Marketing History Series: The Nostalgic Pull of Coca-Cola’s Polar Bears
We’ve got a really cute and cuddly feature for this month's Marketing History Series! Well, about as cuddly as you can get with a 800 pound carnivore. Now that winter is in full swing and the holidays are just around the corner, nostalgia is at an all-time high. In terms of branding and marketing, I cannot think of a more nostalgic duo than Coca-Cola and polar bears.
In 1980, art critic and novelist John Berger said, in the industrialized world, “no other source of imagery can begin to compete with that of animals.” Indeed, out of an analysis of 1151 brand characters, over half were animals. While the Toucan Sam’s and Tony the Tigers of the marketing world are fun and entertaining for children, no other mascot pulls at the heartstrings of both young and old and brings about the warm feelings of the holiday season quite like Coca-Cola’s Polar Bears.
The first known use of polar bears in Coca-Cola advertising dates back to a French advert from 1922. In it, a polar bear squirts refreshing Coca-Cola into the mouth of a parched sun. It wasn’t until 70 years later that polar bears became the icon of Coca-Cola as we know them today. In 1993, the beverage company had a marketing overhaul and released perhaps its most seminal campaign, “Always Coca-Cola.” The “Always” campaign consisted of 27 advertisements, but none would have such an impact as the ad, “Northern Lights.”
Just Big Cuddly Dogs
In the iconic ad, a group of polar bears gather around to watch the aurora borealis, like a family sitting down to watch a movie. They all crack a crisp Coca-Cola and sit back to enjoy the show.
“Northern Lights” creator, Ken Stewart, got the idea from thinking about how he would drink Coca-Cola when he would go to the movies. At the time, he also owned a Labrador Retriever puppy who he thought resembled a fluffy polar bear. He put both ideas together, and voila!
Stewart worked with the animation studio Rhythm & Hues to help bring the polar bears to life. Each ad took about 12 weeks to produce from start to finish. They created story boards, rigorously studied the movement and behavior of live polar bears, and employed sculptors to create models that were later rendered in 3D animation software.
Stewart decided to keep the bear's dialogue free to maintain a more realistic and ethereal quality to the ads. The only sounds, where the bears would grunt or show fascination, were made by Stewart himself in his sound studio, and later synthesized to sound more “bear-like.”
"That's really what we were trying to do - create a character that's innocent, fun and reflects the best attributes we like to call 'human'," said Stewart. "The bears are cute, mischievous, playful and filled with fun."
Since the ‘93 debut, the polar bears became exceptionally popular and even earned two spots during the ‘94 Winter Olympic Games.
Coca-Cola & Conservation
As the years went on, Coca-Cola used their iconic bears in advertising campaigns each winter season. It wasn’t until the late aughts to early 2010s, did Coca-Cola take on a more serious message with their advertising.
With the growing understanding of climate change, and films like “An Inconvenient Truth” (2006), showing us what human impact was doing to the environment, Coca-Cola decided it was time to not just employ these animals to make a profit but make a change.
In 2008, polar bears were officially declared a threatened species. With knowledge about melting arctic ice caps, and devastating images of starved polar bears stranded on floating ice slabs, Coca-Cola no longer felt they could continue using polar bears in their advertising without addressing this glaring issue.
In 2012, Coca-Cola launched their “Arctic Home” campaign. They partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to bring awareness to the impact we were having on the bears’ environment. The company released 1.4 billion special edition white cans, and the regular red, featuring polar bears. The campaign generated over $2 million in donations to polar bear conservation.
Coca-Cola has since dropped the white cans and have phased out using polar bears in their campaigns. However, the food & beverage giant is still committed to raising money and awareness to climate change’s impact on the environment. Earlier this year, the company celebrated 14 years of partnership with the WWF.
Coca-Cola is a prime example of how something that started as creative storytelling evolved into a beloved brand hallmark that spanned over three decades. It’s an association recognized the world over, and one that turned from a wholesome holiday staple to a brand mission for the greater good.
