Coca-Cola and O&M Shanghai “Friendship Experiment”

The Coca-Cola Company and Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai have joined hands to develop a new art and digital campaign that celebrates a unique approach to “happiness creation.”

 

O&M teamed up with Chinese photographer Kurt Tang, who returned to China after years of living abroad to find a dispiriting sense of isolation and loneliness that afflicts many Chinese living in the country’s major metropolises. Determined to do something about it, Tang walked through the streets of the southern

Chinese city of Guangzhou and invited complete strangers to come together and share a moment of connection in front of his camera lens.

A young cyclist, a grandmother sitting in a park, diners seated at separate tables in a restaurant and many others all became part of the “Friendship Experiment,” in which these chance meetings and potential friendships were captured by Tang and developed into a photography series that exhibited at the Fei Gallery in Guangzhou. In addition to the photo exhibition, the photographs and “making-of” videos are being shared online through Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Network” digital channels and through Chinese social media, including Sina Weibo and Renren.

 

Richard Cotton, Director of Creative Excellence for Coca-Cola China, said, “Capturing on film that initial spark of potential friendship can be very powerful. At its core, the campaign is one photographer, one camera, a couple of Cokes, and people on the street coming together – a fun and meaningful experience that Coca-Cola wants to share as part of our celebration of ‘happiness creators’ in China.”

 

“Coca-Cola’s approach to happiness is unique in that it’s more than just a carbonated beverage, it’s a brand that is able to hit the emotions and aspirations of all Chinese as related to happiness,” said Graham Fink, Chief Creative Officer of O&M China. “So we created an equally unique and nontraditional campaign with a very organic grassroots feel that we hope will turn strangers into friends not only in Guangzhou, but all over the world.”

 

Debuted in Guangzhou, the “Friendship Experiment” is being shared online as of April 22. Subsequent “experiments” are under consideration for Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore.