll with me on this one for a minute. I'm not a coffee devotee by any stretch of the imagination (although, I have been partial to imbibe on a Starbucks café latte every now and again) and I'm afraid to say I don't possess any insider Intel into the coffee industry. So, then (I hear you ask), what do you mean when you say, 'the future is in coffee'.
You may have seen it (The guy in the Laundrette or Laundromat drying his All Stars and draws inspiration for an impromptu jam session when he is joined by a group of like-minded peers.
The methodology behind such a bold proclamation came to me as I lay prostrate chowing down on pretzels, watching yet another box set (Titans on Netflix) when I decided to do some channel hopping and stumbled across an advert for Nescafe Azera. You may have seen it (The guy in the Laundrette or Laundromat drying his All Stars and draws inspiration for an impromptu jam session when he is joined by a group of like-minded peers.
The vision for this campaign came from two prominent Advertising agencies Publicis and CBA whose brief was to, “bring both the visual identity and differentiation together and communicate [that] together?”. Granted, this isn't a novel approach to advertising, which, essentially has a remit to appeal to as many relevant people as possible. And the term relevant may be applied extremely liberally in some cases.
Some of you may be familiar with the 'Hilltop' commercial ran by Coke in the early 1970's with the brain-searingly cheesy lyrics, 'I like to buy the world a Coke?'
During the time of lockdown in the UK, Budweiser had the ingenious idea to re-incarnate one of their original campaigns from the last century to give it a modern twist. You know the advert…alright, “Whassup????” Ring any bells? Even, James Corden got in on the act with his own take on this modern classic. Since 1999 (when the original Budweiser commercial was aired in the USA) there have been a plethora of adverts that have come along and shaped our collective conscience.
Some of you may be familiar with the 'Hilltop' commercial ran by Coke in the early 1970's with the brain-searingly cheesy lyrics, 'I like to buy the world a Coke?' Not a problem, if you have just shy of five and half trillion pounds under the mattress. The advert boasted an array of people from all walks of life and varying ages singing in unison on top of a hill. Simple, yet incredibly effective as a means of inclusion – not just socially, but commercially. This was a generational shift from previous generations which prided itself on isolating cultural groups from being associated with their products.
What these adverts succeed in, is creating a verisimilitude in a modern-day context, which is normalising our differences and using this as a lever to bring us closer together as a global community.
Who wouldn't have wanted to be a part of the Coke movement back then? Come to think of it, there was a somewhat cultish feel about the whole thing and I've never been able to shake the words of the song – to this day. Nearly half a century on from this iconic reference point in advertising history, the use of multiculturalism to appeal to a broader spectrum of consumers has become a prominent place point for all sorts of campaigns from alcohol to zombies with fresh breath (and everything between).
What these adverts succeed in, is creating a verisimilitude in a modern-day context, which is normalising our differences and using this as a lever to bring us closer together as a global community. As we are all too familiar with the various forms of social unrest and injustices that have become international movements for change and equality amongst marginalised groups, we are reminded (with the aid of these 30 second snippets) that life can be better than our preconceptions when we choose to coexist in harmony.
My hope is in these adverts finding that special place in our hearts and minds and can go some way into shaping how we live together - in the present and the future.