Ogilvy & Mather helps Coca-Cola give new life to used bottles with “2nd Lives” campaign

Ogilvy & Mather China have been breathing new life into used Coca-Cola bottles in Vietnam by freely distributing 40,000 modified bottle tops, which can transform any plastic bottle of coke into one of 16 different tools, giving it a “2nd Life.” The environmental initiative aims to show coke drinkers that their bottles shouldn't just be discarded, but can in fact be quite easily transformed once they've been emptied into a paintbrush, pencil sharpener, bubble-blower, water gun, sauce dispenser, spray bottle and night-light, amongst other ingenious tools and toys.

The environmental initiative aims to show coke drinkers that their bottles shouldn't just be discarded, but can in fact be quite easily transformed

The initiative has been active in Vietnam since March, but there are plans to roll it out to Thailand and Indonesia by the end of the year. It's also been hinted at, however, that the programme has the potential to be rolled out worldwide. Juggi Ramakrishnan, an executive creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, believes the idea  has universal appeal and can therefore be replicated in other markets, beyond Asia." He says that the unique bottle cap tools are “Changing consumers' behaviour and mindsets with an incredibly simple, yet clever, idea.” He says the programme is unique, in that it's not about using high tech capabilities, “Just creative thinking.”

The spot, which promotes the 2nd Lives campaign, shows a forlorn, empty bottle of coke floating in a stream, before asking the question ; “What if empty coke bottles were never thrown away?” And “What if they had a life after coke?” It then shows a family purchasing a bottle of coke and being given one of the 40,000 bespoke 'toolkits', which they then demonstrate. The spot appears to position the programme as an initiative that will not only help give a 2nd life to your empty bottles of coke, but will also bring families together.

Ogilvy & Mather New York have also recently started to roll out a new print campaign, which emphasises the global brand's 'PlantBottle'

Expanding further on the environmentally friendly angle with Coca-Cola, Ogilvy & Mather New York have also recently started to roll out a new print campaign, which emphasises the global brand's 'PlantBottle', a fully recyclable PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottle made partially from plant parts. Coca-Cola first unveiled the PlantBottle packaging in 2009, and they hope to use it in all of its PET products by 2020. The Ogilvy & Mather campaign uses the familiar and iconic red and white colour scheme in an optical illusion that can be viewed either as a white rose, or two faces locked in a passionate kiss. The ads emphasise the fact that “Up to 30%” of the PlantBottle is made from plants, and that it is “100% recyclable.” The design is sleek, clean and minimalist; in many ways, a classic Coca-Cola image.

Official Ogilvy & Mather Website

Official Coca-Cola Website

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. He probably consumes at least a litre of Coke Zero a day and genuinely hopes the 2nd life caps make it to the UK eventually.