Share a Coke

Why it works

The campaign where the medium was the can. In the Australian summer of 2011, Coca-Cola replaced its own logo — the most protected asset in branding — with the 150 most popular first names, inviting people to find themselves and their friends on a bottle. A country of 23 million bought more than 250 million named packs; young-adult consumption rose 7%; and the hunt for names became self-sustaining social content years before 'user-generated' was a plan. The idea rolled out to more than 80 markets and is credited with reversing a decade-long consumption decline in the US. It is studied for personalization at mass-production scale, for the courage of surrendering the logo, and as packaging's greatest proof that the product itself can be the campaign.