Coca-Cola re-launches song lyrics on cans in the US

For its US summer campaign, Coca-Cola is reviving its successful Share a Coke…and a Song campaign. From this month, it will print the lyrics to 70 songs on all its Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coca-Cola Life cans and bottles. The songs cover recent chart-toppers, classic hits and traditional favourites.

“Song lyrics strike an emotional chord in people, capturing what we are feeling while helping us express what we want to say,” said Joe Belliotti, Head of Global Music Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “We’re setting the summer to music to inspire and connect fans through the special moments that are created when they share a Coke.”

The lyrics will cover falling in love (The Way You Love Me, You Belong With Me), celebrating victory (All I Do is Win, We Are The Champions) friendship (Lean On Me), flirtation (It’s Getting Hot In Here), sass (We Never Go Out Of Style) and motivation (I’m Your Biggest Fan).

The campaign also will feature patriotic lyrics (I’m Proud To Be An American, Sweet Land Of Liberty), and those from iconic Coca-Cola and Diet Coke ads, such as I’d Like To Buy The World A Coke and Just For The Taste Of It. The complete list of lyrics featured on packaging will be available at www.ShareaCoke.comfrom April 18.

The website will continue to sell personalised bottles in packaging which customers can use for special events. According to Coca-Cola, this has proven to be popular in the past two years, making it easier for the brand to promote itself as the ultimate drink for social occasions and which plays a large part in their lives.

The company has also included social media in the campaign. Customers can use the Shazam mobile app to scan the lyrics on specially marked Share A Coke 20-ounce bottles. It allows them to record a digital lip-sync video and share their creations on social media with the hashtag #ShareaCoke. A summer-long experiential tour making stops at major music events throughout the country.

Jason Derulo was announced as one of the brand ambassadors for the program.

Radio and TV ads, and live events, will incorporate the artists and songwriters whose songs are used. They will be talking about their song, as well as those which inspired them.

According to a release from Coca-Cola, it has 500 brands worth US$20 billion, which are available in 200 countries and consumed at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day.

However in the US, across-the-board soda consumption has hit a 30-year low after eleven straight years of decline. This is because more Americans are becoming more health conscious and drinking less – either moving away from them or moving to smaller cans and bottles. According to a recent report from Beverage Data, Americans drank 1.2% less soda by volume in 2015, compared to the 0.9% drop in 2014. Pepsi Cola saw consumption drop by 2.3%. But the fruit-flavoured Fanta, which is owned by Coca-Cola, saw US sales up by 8.3%.

It is not helped by the fact that there is a push in America and the UK to put a tax on soda drinks. As a result, soda manufacturers are turning their marketing to emerging and developing markets. These are expected to account for 70% of sales in 2018, up from 55% in 2008, according to The Center For Science In The Public Interest.