The story behind the Coke “Name Campaign”

Coca-Cola has always been one of the kings when it comes to effective and innovative marketing and advertising. But recently the “name campaign”, that sees the names of people printed onto their cans and bottles, has been not only effective and innovative but quite ingenious.

The South African campaign was inspired by a similar “Share a Coke” campaign that took place in Australia, but bringing this idea to fruition in South Africa – the rainbow nation with much more diversity than other countries – proved to be a gigantic and difficult task but not one that was impossible.

Coke, being brilliant at what they do, used algorithms to work out what the most popular names amongst South Africans were. And because their largest consumer and target market is teenagers, they approached the Department of Home Affairs for lists of names of people born between 1994 and 2000. After receiving those names, the real task of narrowing them down based on language, gender and region began. They needed a wide range of names that would appeal to the masses.

Whereas Australia used only 10 themes on their cans and bottles, the South African brand strategists set themselves the ambitious goal of 150. With help from a printing investor investing in their digital printing equipment, Coke managed to pull it off. So that now when you open a fridge in the supermarket, or wherever, to grab a can of Coke, there are various random names as opposed to one name repeated several times.

The company also went on tour with their vending machines around the country, with some still being carried out in other provinces, so consumers could get their own personalized cans if they didn’t happen to find their name already. There is also a facility on their website to create virtual personalized cans.

Coca Cola has always set themselves apart from other brands, especially their biggest competitor Pepsi, and based their advertising and marketing on wholesome values and relationships. With this personalized campaign, they have managed to draw closer to their South African consumers than ever before definitely making sure their success is only going to grow.

Brad Pitt for Chanel No. 5

Celebrity has always been the answer to great advertising, whether it is good or not, simply because putting the face of a star on a brand makes the product that much more desirable. Chanel’s decision to use Brad Pitt for their new Chanel No. 5 campaign is nothing short of creative genius. Its innovation is simply proved by using a man for one of the most prominent female fragrances in the world.

The ads themselves are not good and Brad has received a lot of backlash for them. They consist of nonsensical ravings about the journeys of life and love and Brad ends up looking awkward reciting a monologue it is clear he doesn’t quite understand. But it manages to somehow work. Brad Pitt – with that husky badboy voice, etched in black and white – will sell the fragrance simply because it is Brad Pitt with his husky badboy voice filmed in black and white.

The ads are shot by Oscar-nominated director Joe Wright but it fails to live up to the standards that Chanel has managed to keep alive for all these years. But search for Brad Pitt on YouTube and the first search result will be the Chanel No. 5 ads – so people are talking and watching and it is “inevitable” – as Brad inexplicably ends the ad by saying – that the fragrance will sell.

Rihanna for Armani

Rihanna’s look changes as quickly as her hairstyles do but she never loses her sex-appeal or allure no matter what trend she sports or sets. And her lingerie advertising campaign for Armani was voted the sexiest set of 2011 so it’s no surprise to see her back showing off the latest line.

Rihanna is taking her second stab at being the brand’s face and body and is looking as seductive as ever. The singer showed off a cropped blonde look in her first campaign but she has gone dark for the new adverts. Her figure is something to be envied and admired as she looks as good in the Armani jeans as she does in the underwear.

Her latest album, Unapologetic, is in stores now and the 23-year-old is sure to not disappoint especially with the success of her latest single Diamonds.

The Cover-Up

Humans, especially women, are always in the constant pursuit of beauty. And with the invention of makeup and cosmetics, many women are arriving at the destination of their pursuit.

There have been countless studies in which participants rate the attractiveness of faces, which has led researchers to conclude that beauty could be distilled to a mathematical formula -- we appreciate symmetrical faces, in which the nose is so many millimeters from the eyes, in which the lips are in the right spot between the nose and the chin. Makeup, then, researchers believe, is a way to highlight and amplify female features and youth.

Using makeup may be subliminal ways that women demonstrate their gender and their youth to potential partners. All of these cosmetics may be an evolutionary urge to show off our most feminine traits so that we can attain a universal beauty ideal.

Of course, while we might be born with innate beauty standards, beauty ideals are shaped by external forces such as advertising and pop culture. Would we care so much about the shape of our eyebrows if we didn't see certain starlets or models rake in millions for their appearances?