Buy the world a hope

What if Coca-Cola committed its to $3bn advertising budget to tackling climate change?

Home » Buy the world a hope

Published: June 25, 2015
This Article was written by: Katie Hill - My Green Pod
climate change

0 Shares

Good Things, an independent group of concerned citizens, has launched a campaign to buy the world a hope.

It’s asking Coca-Cola – the biggest advertiser in history – to channel its advertising budget into doing some good for the planet.

If Coke quit advertising for one year, it would free up a $3bn budget that could protect the rainforests for ever.

Buying power – how global super-brands could change the planet

How Coke can move people

A new era for capitalism

The public pitch from Good Things is an open letter to Muhtar Kent, the global CEO of Coca-Cola. Its aim is to collect supporting signatures and persuade Coke to protect the planet’s future by taking global marketing and capitalism into a new era.

‘Let’s help one of the biggest brands fulfil their true vision and make buying the world a Coke actually mean something.’

Buy the world a hope

This is a simple idea to show how one of the biggest global brands could connect with its roots to tackle one of the biggest global problems. The campaign would boost Coke’s global brand equity, turn passive consumers into loyal followers, increase marketing reach and help save the world.

In short, the campaign is positioning climate change as ‘the ultimate missed marketing opportunity’.

Buy the world a hope

The project takes the dream of happiness and global togetherness envisioned in the world’s first global advert, ‘Buy The World a Coke’ (as recently seen on Mad Men) and shows how it could have a real purpose.

It shows how just one corporation could stand up for the planet and do something incredible; with $450 billion spent globally on media, what could other brands do?

‘Coke’s annual advertising spending equates to $3bn, and their 2020 brand vision is to combine business and planet. So, in a socially connected world that’s more transparent than ever, if Coke wants to truly move with people, perhaps it’s time they put their money where their vision is.

‘What if next year, Coca-Cola produces no advertising at all. What if they spend those $3 billion to help World Land Trusts preserve the rainforests, protecting it for ever. This might just be the most compelling brand story ever told.’

Buy the world a hope

International artists

To ensure the story spreads, the Buy the world a hope campaign is calling on Coca-Cola to harness the popularity of the world’s biggest music stars by adding the campaign’s message to the end of their music videos – every month, for 12 months.

‘In the run-up to this ad-free year, Coke could bring together these international artists to create a remake of the original hilltop add – but this time it would be set on global warming’s front line: in the Amazon. This time it will have a real purpose.’

Buy the world a hope

The facts

The next five years are critical. 80-90% of tropical rainforest systems will be destroyed by 2020 
Rainforests regulate the Earth’s climate, storing 1 trillion tonnes of carbon. That is twice the amount held in the atmosphere
We have lost the equivalent of 50 football pitches of rainforest every minute since 2000 
Every year we lose 7.3 million hectares (50 football pitches every minute) of forest 
In 1950, 15% of the Earth’s land was covered by rainforests. Today (2015) only 6% is covered
Meaningful Brands beat the stock market by 120%
83% of people say they would change what they buy if that brand makes the world a better place

Click here to add your name to the campaign to bring the world a hope.