The Art of Lip-Smacking: Meet the Man who Makes you Crave Coca-Cola

“I was thirteen when I worked out how to freeze liquid with a flash gun in my parents’ garage”, explains Martin, matter-of-factly. “And, if you positioned an anglepoise lamp just right, you could get the light shining off bottles in the most beautiful way”. 

For some creatives, their true skills and passions are only discovered later in life, perhaps after years of trial-and-error experimentation. For Martin Wonnacott, photographer, director, and founder of the boutique production house cake-factory, that was patently not the case. As a bright-eyed teenager, he’d regularly find a nook in the family garage in which to experiment with what was essentially an amateur form of product photography - playing with lighting, framing, and composition for bottles found in his childhood kitchen. It’s only logical, then, that Martin would go on to become the go-to photographer for one of the world’s most iconic drink brands: Coca-Cola. 

Above: Looking through the images Martin forged as a teenager, there’s every sign in the world that a career in product photography awaited him. 

If you’ve ever glanced at a Coca-Cola billboard and found yourself confronting an irresistible craving for a sip of the sparkling brown nectar, there’s a good chance that Martin is to blame. Over the years, he’s put together countless tests, imagery, and campaigns for the brand which - as well as netting Martin awards at Cannes and beyond - have served as the perfect springboard into his other creative endeavors. 

“People often ask about how we get the product looking quite so appealing, whether it’s the condensation on the bottle, or the fizz and crispness of the actual drink itself”, he says. “But my response is always that we just shoot the product. There’s obviously more to it than that, but there is this brilliant authenticity in the fact that the can you’re holding in your hand is, most often, exactly the same as the one on the billboard you’ve just seen”. 

Since Martin first started working with Coca-Cola in 2004, he’s also gone beyond still images in his work for the beverage giant. As a director, his work in the moving image ranks among some of the most lip-smacking ads you’re ever likely to see. 

Above: If you can make it to the end of this brilliantly-shot ad without cracking open a bottle of your own, congratulations. Still images from this shoot ran as a global campaign, picking up both Gold and Bronze Cannes Lions, plus a Gold Clio amongst many other awards. 

Zooming out to look at the big picture, however, it’s fascinating how Martin’s iconic campaigns with Coca-Cola have inspired and informed his work more broadly. Not content with resting on his creative laurels, he’s also shot for brands including Bud Light, Jonnie Walker, and Tanquery amongst countless others - and co-founded cake-factory, a ‘creatively obsessed’ production company that represents world-class directors. Perhaps ironically for a man who’s mastered the still image, Martin himself has rarely if ever stood still. 

And, amidst an industry landscape seemingly hooked on an endless stream of images both moving and static, Martin’s long-earned expertise might well have found its perfect moment. As he reflects on what he’s learned so far, he offers a fascinating insight into the heart of why brands and audiences alike will never get enough of beautiful imagery. 

The Bigger Picture

“When I first started out, I can remember people telling me that photography was ‘dead’”, recalls Martin. “I don’t think you’ll meet anyone who says that now”. 

Undoubtedly, video represents an enormous part of the media landscape in 2022. The success of ‘snackable’ video content on apps like TikTok over the past few years are testament to that. At the same time, however, audiences’ desire to engage with still imagery remains resolute. “I think the controversy that happened recently with Instagram was really instructive, in a way”, suggests Martin. “Here you had one of the world’s biggest social media platforms attempting to lean away from static images and into moving images - but people haven’t been on board with that”.

For Martin, much as has been the case in his own career, the rise of video content need not coincide with a diminished appetite for great still imagery. “In simple terms, there will always be a beauty in looking at beautiful imagery”, he says. “I think we are naturally attracted to moving imagery, in a sort of instinctive and primal way. But when absolutely everything is moving, it becomes overwhelming. There’s a need for an alternative”.

Interestingly, that plays into other visual trends that are popping up in 2022 - perhaps most notably including a demand for nostalgic aesthetics. “I don’t think that pining for nostalgia is a purely modern thing, by any means, but it is interesting how popular that aesthetic is at a time where we’re more visually swamped than ever before”, notes Martin. “People are reacting well to calm, subtle, and visually satisfying imagery. It’s interesting how, at the start of my career, I loved playing with gadgets on-set and adding layers to every photo I shot. But now, the zeitgeist is much more focused on cleaner, simpler imagery”. 

Whether in still or moving imagery, it’s notable to see how that instinct towards ‘satisfying’ visuals is present throughout Martin’s work. Take, for example, a campaign for Antica Formula Vermouth featuring the singer/songwriter Renée Neufville. 

Above: The experience of watching Martin’s work for Antica Formula Vermouth is arguably just as smooth as the product itself. 

With the way the camera lingers so satisfyingly over beautifully-framed angles of the drink sitting atop the piano, it’s easy to see the influence of Martin’s head-turning work in photography. 

Fittingly, Martin’s appreciation for slowing down time and making the most of each moment extends to his on-set habits. “I think I’m quite fortunate that, early on in my career, I worked with a great creative named Clifford Borlase who taught me the value of a cup of tea on-set”, he says. “It can get chaotic during a shoot - it’s kind of a joke at my own expense at this point, but I’ll always carry around a tea set when I’m on the job”. 

Above: Stopping for a sip of tea is a helpful - and perhaps uniquely British - habit for Martin whilst on set.

“It just grounds you for a moment - stops you flying away and brings a blanket of normality to whatever you’re doing”, he explains. 

That thoughtful, grounded approach to creativity is also something that Martin has brought into the DNA of cake-factory. “Although we have been developing the director roster, it’s still our focus to remain boutique and we’re never going to take on tonnes”, he says. “The advantage of that is that you’ll know what you’re getting when you work with us, and it’s a thread which runs through all the work we put out”.

Whatever the future may hold, there’s little doubt that a thoughtful and deliberate approach to creativity will stand the test of time. For all the much-exaggerated proclamations of photography’s ‘death’ around the start of the century, Martin’s success in that category, alongside his work in film, stands as proof of the enduring power of a beautiful image. And now, looking to the future, cake-factory stands ready to cement that legacy even further.