Coca-Cola Celebrates Uplifting Refreshment with Striking Film Directed by Henry Scholfield

Coca-Cola today introduced ‘Masterpiece’, a global campaign celebrating the iconic Coca-Cola brand and uplifting refreshment. Representing those moments when people can really dial into their passions and express themselves, the campaign demonstrates how Coca-Cola allows everyone to take any break to the fullest, no holds barred.

Launching with a striking new film and digital content featuring universally recognised artworks by some of the world’s most famous masters, alongside several pieces by emerging artists from across the globe, the creative leverages Coca-Cola’s iconic status and leans into culture in a surprising new way. The campaign launches in Latin America in March, followed by other markets in 2023.

Set in an art gallery and jumping off from the iconic 1962 ‘Large Coca-Cola’ by Andy Warhol we see the totemic, unmistakable Coca-Cola bottle passed from artwork to artwork as an entire universe magically comes together to deliver a moment of refreshment to someone who needs it most.

In a remarkable expression of Coca-Cola’s ability to switch on the magic of any break moment, the bottle moves through the hands of such artistic works as JMW Turner’s ‘The Shipwreck’; Munch’s ‘The Scream’ (re-coloured lithograph); Van Gogh’s ‘Bedroom in Arles’; Hiroshige et al ‘Drum Bridge and “Setting Sun” Hill, Meguro’; finally landing with Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ whose subject deftly opens the bottle and places it next to a student who is in need of some inspiration and refreshing upliftment.

“For over a century, Coca-Cola has built and maintained its iconic status around the world as a symbol of optimism that has refreshed generations. Proudly, and over many decades, we have seen our brand celebrated and reimagined by numerous artists and creators, including most famously by pop-art icon Andy Warhol,” said Pratik Thakar, global head of creative strategy and integrated content for Coca-Cola. “This was the starting point that inspired the new campaign, as we explored how to merge Coca-Cola’s own instantly recognisable identity and reputation for upliftment, with other notable icons from culture.”

As the Coca-Cola bottle passes around the works on display in ‘Masterpiece’, we take in not only some of the most universally recognised art, but also see the diverse brilliance of some of the world’s most exciting emerging creators, showcased by Coca-Cola for the first time on such a significant global platform. These include:

• ‘Divine Idyll’ – Aket, 2022 (Europe)
• ‘You Can’t Curse Me’ – Wonder Buhle, 2022 (Africa)
• ‘The Blow Dryer’ – Fatma Ramadan, 2021 (Middle East)
• ‘Falling in Library’ – Vikram Kushwah, 2012 (India)
• ‘Natural Encounters’ – Stefania Tejada, 2020 (LatAm)

The new 2023 global campaign is designed to further build on Coca-Cola’s credibility in refreshing upliftment, the perfect accomplice to ‘breaks’ – delivering a range of new content and experiences.

“We are excited to connect with Coca-Cola to showcase one of Andy Warhol’s most iconic works alongside some of the world’s most universally loved masterpieces”, said Michael Dayton Hermann, director of licensing, marketing, and sales at The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. “These pieces, paired with works by emerging artists from around the globe, celebrate the inspirational power of visual art through the magical lens of Coca-Cola.”

Along with the new ‘Masterpiece’ film, which will debut in Latin America beginning March, before a phased roll-out in other regions, the campaign also includes a new suite of eight digital collectibles featuring the five emerging artists and three of masters showcased in Masterpiece, launching in April; interviews with the emerging artists housed on a special microsite and OOH billboards.

“We’re super excited to create this integrated and experiential Masterpiece global campaign incorporating cutting edge AI” said Ajab Samrai, global chief creative officer at BLITZWORKS. “Centuries of art movements collide and the great masters from the past and present come to life and work together to provide a refreshing uplift moment just in the nick of time. When you put the right team together, magic happens.”

For more information on all the artworks featured in ‘Masterpiece’, further content, and information, visit the virtual gallery.

The Masterpiece film and content were created by BLITZWORKS, and the film was directed by Henry Scholfield out of Academy films with post-production by Electric Theatre Collective. OpenX/David created the digital OOH concept. The digital collectible collection was created by TAFI & BLITZWORKS.