Open For Summer: New Coca-Cola Initiative Welcomes America’s Favorite Season With A Splash

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  • Collectible cans, fresh advertising and dozens of high-profile partners highlight largest ever Coca-Cola summer program
  • Company sets goal to get 3 million people active this summer
  • Prizes every hour, exclusive deals and a host of special events and experiences will help millions enjoy the best of summer
  • Enter to Win VIP trips to the “iHeartRadio Coca-Cola Open For Summer Kick Off Concert” with Trace Adkins and the “iHeartRadio Live Coca-Cola Summer Concert Series” featuring artists including Of Monsters and Men and Jason DeRulo

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The signs of summer are unmistakable. Pool covers are off and the sunscreen is on. School is out and short sleeves are in. Convertible tops are down and spirits are up. And coolers everywhere are full of Coca-Cola on ice.

This summer, when you open a Coke, you’ll open all the goodness the season has to offer. From beaches, barbeques and concerts to ballparks, theme parks and national parks, Coca-Cola will open opportunities for fun and celebration all season long.

Dozens of high-profile partners will offer hot prizes, cool experiences and special deals as part of Coca-Cola’s Open For Summer campaign. The Company’s largest summer initiative to date will help families get out and get active, with a focus on the season’s most beloved pastimes.

“There’s nothing quite like an ice-cold Coke on a hot day, and we’ll be there every step of the way as people enjoy the very best of summer,” said Stuart Kronauge, General Manager, Sparkling Beverages, Coca-Cola North America Group. “We’ve assembled an unprecedented list of partners to help families make the most of the season.”

MyCokeRewards.com/summer will be the hub for summertime fun, with giveaways every hour, every day through Labor Day -- and prizes being awarded range from tickets, gift cards and premium items to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Among the exciting options up for grabs are:

  • Trips for four (including airfare, hotel transportation and spending money) to some of America’s favorite theme parks
  • VIP golf trips for two to Pinehurst and Pebble Beach
  • Weekend fishing trip for two with a professional angler
  • Trip to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and a 160 MPH ride-along in a real stock car
  • VIP concert getaways
  • Movie tickets for a year

Prize giveaways are offered through exclusive Coca-Cola Open For Summer partnerships with a variety of iconic brands. They include AMC Theatres, Bass Pro Shops, Busch Gardens, Carmike Cinemas and Cedar Fair Amusement Parks -- including Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's Soak City. Also participating are Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, Coppertone, Delta Airlines, Hilton HHonorsTM, Holiday Inn® Resort, SeaWorld, McDonald’s, NASCAR, the PGA of America, Sheraton® Hotels and Resorts, Six Flags, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Universal Orlando® Resort, Universal Studios HollywoodSM and more.

Online at CokeSummer.com, visitors can view an interactive film that features iconic summer moments. They can also open video that reveal related content and offers. The experience inspires fans to capture their #BestSummerMoment and share photos of those moments via social media. Coca-Cola will be celebrating these fan-shared moments in a unique way throughout the summer, both on the CokeSummer.com site and on its own social channels.

Get the Ball Rolling

Complementing “Coca-Cola Open For Summer,” the Company has set a goal to inspire 3 million people to get active this season. The initiative, “Get the Ball Rolling,” encourages millions across America to rediscover the joy of being active through a variety of Coca-Cola sponsored activities and events. Every summer weekend – starting June 21, the first day of summer, to Labor Day, September 2 – Coca-Cola will award one Shine™ activity tracker by Misfit every hour from sunrise to sunset Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) to a lucky individual through MyCokeRewards.com. This elegant device allows users to track activities, such as swimming and biking, while syncing with their smartphones.

Special Packaging

Limited-edition Coca-Cola packaging will appear on store shelves in May, just in time for the start of summer. Six different designs depicting iconic images of summer’s most celebrated pastimes – including food, wave, sports, travel, entertainment and outdoors – will be featured. Cans, outer packaging and specially marked 12-pack and 20- and 24-can packs will feature unique codes that unlock rewards at www.mcr.com/summer.

