COCA-COLA - OPEN LIKE NEVER BEFORE

Short List
TitleCOCA-COLA - OPEN LIKE NEVER BEFORE
BrandTHE COCA-COLA COMPANY
Product/ServiceCOCA-COLA
Category A01. Direction
Entrant 72ANDSUNNY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation 72ANDSUNNY Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production NEW LAND London, UNITED KINGDOM
Post Production CABIN EDITING COMPANY Santa Monica, USA
Post Production 2 WAVE STUDIOS London, UNITED KINGDOM
Post Production 3 THE SMC GROUP London, UNITED KINGDOM
Post Production 4 GLASSWORKS Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Credits
Name Company Position
Sara Gallego The Coca-Cola Company Head of Projects Content Marketing Manager
Carine Harris The Coca-Cola Company Head of Content Production
Carlo Cavallone 72andSunny Amsterdam Executive Creative Director
Laura Visco 72andSunny Amsterdam Deputy Executive Creative Director
Emiliano Trierveiler 72andSunny Amsterdam Creative Director
Renee Lam 72andSunny Amsterdam Designer
Masaya Kochi 72andSunny Amsterdam Designer
Constanze Bilogan 72andSunny Amsterdam Writer
Sarah Sutton 72andSunny Amsterdam Director of Strategy
Armando Potter 72andSunny Amsterdam Strategy Director
Charlotte Rubesa 72andSunny Amsterdam Comms Strategist
Rob Conibear 72andSunny Amsterdam Group Brand Director
Angelina Joy 72andSunny Amsterdam Brand Director
Marie Henaff 72andSunny Amsterdam Brand Manager
Mauro Sala 72andSunny Amsterdam Brand Coordinator
Jennifer Cursio 72andSunny Amsterdam Executive Producer
Eline Bakker 72andSunny Amsterdam Sr Film Producer
Nili Zadok 72andSunny Amsterdam Sr Producer
Selam Kehishen 72andSunny Amsterdam Business Affairs Director
Gustav Johansson new-land London Director
Indra Herö Wide new-land London Director
Marcus Ibanez new-land London Director
Martin Rudh new-land London Director of Photography
Steve Annis new-land London Director of Photography
Jamie Ramsay new-land London Director of Photography
Trine Pillay new-land London Producer
Mia Tidlund new-land London Producer
Christabelle Stone new-land London Production Manager
Sam Ostrove Cabin Editing Company Editor
Emma Backman Cabin Editing Company Editor
Ed Downham Wave Studios London Sound Designer/Mixer
Parv Thind Wave Studios London Sound Designer/Mixer
Blake Huber Glassworks Amsterdam Lead 2 D Artist
Alexis da Camara Glassworks Amsterdam 2 D Artist
Scott Harris Glassworks Amsterdam Colourist
Jamie McCubbin Glassworks Amsterdam VFX Producer
Anya Kruzmetra Glassworks Amsterdam Chief Operating Officer
Marta Carreras Cancelo The Coca-Cola Company Creative Strategy Director
Walter Susini The Coca-Cola Company Senior Vice-President, Marketing, EMEA

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Through a poem co-written and performed by British artist George The Poet, the anthem film invites us to challenge the so-called new normal, to stay open and bring renewed optimism for the change ahead. To the sound of a rendition of the 1960’s iconic track “San Francisco”, we follow George performing his own words. But as the film progresses, different people join in, young and old, from all walks of life and parts of the globe. Each person makes a part of the poem their own, challenging the old notions of work, family, travelling, body and race awareness, gender, immigration, sexuality and female leadership, all in one continuous, poetic flow. The film ends with George and a last statement of optimism from Coca-Cola: “We’ll weather this storm, so I’ll be open like never before”.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

After a 3-month pause in their advertising and channeling $100 million to COVID relief efforts, Coca-Cola launched its first brand statement with Open Like Never Before. Created and produced during lockdown, the film was shot and finished remotely within 6 weeks and has been launched in over 40 countries, after Coca-Cola and other global companies joined a social-media embargo in response to the spread of racial slur and hate speech online. The poem was co-created with George the Poet, and references a few ongoing social and cultural themes, such as the Saudi Arabian female empowerment movement, the racial equality protests and the rise of female world leaders in times of COVID (as a cameo, it features the photo of George’s grandmother, Joyce Mpanga, a Ugandan politician and activist for women’s rights).

Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction. Do not name the director.

The directorial approach was innovative, shaped around the creative ambition, the scope of the project and the lockdown restrictions. The end goal was to deploy a rhythmic, multi-layered rendition of the poem, a piece performed at the same time by one and by many voices, crossing film genres with cinematic realism. A triad of directors defined the cinematic approach and the narrative centrally, creating a consistent yet broad language, that was then executed in a myriad of formats, from film to found (and borrowed) footage, in dozens of different locations by DOPs and cinematographers in five different countries. The film was directed at the same time on the spot and remotely, in a period of five days and in three time zones, with second units shooting in parallel, aiming to achieve a truly global mosaic but keeping the integrity of each individual story and the power of the words.