Most consider the Philippines as a country that has embraced the LGBT community. The Philippines has a transgender beauty queen, a lesbian rockstar, a gay box office king, among others.

But beyond entertainment, the Philippines has yet to truly accept the LGBT community as equal members of society. The Philippine’s Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) Bill against LGBT discrimination remains stalled due to heated public and political debate.

Since diversity and inclusivity are values that are intrinsic to Coca-Cola, the brand strives to be a champion for these values and hopes to bring this message to the local community in the Philippines.

For brands, product labels are sacred intellectual properties. More so for a brand like Coca-Cola which has been known for its red iconic label for 70 years. To everyone, red is synonymous to Coca-Cola. Since its introduction in 1948, the Coca-Cola red has transformed from being just a color to a means for the brand to communicate its promise of happiness.

For the Philippine Pride March, Coca-Cola transformed its most valuable trademark, altering its iconic red label to include the other colors of the rainbow. Beyond delivering its message of inclusivity, Coca-Cola turned its label into a simple wearable accessory that let people show support and take up the cause of equality for the LGBT community. Coca-Cola gave up their label, so that the LGBT community can proudly wear theirs.

Coca-Cola wanted to use the Pride March as a platform to target not only LGBT individuals but also their allies and the wider local community.

The yearly Pride March is a venue to create public awareness and support for equal rights for the LGBT community. Starting with only 60 participants in 1994, the 2018 Philippine Pride March was expected to have 25,000 participants, the largest in Southeast Asia. The Pride March was identified as the best opportunity for Coca-Cola to not only communicate and deliver its message of diversity and inclusivity, but to allow consumers to come together and show their support for the legislation that will help bring equality for all.

The rainbow labels were meant to be shared on social media to amplify our message or be worn as an actual band during the Pride March itself.

The Coca-Cola logo was redesigned to show the different colors of the rainbow. This was printed as labels on Coca-Cola bottles which were distributed to Pride March participants and to online influencers, for them to show support for the LGBT community. The Coca-Cola label was designed so that it could be removed from the bottle and be worn as bands or bracelets on the day of the march. A total of 1,000 bottles were produced.

LED out-of-home placements were mounted on Metro Manila’s main highway, greeting the Pride March attendees on route to their destination.

Coca-Cola captured the thoughts and feelings of participants, resulting in a video that allowed the message of love, diversity, and inclusion to reach the wider community online. The video was released on the same day on Facebook, extending the event and celebration to others who were not able to make it to the march itself.

Beyond event sponsors, Coca-Cola was the only brand to stand proudly with the LGBT community on the day that mattered most to them. Coca-Cola shedding its label to promote inclusivity and diversity got heard, shared, and talked about across the Philippines and the region.

2,586,366 people reached, with a tenth of the average budget spent.

USD 30,840 earned media value translating to 543% ROI for the brand.

62.4% positive brand sentiment, 517% increase in positive sentiment for the month.

LGBT community leaders and allies shared their approval for the rainbow labels, creating public clamor for the limited-edition bottles.

Local and regional publications took notice.

As the world’s biggest beverage company, Coca-Cola has turned itself into a visible force supporting the LGBT community. For the first time ever, the Philippine SOGIE Bill against LGBT discrimination was placed in the Senate agenda, as a topic for open discussion.