Coca-Cola Celebrates Forgotten Christmas Birthdays with 'Merry Birthday' Activation

In a magical and disruptive stunt, Coca-Cola joined forces with an entire city to throw a huge surprise birthday celebration just a few days before Christmas as the final hurrah of the brand's 2023 Christmas creative platform 'The World Needs More Santa's'.

'Merry Birthday' stems from the idea that folks with birthdays during the holiday season – especially those close to Christmas Day – often don’t get the celebration they deserve. The activation is designed to transform the millions of birthdays overshadowed by Christmas into the stars of the season and invite the world to celebrate them together.

One lucky local born on 22nd December, Olivia Houssiaux, became the unexpected star of Christmas when Coca-Cola took over her hometown of Cascais, Portugal to throw a birthday celebration she will never forget. The secret operation featured 600 local residents spread throughout the city centre, moonlighting as shoppers, vendors, and members of the public, to appear as if it were a normal day and not arouse any suspicion, before culminating in the ultimate surprise birthday party. Olivia was surprised with family and old and new friends to celebrate with – something she doesn’t usually get to experience due to the time of year.

Under the direction of Pedro Varela from Blanche, a Portuguese Golden Globe, more than 15 cameras were hidden to expertly capture the emotional reaction of the resident. Coca-Cola invited the world to participate by tuning into the live broadcast on its social channels and encouraged people to share their happy birthday wishes on social using #MerryBirthday.

Developed and produced in collaboration with WPP Open X led by AKQA and supported by Ogilvy PR, 'Merry Birthday' is the final activation of Coca-Cola's four-phased global Christmas campaign 'The World Needs More Santa's' that included a brand new TVC, digital ‘Find Your Inner Santa’ quiz, two Christmas short films and AI card generator. Celebrating the spirit of goodwill and generosity in us all, it aims to transform this brand belief into a real-life experience, with hundreds embodying Santa through small acts of kindness.

Islam ElDessouky, global head of creative strategy and content for Coca-Cola, adds, “If your birthday falls during the holiday season, it might feel like the whole world has forgotten about it. Your friends are busy, your presents get mixed up with Christmas gifts under the tree, and your birthday cake might take on the sweet disguise of a yule log with candles. Amongst all the Christmas noise, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the unsung birthdays of the season. Our 'Merry Birthday' campaign is a fun playful activation that embodies the ethos of 'The World Need More Santa's' with an act of generosity and kindness encouraging the spirit of Santa in all.”