Coca-Cola: Shades of Red
Coca-Cola wanted to strengthen its relationship with Mexico's small shopkeepers, who represent nearly half of its business. DAVID Madrid was tasked with finding a meaningful way to celebrate this 100-year partnership. The goal was to move beyond traditional B2B loyalty programs and create a campaign that resonated emotionally with both the shop owners and the local communities they serve.
Creative Idea
Turned sun-faded store awnings into a poetic tribute to the brand's long-standing community presence.
Coca-Cola celebrated its century-long bond with Mexican tienditas by replacing 12,700 sun-bleached store awnings, turning the brand's faded, weathered colors into a poetic tribute to the local shops that serve as the heart of every neighborhood.
The Secret Formula That Faded Into Gold
12,700 Awnings as Living History
While most brands obsess over the perfect Pantone 485 C, this campaign embraced the "charming imperfection" of sun-bleached fabric. Coca-Cola replaced 12,700 old awnings (*toldos*) across Mexico at no cost to shop owners. This was a strategic masterstroke in B2B marketing, as these small businesses - including *changarros* and *taquerías* - account for 48% of Coca-Cola’s total business in the country. Internal leadership often refers to the color red as the company’s "second secret formula," and this initiative proved that the brand's identity is so ingrained in the Mexican psyche that it remains unmistakable even when weathered to a pale pink.
A Poetic Farewell to the Streets
The production, led by Pickle Music Madrid and Stink Films Los Angeles, avoided traditional celebrity endorsements. Instead, the hero film featured real-life shopkeepers and was narrated in a documentary style. Pancho Cassis, Global CCO at DAVID, noted that the campaign’s "billboards" were actually the silent witnesses to "a million last rounds" and "thousands of first times." By treating the retirement of these faded fabrics as a transition rather than a disposal, the brand honored the years of service these shops provided to their neighborhoods.
Global Strategy with Local Soul
The campaign’s cultural resonance was a centerpiece of Coca-Cola’s global OOH strategy for 2025. Islam ElDessouky, Global VP of Creative Strategy, emphasized that the awnings symbolize shared moments and community tradition. The project has since been cited as a masterclass in providing tangible utility to retail partners while building massive brand equity through human-centered storytelling.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
An iconic visual identity so recognizable that its signature red remains unmistakable even when sun-bleached and weathered over decades.
Category
Focus on high-gloss brand consistency and polished advertising that often ignores the gritty reality of local retail environments.
Customer
Small shop owners and neighbors who view these awnings as essential community landmarks providing shade and a sense of home.
Culture
The deep cultural significance of tienditas in Mexico, where local shops are the primary social and economic hubs of neighborhoods.
Company
An iconic visual identity so recognizable that its signature red remains unmistakable even when sun-bleached and weathered over decades.
Category
Focus on high-gloss brand consistency and polished advertising that often ignores the gritty reality of local retail environments.
Strategy:
Elevate weathered brand artifacts as proof of enduring partnership to strengthen local community bonds and retail loyalty.
Customer
Small shop owners and neighbors who view these awnings as essential community landmarks providing shade and a sense of home.
Culture
The deep cultural significance of tienditas in Mexico, where local shops are the primary social and economic hubs of neighborhoods.
Strategy:
Elevate weathered brand artifacts as proof of enduring partnership to strengthen local community bonds and retail loyalty.
Results
The campaign successfully replaced 12,700 sun-bleached store awnings across Mexico at no cost to local shop owners, directly supporting the small businesses that account for 48% of Coca-Cola’s total business in the country. It achieved significant industry recognition, ranking #91 in the WARC Creative 100 (2026) and #109 in The Drum’s World Creative Rankings (2026). The initiative was a major award winner, securing 1x Gold (Outdoor) and 2x Bronze (Outdoor/Integrated/Film) at the 2025 Cannes Lions, 2x Bronze at the 2026 Clio Awards, and a Gold in Creativity in B2B at the 2025 London International Awards (LIA). It was also a finalist at The One Show (2026) and Premios JCDecaux (2026).
12,700
Old awnings replaced for local shopkeepers
48%
Contribution of small businesses to Coca-Cola's Mexico revenue
Gold
Cannes Lions 2025 Outdoor Award
Strategy Technique
Make the Invisible Visible
It takes a mundane, overlooked maintenance task - replacing old awnings - and transforms it into a high-visibility celebration of the brand's deep-rooted heritage and its partnership with small business owners.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Celebrate a Symbol
The campaign elevates the humble, sun-faded store awning from a piece of functional signage into a powerful cultural icon representing shelter, community, and the brand's enduring presence in Mexican daily life.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign transforms a routine B2B maintenance task into a poetic narrative by celebrating the 'charming imperfection' of weathered brand assets as symbols of community history.
The visual strategy celebrates the 'second secret formula' of Coca-Cola Red, proving brand recognition persists even through sun-bleached, non-standard Pantone shades.
The poetic narration personifies the awnings as silent witnesses to 'a million last rounds,' elevating a physical utility project into a sentimental tribute.
The documentary-style filming captures the authentic, unpolished textures of Mexican neighborhood life and the vibrant 'shades of red' found in the streets.
The campaign masterfully reframed a logistical infrastructure update as a high-value cultural contribution to the local community and small business owners.
The magic lies in the intersection of Art Direction and Copywriting, where the visual 'fading' of the brand is narratively reframed as a badge of long-term loyalty and shared history.
