In a background of simmering racial animosity, Coca-Cola is stepping in as a symbol of connection – Coca-Cola is understood in every language –  while also showing its universal appeal. The new WPP Open X campaign, led by INGO Hamburg, Grey and Ogilvy New York, features real stories of people who overcame language barriers to share a moment over a Coke.

Each story in We All Understand Coca-Cola is written in two languages – one flowing from left to right, the other from right to left – meeting in the middle to form the silhouette of Coca-Cola’s signature contour bottle. The visual device underscores the idea that no matter how different we may seem, common connection is possible and sharing a Coca-Cola is a universal language that we all understand.

The stories include two athletes who take a lunch break after an international swim meet, a foreign exchange student who accidentally parks in a local resident’s private spot, and a group of gamers who play despite language barriers – all of whom come together to share a Coke. The languages featured are Spanish, French and German (written left to right) with Dhivehi, Sindhi and Urdu (written right to left).

We All Understand Coca-Cola is hosted at https://www.cocacolastories.com/ and is running in OOH, print, and digital executions in the UAE, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Pakistan.

Credits:
Client: The Coca-Cola Company
Executive Vice President & Global Chief Marketing Officer: Manolo Arroyo
President ASEAN & South Pacific: Selman Careaga
Global Vice President Creative Strategy & Content: Islam Eldessouky
VP Marketing Eurasia & Middle East: Rafael Prandini
Global Vice President Marketing – Sparkling Portfolio: Hamza Ahmed
Creative Strategy Director: Santiago Cony Etchart
Creative Director: Mostafa Talaat
Senior Consumer & Shopper Content Manager Eurasia & Middle East: Muhammad Asfandyar Khan
Regional brand Director, Eurasia & Middle East: Butool Rivizi
Senior Marketing Director, Eurasia & Middle East: Tarun Sabhlok
Social Strategy Director: Sara Khalifeh

Creative Agency: Ingo
Global Chief Creative Officer: Daniel Fisher
Executive Creative Directors: Nicolás López Bravo & Fernando Montero González
Creative Directors: Tomás O’Gorman & Stephan Kindgren
Art Director: Andrea Lopez-Boado
Copywriter: Anna Breinfalk
Creative Director: David Krueger
Account Director: Amelie Schwall

Creative Agency: Grey Global
Chief Creative Officer: Gabriel Schmitt
Executive Creative Director: Hope Nardini
Creative Partners: Diego Medvedocky & Costanza Rossi
Head of Creative: Maru Sokolowski
Creative Lead: Catrina Ramos
Producer: Emiliano Alvarenga
Designer: Victor Meira
Associate Creative Directors: Jae Who & Dhanush Paramesh
Executive Creative Director: Fizza Shah
Chief Creative Officer: Pablo Maldonado
Creative Director: Khaled Ibrahim
Copywriter: Anant Sankar Kurup

Creative Agency: Ogilvy North America
Global Creative Network Lead: Guillermo Vega
Global Group Creative Directors: Nick Stoner & Nick Howard
Chief Creative Officer EMEA: Dr Stephan Vogel
Design Director: Devin Arden
Artist: Kadeem Dick
Operations: Justin Gitterman & Megan Height
Managing Director NY, Ogilvy Global Brand Lead for The Coca-Cola Company: Jonathan Gibson
Copywriter: Daniyal Talat
Global Chief Creative Officer: Liz Taylor

Music & Sound: Hooked Music
Sound Designers: Jan Finck & Camilo Remolina

The new campaign follows the WPP OpenX campaign led by VML New York, that highlighted Coca-Cola’s place in literature [read: culture].