Whether or not the Geico caveman will make it in primetime this fall remains to be seen. But the workers inside Coca Cola’s Happiness Factory, whom audiences first met in 2006 in a TV spot, have become movie stars. Earlier this month, “Happiness Factory–The Movie” was unveiled at an online global premiere event in virtual world Second Life, kicking off phase two of the “Coke Side of Life” campaign.
In the original TV spot, directed by Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick of Psyop, New York, via Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam, audiences were taken deep inside a Coca-Cola vending machine, revealing a magical, fantasy world replete with whimsical animated characters all dedicated to dispensing a cold cool bottle of Coke.
In the movie, available at http://www.coca-cola.com/HF/index.jsp and again helmed by Mueller and Matulick via W+K Amsterdam, it is just another happy day in the Happiness Factory. The Chinoinks are busily dispensing Coke, the Cappers are capping and the Kissy Puppies are spreading love around the factory when suddenly disaster strikes. The alarm bells ring, the red light flashes and the unthinkable happens–the “Happiness Factory” runs out of Coke.
The movie shows the adventures of a heroic factory worker as he embarks on a quest to replenish the Coke, putting the happiness back in the “Happiness Factory” to get it up and running again.
Watching the three-and-a-half-minute film at the exclusive online gala event was an international crowd of nearly 100 avatars dressed in red carpet fashions, including singer Avril Lavigne and reporters from more than 16 countries worldwide.
Marc Mathieu, senior VP, global brand marketing and creative excellence, The Coca-Cola Company, and host of the premiere event said, “Everything about this campaign takes its lead from the entertainment industry–from the movie-style trailers to the authentically designed movie posters to the promotional packaging. It was only fitting that for our launch we chose a full-fledged movie ‘premiere’.”
Since launching in 2006, the original “Happiness Factory” has gone on to become the highest rated global spot The Coca-Cola Company has ever tested. Now airing in more than 100 countries, the ad has received numerous advertising industry accolades, winning a Silver Lion at the 2007 Cannes advertising awards, the Grand Prix Gold Prize at the 2006 Epica Awards and most recently a nomination for a primetime commercial Emmy in the United States.
The launch of the sequel marks the next phase in the award-winning “Coke Side of Life” campaign, which is continuing to drive Coca-Cola trademark brands to perform at their best globally in nearly a decade.
Mathieu added, “In ‘Happiness Factory–The Movie’, the iconic Coca-Cola contour bottle and the enduring mystery of the brand’s secret formula, come together to create a great piece of entertainment for the audience and an effective way for us to express the values of the Coca-Cola brand. We hope that our consumers will have fun with the campaign and think it is a sequel worth waiting for.”
The campaign also includes 30- and 60- second trailers, movie-inspired poster ads, promotional packaging, character licensing and interactive digital elements. “Happiness Factory–The Movie” was produced by W+K Amsterdam using “state-of-the-art” animation techniques and a team of more than 50 3-D animators from PSYOP.
Mindy Kaling and Kate Hudson Take On Pro Basketball In Netflix Series “Running Point”
In Mindy Kaling's new Netflix series, "Running Point, " Kate Hudson stars as Isla Gordon, the new president of the Los Angeles Waves, a pro basketball team that's been run by her family for years. Hudson's character has to prove herself as a woman in a man's world not only to her passed-over brothers, but also to players whose egos need checking and other executives who don't take her seriously.
If Isla's story rings a bell, take a look at the list of executive producers on the 10-episode season dropping Thursday: Among them is Jeanie Buss, the president of the Los Angeles Lakers, who was embroiled in similar turmoil over control of the storied NBA franchise after the death of her father, Jerry Buss.
Buss not only has given the show her blessing, it was her idea said Kaling. Buss was a big fan of "The Office" and approached Kaling with the premise about five years ago. Kaling ended up as the co-creator, writer and executive producer alongside Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen.
"She's in a very serious, stressful job but she loves comedy. She does not take herself seriously," Kaling says of Buss. "That's really rare when someone has that much power and that much to lose."
Jeanie Buss' blessing
In fact, Kaling said, Buss wanted the show to be funny and had "no ego" about using her real life as inspiration.
"She's had some extremely interesting things happen to her as the president of the Lakers. Some of it is she literally dated the coach for many years and she's like, 'Do whatever you want,'" Kaling says, referring to Buss' former relationship with Phil Jackson. "To get that kind of carte blanche, I'd never heard that from someone who is so famous and, you know, pretty private."
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