Coca-Cola’s Quiet Statement in the Middle East

Erica Gamet

Sometimes you can say a lot with so little. Case in point: über minimalist cans from Coca-Cola. One side of the can has nothing but a field of Coca-Cola red and the unmistakable swoosh—officially known at the “Dynamic Ribbon Device”—synonymous with Coke. The reverse side proclaims, “Labels are for cans, not for people.” Plain and simple, yet extremely bold.


The special cans, part of Coke’s “Let’s Take an Extra Second” campaign, are the creation of Memac Ogilvy in Dubai and have been distributed throughout the Middle East, during month of Ramadan (which concludes this week). Coca-Cola’s campaign is part of a larger Ad Council initiative called “Love Has No Labels.” The Middle East market was a logical fit for such a message of inclusion, being a region of so many nationalities and other often divided and labeled groups.

In addition to the label-less cans, the agency was involved in the creation of a video in which several strangers of varying backgrounds had dinner with and got to know each other—all while sitting in complete darkness. When the lights were turned on, the participants saw that their assumptions about their dinner companions were way off the mark. The can campaign brought Coke’s message of getting to know people and not judging them so quickly to a wider audience than the video alone could. My first thought was, “No company or nutrition information? That would never work here in the U.S.” The lack of information was a concern in the Middle East market, as well. The company was able to avoid any issues by distributing the cans only at events, which gave them even more opportunity to engage with and bring the message to diverse groups of people.