We’ve been on a fast march toward complete self-absorption for the last 15 years or so, hastened most recently by the miracle of the digital press. Earlier this month it was American school yearbooks packed with custom photos and covers tailored to each child. Now the UK is getting personalized bottles of Coke – both of these miracles brought to us by HP’s Indigo presses.
The “Share a Coke with…” campaign will see the famous logo replaced by one of 150 different names most common in Great Britain. The idea is to encourage people to buy a bottle with the name of a friend or loved one, and give it to them to enjoy as they guzzle a bottle emblazoned with their own name. (Oddly, the names are not in the iconic Coca-Cola typeface.) The campaign is modeled after a similar one the company ran in Australia.
As a marketing move, it’s beautiful and an inspired use of the digital press’ most powerful asset – variable-data printing. (Heaven help us, it even makes us *gulp* want to buy a Coke.)
