2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Coca-Cola has become synonymous with the holiday season since the 1920s, with “The Holidays are Coming” seen as a tell-tale sign that the holiday season has commenced. And since the 1930s, Coca-Cola has stood up for – and celebrated – diversity, equity and inclusion around the world.

With more New Canadians arriving each year, the brand wanted to ensure that their holiday efforts were inclusive and celebrated different traditions beyond those seen in their well-known TV commercials.

Coca-Cola always wants to bring real magic to the everyday lives of people around the world, and connect with them in the most culturally relevant ways possible. In 2023 Coca-Cola wanted to share the message, “The world needs more Santa's”, to encourage increased kindness and empathy throughout the holidays.

Globally, there are two million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), often supporting their families back home; many live in Canada. Often providing care for Canadian families, an unfortunate irony of their job is that OFWs don’t often get to see their own families for years, due to the high cost of returning home and
their job requirements.

Instead, they send care packages back home to show their love, in the form of Balikbayan boxes. In Tagalog, Balik means ‘returning’ and Bayan means ‘nation’.

The boxes are filled with treats, gifts, and clothes to make life easier for families back home – but shipping them is costly. OFWs pay specialist shipping companies for the boxes, packing materials, and shipping to the Philippines, which costs hundreds of dollars.

Coca-Cola saw an opportunity to support these real-life Santa Claus’ in a modern and inclusive way: introducing “Balikbayan Magic”, where the brand would create shipping-paid Balikbayan boxes for the often unseen and unheralded OFWs.

The Coca-Cola Balikbayan boxes were designed symbolically, blending Canadian, Filipino, and holidays iconography.

A documentary film was launched to tell the heartwarming story of a Torontonian OFW and her family’s history of Balikbayan boxes and Filipino culture. With Coca-Cola’s help she could afford to send a Balikbayan box back home.

The agency filmed her story as she packed a custom box and followed its journey back to her family in the Philippines. Her story was featured on both Filipino media and Coca-Cola’s social media channels, and Torontonian OFWs were encouraged to apply for one of the 200 Coca-Cola Balikbayan boxes.

Filipino TV stations in Toronto started to cover the story, and Filipino influencers and Filipino-owned businesses shared the opportunity with their
followers and customers.

Coca-Cola and Canadian-Filipinos then enjoyed a seasonal embrace as the campaign achieved 1 million total earned media impressions and 135 media, news, and social organizations shared the story.

The campaign's social post was the best performing post on Coca-Cola Canada’s Instagram account since 2019 with engagement from the Filipino community– all boxes were distributed and sent.

200 OFWs were helped to feel like Santa and Balikbayan Magic is now becoming a global Coca-Cola program!

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
Frank Macera, Executive Creative Director, VML Canada
Sasha Ortega, ACD, Art Director, VML Canada
LB Cooper, ACD, Copywriter, VML Canada
Sam Bullis, Design LeadVML Canada
Jennifer Yoon, Sr. Designer, VML Canada
Stephanie DeCelles, Global Client Lead, The Coca-Cola Company, VML
Chase Cornett, Global Chief Strategy Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, VML
Emma Toth, Chief Client Officer, VML Canada
Matt Shoom-Kirsch, Chief Operating Officer, VML Canada
Maxime Mercier, Client Engagement, VML Canada
Louthiern Bonsart, Group Account Director, VML Canada
Gabriel Trépanier, Account Supervisor, VML Canada
Janice Bisson, National Head of Production, VML Canada
Heather Hyland, Sr. Broadcast Producer, VML Canada
Andrew O'Driscoll, Digital Illustrator & Retoucher, VML Canada

Production House – Untitled Films
Tyler Williams, Director, Untitled Films
Line Producer, Amanda Campbell, Untitled Films
Jesse Louttit,DOP, Untitled Films
Lexy Kavluk, Executive Producer, Untitled Films

Production - Hot&Fresh
Chris Esguerra, Producer- Hot&Fresh Production

Edit House – School Editing
Daniel Bochenski, Editor, School Editing
Jordan Allen, Assistant Editor, School Editing
Sarah Brooks,Executive Producer, School Editing

Colour – Fort York VFX

Audio – TA2 Sound and Music

Robin Triplett, VP Integrated Marketing Experience, The Coca-Cola Company
Stephanie Eaddy, Group Director, Cultural Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company
Solange Grimard,Sr. Integrated Marketing Manager, The Coca-Cola Company
Mew-Lin Teh, E2E Connections & Media, The Coca-Cola Company

Media - EssenceMediacom

Public Relations Company - Weber Shandwick