2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Coca-Cola's Real Magic brand platform is focused on spreading universal joy and hope. And at Christmas, Coca-Cola is known for spreading its traditional holiday magic (think traditional Santas) to the world. But as Canada becomes an even more diverse country, many communities, with their own cultural holiday magic, are often overlooked by mainstream holiday celebrations.

The Philippines is the third-largest country of origin for immigrants to Canada. Balikbayan boxes are one of the most prominent symbols of the Filipino diaspora — boxes that are filled with gifts and treats that overseas workers send back to their loved ones. The Balikbayan tradition symbolizes the deep bond between Filipinos living abroad and their families back home.

In both countries, sari-sari stores, small neighborhood retail shops, not only offer everyday goods but also provide regional specialties and serve as social hubs. Unfortunately, both these local businesses and the Balikbayan tradition have suffered in recent years due to the rise of shipping costs, making it challenging to send Balikbayan boxes home.

Coca-Cola knew they could help. Through this, they hoped to deepen their connection with the Filipino community in Toronto during Balikbayan season to move beyond a generic holiday celebration towards culturally relevant moments of joy.

Filipino-Canadians rely on local sari-sari stores as hubs for purchasing and preparing Balikbayan boxes, making these stores the heart of the tradition and a key point of connection.

Put the heart of the Balikbayan tradition at the centre of the idea, recognizing the box and sari-sari stores as a core connection to home, celebrating the community and power of real magic.

Balikbayan represents the power and real magic of connection. The tradition is a testament to the strong ties Filipino-Canadians maintain with their families, communities, and the Filipino culture. Recognizing the role of Sari-Sari stores, their owners, and the challenges they face in keeping the tradition alive, the agency’s strategy centered on supporting them. They believed that by focusing on these authentic connections, they could effectively reach their target audience without the need for media spend.

The execution focused on an earned-media approach, directly connecting with the Filipino community through channels they frequent.

Tita Rosita’s store is one of Canada’s oldest sarisari stores, and was a pioneer in bringing the tradition to Canada ... and is not only a key pillar in the community, but has been keeping the Balikbayan tradition alive. The brand wanted to highlight the real magic of Sari-Sari stores and their role in the tradition by transforming Tita Rosita's Food Market into a giant, eye-catching Balikbayan box, turning it into a landmark and
distribution point.

Free Pre-Paid Balikbayan Boxes provided Sari-Sari store owners with free, custom-branded (Coca-Cola) pre-paid Balikbayan boxes to distribute to customers, alleviating the financial burden of shipping.

The emotional profile video was created and released, highlighting Tita Rosita’s dedication, the importance of Sari-Sari stores, and their role in preserving the Balikbayan tradition.

They actively pursued earned media coverage across Canadian and Filipino media outlets, leveraging the visual impact of the store transformation and the emotional resonance of Tita Rosita's story. The agency also encouraged social sharing of the video and the store transformation, fostering community engagement and amplifying the message.

Strategic planning identified the need to translate the Real Magic platform from a somewhat universal platform without tangible contributions into a powerful platform with the ability to enhance and preserve the real magic that exists within real communities and the traditions within.

Through the strategic research process, the agency discovered the role of the Sari-Sari store as the critical touchpoint within the Balikbayan tradition. By focusing on these stores, the campaign moved beyond a superficial association with the holiday season to address a real need (shipping costs) and celebrate a vital cultural cornerstone. The strategic decision to highlight Tita Rosita and her store provided a human face to the campaign, creating a deeper emotional connection with the target audience.

The campaign delivered impressive results, significantly enhancing Coca-Cola’s brand presence and cultural relevance within the Filipino-Canadian community. It garnered 11 million impressions and 139 PR placements. It achieved widespread media coverage across Canada and the Philippines, enhancing brand visibility. It received 8 million video views and 5.9K social hits while generating remarkable viewership at an efficient cost (one-third of a cent per view).

There was a 257% year-over-year increase in Balikbayan-related brand mentions. It cemented Coca-Cola’s association with the Balikbayan tradition. There was a 4,000% spike in Google searches (Ontario). The campaign demonstrated a significant surge in online interest, with Coca-Cola becoming a prominent part of related searches.

Even more impressive, the agency saw an increase in weekly consumption of Coke products by 33% within the Filipino community (2x the increase to the rest of the general population in Canada).

Credits

Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer, VML
Rafael Pitanguy, Deputy Global Chief Creative Officer, VML
Graham Lang, Chief Creative Officer, VML Canada
Andrew Keller, Global Chief Creative Officer, WPP Open X
Antoine Bécotte, Executive Creative Director, VML Canada
Frank Macera, Executive Creative Director, VML Canada
Sasha Ortega, Associate Creative Director, VML Canada
LB Cooper, Associate Creative Director, VML Canada
Jeremy Lenz, Creative Director, VML Canada
Sucheta Shankar, Associate Creative Director, VML Canada
Coralie Adler, Art Director, VML Canada
Sarah Auclair, Copywriter, VML Canada
Philippe Moderie, Copywriter, VML Canada
Sam Bullis, Design Lead, VML Canada
Jennifer Yoon, Senior Designer, VML Canada
Steve Emmens, SVP, Head of Production, VML Canada
Chris Esguerra, Senior Integrated Producer, VML Canada
Heather Hyland, Senior Broadcast Producer, VML Canada
Chase Cornett, Global Chief Strategy Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, VML
Christine Maw, Chief Strategy Officer, VML Canada
Lizzie Dabous , VP, Strategy, VML Canada
Jeremy Singer , Strategy Director, VML Canada
Stephanie DeCelles, Global Client Lead, The Coca-Cola Company, VML
Emma Toth, Chief Client Officer, VML Canada
Maxime Mercier, Managing Director, VML Canada
Louthiern Bonsart, Managing Director, VML Canada
Camille Joly, Account Director, VML Canada
Gabriel Trépanier, Account Supervisor, VML Canada
Nicolas Laurin, Account Manager, VML Canada
Public Relations Agency, Weber Shandwick
Production Company, MOWAD
Music and Sound Mixing, TA2 Sound+Music
Post Production, School Editing
Manolo Arroyo, Global Chief Marketing Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
Stephanie Eaddy, Senior Director, Multicultural Marketing North America, The Coca-Cola Company
Solange Grimard, Senior Integrated Manager, The Coca-Cola Company
Stephanie Knowles, Integrated Marketing Manager, The Coca-Cola Company