Burger King Coke Freestyle concepts
Example of a quick-turnaround project where some big, flashy ideas were needed to create a PR spike around Coke Freestyle machines launching at Burger King.
The Coke Freestyle machine allows one to customize their drink with over 100 choices, either on the interactive touch screen or via mobile app. The business challenge was to reassure early-adopter Franchisees of Freestyle’s future success. Our approach was to create ideas that speak to teens, are rooted in pop culture, and are crafted to be irresistible to the Press.
The Process
Brainstorming sessions are one of my greatest strengths. I’ve never been one to fear a blank stack of paper – my process puts rapid ideation first, and circling back to refine and pressure test later. In this project, I led the brainstorming sessions with a large group of creatives borrowed from multiple agency teams – this can be an interesting dynamic, to say the least! My moderation style is to jump in and help others build their ideas just as I would my own. Through great collaboration we had several strong ideas very quickly – the two shown below are the ones I held most closely throughout:
Freestyle Ferrari
It’s as if they’ve bottled cool. It’s red… and loud, it turns even the most jaded of heads. A Ferrari grabs attention without fail. Fun fact: the automotive styling house Pininfarina, who has designed the most iconic cars ever to wear the prancing horse badge, also designed the Coke Freestyle machine. So, the only, er, logical choice is to put a Freestyle into the back of a Ferarri to turn heads across the US!
Ok, so this seems a bit ridiculous- and it is! We did the math and found low-mileage Ferrari FF’s for under $200k. The “shooting brake” body style can accommodate a modified version of the Freestyle machine. Flame-broiled burger, fries, and Coke graphic wrap? Yes, because we can. USA!
The team quickly put together a presentation of 9 diverse ideas, each with varying degrees of “what’s in for” Coke, Burger King, teens, and general PR appeal.
Flavor Twins is the most “Coca-Cola” of all ideas presented, bringing two strangers together to celebrate their differences and discover their similarities.
In the end, this project didn’t move past the concept phase – since the Freestyle machine found quick success.
It did succeed, however, in how it quickly gained support and approval amongst top BK clients. While it’s most satisfying to see a great idea produced, I’m happy to be on the go-to list when big, splashy, on-brand thinking is needed.
(Team credit: Momentum Coke, Amex, William Grant and Sons creative teams, GCD + Zane addition: K. Gosselin, CCO: O. Farhang
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