Holidays Are Coming – Now in its ninth year Coca-Cola’s Christmas Truck Tour has brought The Original Taste of Christmas to approximately 1.5 million visitors.
This year will see the return of Coca-Cola’s Christmas merchandise cart, where all proceeds will be donated to the Coca-Cola charity partner, St. Vincent de Paul. Also, for the first time, each Truck Tour stop will feature Christmas stalls where two local vendors will have bespoke Coca-Cola Christmas gifts available, along with their own handmade goods for visitors to purchase for friends and family. For more information on specific Truck Tour stops, visit www.coke.ie/trucktour.
The iconic Holidays Are Coming TV ad aired for the first time on Sunday, November 24th and featured the same great, nostalgic music and visuals that people know and love. Coca-Cola is also launching a new global advert, ‘Accepting Santa’ this year, which aims to remind us that there is more that unites us than divides us and will launch in Ireland in December.
This year’s media plan is the biggest yet and will feature TV, out-of-home, live OB’s around the country and include take overs of digital screens and spaces in Dublin Airport, Dundrum Shopping Centre and Heuston Train Station. Coca-Cola, a brand so synonymous with Christmas, once again is a title sponsor of Christmas FM, bringing you the magic of Christmas through the airwaves all December long.
2019’s campaign will also feature a range of exciting partnerships and activations to add new sparkle to the classic creative, including the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas branding wrapped on 8 Air Coaches running through Dublin. There will be an official Holidays are Coming Christmas countdown timer on the Dundrum digital screen as well as other screen takeovers around the city, including St. Stephen’s Green during the month of December. In addition, a specially created Snapchat lens and influencer partnerships will drive social engagement at each Truck Tour stop location. 7 high profile Coca-Cola influencers from across the island of Ireland will host special giveaways on their Instagram pages in the seven days leading up to Christmas, creating a virtual advent calendar for fans to follow.
Coca-Cola will also help people across Ireland to welcome home the loved ones that mean the most this festive season through a partnership with Today FM. From the 10th of December Christmas fans will be encouraged to create a personalised Welcome Home message for that special someone who they can’t wait to see. You can create your own personalised message to be displayed in Dublin Airport and you can also share a live countdown clock on Whatsapp or your social channels to when your friend or family member will arrive home! Listen to Today FM every day from 5pm – 6pm for the Coca-Cola Holidays are Coming segment to be in with a chance to win a prize valued at €1,200.
Petre Sandru, Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland said: “We are delighted to be spreading the Christmas spirit across the island of Ireland with the return of our iconic truck along with our other local Christmas campaign activity. This year we have added new partnerships, activity and festive moments that we hope our existing fans and new ones will love just as much as we do”.
Holidays are also coming early for the unsung heroes who take on the role of a designated driver over the festive period with Coca-Cola encouraging people across the island of Ireland to stay sober and ensure loved ones and friends get home safely. Two free soft drinks from the Coca-Cola range will be available to designated drivers throughout the month of December in participating venues nationwide. To spread the important message of road safety, TV Presenter and Author James Kavanagh and Radio DJ Melissa Riddell will also take on the role of designated driver throughout the season.
This year Coca-Cola will reward designated drivers by providing three allocated parking spots at the St Stephen’s Green Q-Park in Dublin and Victoria Square in Belfast. Available each weekend in December, designated drivers simply need to present themselves to security hubs at the Q-Park stations to benefit from parking free-of-charge when on a night out.
Finally, there is limited edition Coca-Cola packaging on packs of Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Diet Coke; available in stores nationwide for the Christmas period! Christmas fans can also get involved on facebook.com/cocacolaireland, on Twitter @cocacolaie, or join the conversation using #HolidaysAreComing.
