June 28th, 1969 marked the date for a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York. The events that occurred during the early hours of that morning is widely considered to be one of the most important events that led to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United States. Now, June is the month to commemorate the Stonewall riots and to recognize the impact LGBTQ people have had on society. The Pride movement continues throughout the world, including Brazil.
Despite being one of the most forward countries in Latin America for LGBTQ rights, Brazil still faces some social challenges.
Essa Coca e Fanta. A translation from Portuguese to English, that means, “that Coke is a Fanta”. To my untrained ears, I would have never guessed that this was a derogatory slur. Yet, it is widely used to discriminate against the Brazilian LGBTQ community. But Coca-Cola and the agency behind the campaign, David, took this as an opportunity to subvert the meaning and turned it right on its head.
It was a simple, but powerful message: Instead of putting Coca-Cola soda into a Coca-Cola can, it was replaced with Fanta soda with the label, “This Coke is a Fanta. So what?”
The campaign exploded. During their Pride Parade, Essa Coca e Fanta donned on hand-made costumes, signs, and banners as the community marched proud. A total of 2 billion media impressions were made across all platforms including television and social media. Best of all, not a single penny was spent on media coverage. Now, Coke’s brand is associated to a symbol of pride and empowerment to fight against prejudice in Brazil.
Amazing work to David and Coca-Cola on this powerful campaign. Historically, alienating your fans has never been a successful endeavor, especially now. This simple, yet effective campaign demonstrates what the exact opposite can do for your company.
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