A brief overview of Coca-Cola's polar bear advertisements

The first advertisement first took shape in France, in 1922. More ads were made
over the next 70 years, in newspapers. However, since the spread of the TV,
Coca-Colabegan showing digital commercials - 27 of them, in 1993. They created
their "Always Coca-Cola" campaign, spreading their logo around
the world. They used new technology to show this, including computer animations

A brief overview of Coca-Cola's polar bear advertisements

When asked to develop an innovative commercial for Coca-Cola,
creator Ken Stewart thought about drinking Coke at the movies. As a puppy,
Mr. Stewart's Labrador Retriever had resembled a polar bear. Mr. Stewart
saw his dog, thought about polar bears and how they would go to the movies,
and the idea for "Northern Lights" was born. In the commercial, the polar
bears watch the aurora borealis (the "movie") and drink from bottles of Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola's first Polar Bear commercial

The Senior Vice President of Advertising at Columbia Pictures, Ken Stewart,
was approached by the head of marketing at his company to design an
innovative commercial for Coca-Cola. He didn't just want to make an
advertisement, he wanted to make a message, and a good feeling that could
be associated with the brand. 15 years and lots of struggling later,
Stewart finally had an idea, stemmed from his dog, who resembled a polar
bear as a puppy. Using the new animation technique and a lot of effort in
collaboration with the design team, he was able to create the first ever
Coca-Cola commercial - capturing good feelings associated with the brand.

The lasting success of Coca-Cola's Polar Bear ads

Stewart created the first modern polar bear commecial, named "Nothern Lights,",
where the bears enjoyed each other's company, watching the aurora borealis,
and drinking Coca-Cola. The commercial had no words, not focusing on
the dialog, but instead the music. The ad was very popular, and thus the
magic of the polar bears became a central part of Coca-Cola's ads, for
the next 25 years.
“I wanted it to be magical. I had no voices in the commercial.” Stewart says,
“My intuition said that as soon as I put words in that bear's mouth it
wouldn't be magical anymore.”

Where has Coca-Cola advertised their Polar Bears?

Polar bears have become a beloved staple in TV commercials! Back in 1994,
they made a big impact during the Olympic Games ads, wowing audiences with
their unexpected skills in sports like luge and ski jumping. But it's that
unforgettable Christmas commercial that really stole hearts. In it, a sweet
family of polar bears, including adorable little cubs, happily picks out the
perfect holiday tree, perfectly capturing the warmth and joy of the season.

Coca-cola's pledge to WWF and Polar bears

The company once released a special campaign with 1.4 billion white cans featuring
adorable polar bears, alongside their usual red ones. It was such a heartwarming sight!
Unfortunately, those special cans have disappeared, and I haven't seen any polar
bear branding since. I don't really understand why they stopped—it was such a beautiful
reminder of these majestic creatures and the need to protect them.

I get that using a polar bear on a product might feel a bit off to some, though. But still,
I can't help but miss those bears. They added a touch of magic to the cans.

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