Advertising

Open For Summer advertising, including television, digital, out-of-home and mobile, will showcase the joy and celebration of everyone’s favorite season. A new TV spot showcasing a montage of moments synonymous with summertime, will debut during the finale of “American Idol” (May 15-16 on FOX). Open For Summer ads also will appear across social and digital platforms such as AOL and Facebook. Coca-Cola worked with Wieden+Kennedy in Portland, Ore., to develop the creative, which is part of the brand’s Open Happiness global marketing campaign.

Open For Summer Kickoff Concert

Coca-Cola will drop the green flag on summer this Memorial Day weekend with a special event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, home of NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600. The iHeartRadio Coca-Cola Open For Summer Kickoff Concert, a free event for all Coca-Cola 600 ticketholders, will be headlined by country music star Trace Adkins. Josh Thompson will open the show, which will include appearances by Coca-Cola Racing Family members. The iHeartRadio Coca-Cola Open For Summer Concert featuring Trace Adkins will stream across more than 100 Clear Channel Mainstream Country stations nationwide. The 60-minute Memorial Day special broadcast event on Monday, May 27, also will air on iHeartRadio's Country Road Radio at 12 p.m. EDT.

The long-term partnership with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment also will include the iHeartRadio Live Coca-Cola Summer Concert Series. The series will feature intimate performances with artists such as Of Monsters and Men and Jason Derulo at the iHeartRadio Theater in New York City. Open For Summer content will be showcased across Clear Channel’s radio stations and websites nationwide. Local DJs will amplify the campaign and give listeners a chance to win a VIP experience at one of the iHeartRadio Live Coca-Cola Summer Concerts.

Coca-Cola and iHeartRadio, Clear Channel's industry-leading digital music platform, will begin a co-branded integrated national cinema advertising campaign across AMC, Regal, Carmike, Cinemark and independent theatres. The co-branded spots will celebrate the partnership, encourage downloads of iHeartRadio and amplify the “Open For Summer” campaign. Additionally, a Coke branded digital-only custom station will launch this summer on iHeartRadio. It is available across all major platforms including web, mobile, tablets, automotive, television and gaming devices.

Experiential

The Coca-Cola Swelter Stopper is an award-winning mobile marketing unit that will cool things down at more than 100 events throughout the summer. Expected to host approximately 500,000 people, it features an ice bar with a "perfect serve" Coca-Cola sampling experience. Blasts of frosty air will provide refreshing relief from the summertime heat and a DJ will crank up the volume. Visitors can also enjoy interactive gaming, a video studio and photo station. To encourage people to get outside and enjoy active fun, Coca-Cola is giving away 100,000 soccer balls and fitness activity trackers at Swelter Stopper locations and other events and celebrations all summer.

Coca-Cola Happiness Trucks will also be rolling into town at a series of dancing and activity events across the country. The interactive vehicles will inspire people to get on their feet and move to the beat of some of the hottest music. People will also have the opportunity to sample mini-cans of Coca-Cola.

America is Your Park

Coca-Cola is also encouraging families to be active this summer on behalf of their favorite national, state and local parks. Through the America Is Your Park campaign, kicking off this June, people can turn fitness activities into votes for parks to win recreation grants.

For 127 years Coca-Cola has brought people and communities together. Today, that tradition continues through the Company’s support of programs to promote energy balance and encourage active, healthy living. Through collaborative partnerships and programs, Coca-Cola is delivering more beverage choices, calorie information and physical activity opportunities than ever before. To learn more visit www.coke.com/comingtogether.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 16 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo or check out our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com.

About Misfit Wearables

Misfit invents and manufactures wearable sensing devices that inspire people be more active and develop healthy habits. Misfit’s first product, the Shine, is an elegant wireless personal activity tracker that you can wear anywhere on your body, using different accessories, and because of its sleek all-metal construction, can be worn to any occasion: a black tie event, the office, or a friend's birthday party. Simply tap Shine and a halo of lights appear to tell you how close you are to completing your personal daily activity goal. Carved out of a solid block of aircraft grade aluminum, it was built to last a lifetime and is water-resistant for swimming. www.misfitwearables.com/shine

The Coca-Cola Company
Kerry Tressler, 404-676-3676
ketressler@coca-cola.com

Source: The Coca-Cola Company

Released May 14, 2013