Coca-Cola has turned the 100-year anniversary of its contour bottle into one of its most comprehensive marketing campaigns – much of it with packaging in the spotlight.
In February Coca-Cola issued a challenge to artists, designers and illustrators around the world to recreate and reimagine vintage Coca-Cola bottle imagery and iconography using only three colours: Coke Red, black and white. More than 130 artists from 15 countries responded, producing more than 250 pieces for the #MashupCoke project.
Some of these were incorporated into a global ad. Some were collected into The Coca-Cola Bottle: An American Icon at 100 exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta. Some went on the travelling art tour: The Coca-Cola Bottle Art Tour: Inspiring Pop Culture for 100 Years. And some were published in a limited-edition book produced by Assouline.
Now Coke and high-end Italian fashion brand Trussardi have teamed up. This is the first time Coke has allowed a design team to play with the contour bottle. Trussardi has been allowed to reimagine two original Coca-Cola bottles, combining the signature colours of both companies. The special bottles wear brown, gold and red colours, as well as a miniature greyhound symbol and both the Trussardi and Coca-Cola brand names. The bottles are available in a special 330ml version at Milan’s world exposition, currently underway, and at the Café Trussardi by the city’s Piazza della Scala until the fair ends in October. A 250ml version of the bottles will be on sale from August to September at select locations in Sicily.
As well as gaining top-tier fashion associations the limited edition bottles have been given eco-friendly cred. They are made from the new 100 per cent recyclable PlantBottle that's not yet in mass production.
From now until the end of the year three limited edition Coca-Cola Light cans will also wear Trussardi designs. These will be on sale at select distributors and in exclusive restaurants and cafés around Italy. Two of the 330ml cans feature the Trussardi greyhound motif in the colours, with acid green, purple and cherry red. The third can is a shiny gold version of Trussardi’s traditional lizard print. “Elegantly Cool” is written on all of three. 500ml and 1.5 litre bottles of Coca-Cola Light will also get a Trussardi makeover.
Trussardi and Coca-Cola will also launch an integrated marketing campaign in Italy, including social media content and an online photography contest. In Milan, the Trussardi graphics used on the Coca-Cola Light cans will appear in the store windows of the Coin department store in Piazza Cinque Giornate, during its June Trussardi promotion.
