CULTURAL CONTEXT ​

India is a diverse land with 780 languages.

We’ve lost 200 languages over 2 decades and risk losing more in the decades to come.

The reason for this linguistic erosion is the under-representation of languages in pop culture. It primarily features just Hindi due to Bollywood and English due to global influence. Influencers and content creators also majorly use these two languages to have mainstream relevance.

Around the world, pop culture is known to take languages forward, however, in India, pop culture is the main reason for the decline of languages.

Coca-Cola stands for authentically bringing people together and Coke Studio is about helping artists collaborate. With Coke Studio Bharat launching in India, we wanted to add purpose to the kind of collaborations we were bringing, and in doing so gave languages on the verge of being forgotten - a stage!

We created “Sing To Remember”, a project that enabled us to leverage artists, influencers and communities to hack pop culture by making a billion people sing, dance and groove to music in the local languages.

We started with the “Khalasi” song in Gujarati – a language with minimal representation in Indian pop culture.

The timing of the initiative coincided with Navratri, a culturally significant festival in the region where Gujarati is spoken, further amplifying its relevance and resonance. By tapping into the topicality of cultural events, Coke Studio Bharat maximized engagement and connected with audiences on a deeper level.

BACKGROUND

Globally Coke is about bringing people together and Coke Studio has been about giving artists a stage to collaborate.

India, however, is very diverse both culturally and linguistically. Yet, all our traditions and languages are not equally represented in pop culture. It was important for the brand to authentically represent these facets.

With Coke Studio coming back to India after an 8-year hiatus, we needed to reinvent what Coke Studio Bharat would stand for, while still staying true to the brand value of authenticity.

Our objective hence was to make Coke Studio Bharat a stage for India’s unrepresented cultures and languages and build a community that rallies for these languages and makes them a part of pop culture.

THE CREATIVE IDEA

Music has the power to inspire culture and take languages forward.

But this time, we wanted to use music to celebrate and preserve India’s linguistic diversity.

To launch Coke Studio in India after 8 years, we wanted to make it a stage to preserve languages on the verge of being forgotten.

We collaborated with up-and-coming Gujarati language artists, Aditya Gadhvi and Achint Thakkar, to create “Khalasi” - a song that not only entertained but also served as a cultural statement. "Khalasi" beautifully weaved together traditional Gujarati folk elements with hook-step-worthy beats that appealed to both traditionalists and contemporary audiences.

Using influencers, choreographers and singers along with the topicality of Navratri (a 9-day Gujarati Dance Festival), we got a billion people to dance, sing and celebrate in Gujarati – a language otherwise not in focus.

PR STRATEGY

After eight years, Coke Studio was making its long-awaited return to India, and this time, it was more important than ever. We needed to reach not only our loyal fans but also a younger crowd who felt a strong connection to their state's culture.

For these young adults, inclusivity isn't just a trendy idea—it's about recognizing and celebrating their unique experiences and backgrounds. They want to express themselves, see their cultures represented, and keep their languages alive.

Language became a key strategic north star for this year's songs. We made these songs available on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and MOJ - places where young India spends most of its time online. Anyone who wishes to make content was our target audience. The song started being used by creators outside of the art and music world. The song became the backdrop to an entire 9-day dance festival in India.

EXECUTION

The execution of "Khalasi" as a part of Coke Studio Bharat's "Sing To Remember" initiative began with meticulous planning and collaboration with Gujarati artists, Aditya Gadhvi and Achint Thakkar. The timeline spanned several months, from conceptualization to release, with strategic alignment with cultural events like the Navratri dance festival.

Placement involved widespread distribution of the song on various platforms, including digital streaming services, social media channels, and traditional media outlets. It was strategically played at major events, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, further amplifying its reach.

The scale of the execution was vast, with the song garnering over 4.5 billion views within 90 days of its release, topping global viral lists and receiving widespread acclaim. The initiative generated over 11.6 million user-generated pieces of content, showcasing its immense reach and impact. Major publications like the BBC, NDTV, Times Of India carried detailed breakdowns of the song and language.

RESULTS

Sing to Remember" with Khalasi didn't just break the internet—it made history in pop culture, surpassing English and Hindi hits on all the charts.

Becoming the #1 most Shazamed song in India

Holding the #3 Spotify daily viral song (India) for 90 days

#10 Spotify daily top songs (India) for 3 weeks

Globally, it held #8 on the Spotify viral charts for 2 weeks

Khalasi garnered 5 billion+ views and 1 billion+ streams

We generated an estimated $50M in earned PR Value

And even graced the opening ceremony of the ICC World Cup 2023 finals and earned praise from Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi (We can’t put a monetary value to that)

But the true proof of the Doodh Phak (Gujarati pudding) was getting 11.6 Million people to create and post content in Gujarati, proving its cultural significance and cementing its place in the hearts of millions.

The song was spoken about and the Gujarati language was mentioned in all the leading national and regional press in India. These include: BBC, Times of India, Times Now, Republic TV, MSN, IMDb, Economic Times, Free Press Journal, India Today, Indian Express, DNA, Zee and more.

LOCAL CONTEXT​

India’s pop culture is primarily dominated by Hindi due to India’s largest film industry, Bollywood and English due to global influences. As a result, music in regional languages like Gujarati is extremely under-represented and hence is on the decline. So, while the entire country is a market to such regional music, there is hardly any mainstream music in the Gujarati language.

The idea of creating a song in a language that’s on a decline in itself was disrupting the status quo. Furthermore, using music to give such a language a stage and pushing people to Sing To Remember it was a challenge in itself.

Even the theme of the song breaks away from the tropes of pop culture in India that primarily revolve around love and romance, as we talk about breaking away from worldly pleasures to find and discover yourself.