The family-run pub, that enduring institution of British social life, is getting a turn in the advertising spotlight from a company that knows something about being a fixture in the culture.
Coca-Cola has introduced a campaign in Britain that celebrates independently owned hospitality businesses — the neighborhood restaurants, the corner cafes, the pubs that have been pouring pints and, presumably, the occasional Coke for generations. The effort arrives at a moment when such establishments face what might charitably be called headwinds: rising costs, shifting consumer habits and the general uncertainty that has become the background music of the hospitality trade.
(Nearly six in 10 industry respondents, according to recent surveys, expect conditions to worsen over the next six months. One imagines the remaining four are either optimists or have stopped reading the surveys.)
The campaign represents something of a strategic pivot for Coca-Cola's British marketing, which has more typically featured the grand gesture — the polar bears, the global unity spots, the advertisements that seem to take place in a world where everyone is perpetually on the verge of breaking into song. Here, the company is making a quieter case: that its products belong in the fabric of local commerce, poured by people whose names are known to their customers.
For Coca-Cola, which has been in Britain since before most of those family businesses opened their doors, the effort is also a reminder that the beverage giant's fortunes remain tied, in no small part, to the establishments that keep its products in the cooler. When the pub thrives, so does the soft drink sold alongside the ale.
Whether sentiment can move the needle for struggling proprietors is another question. But Coca-Cola has always understood that advertising is as much about association as persuasion.
The family pub, at least, will take the company it can get.
Original story published in adage.com: "Coca-Cola spotlights Britain’s family-run hospitality businesses in new ads - Ad Age"