‘Heat Happens’: Sprite launches first-ever global brand platform and refreshes visual identity

Think of the last time you had to wait in a seemingly endless line, lost your Wi-Fi connection during a key scene in your favorite show, or took a chance on that extra-spicy dish. Did you surrender to the heat, or keep your cool? Sprite’s new global campaign was developed by WPP’s Open X, with creative lead by Ogilvy Asia.

In a world that’s more heated than ever, Sprite is offering a light-hearted reminder to stay cool in its first-ever global platform launching this week. “Heat Happens” invites fans to step back and enjoy a hit of refreshment with Sprite when faced with unavoidable, and potentially annoying, moments that are part of the fabric of daily life.

“Many things create ‘heat’ around us… it’s inevitable,” said Shrenik Dasani, Global Brand Director, Sprite. “‘Heat Happens’ shows that cooler heads always prevail. Whether its mental heat in the shape of unwanted interruptions, or the physical heat of a sweaty commute, our hectic daily schedules leave us constantly searching for ways to keep our cool. We believe that adding a human layer of understanding and dash of comedic value, as well as a sip of ice-cold Sprite, can help diffuse potentially triggering situations.”

Influencer engagement, topical social media activation, out-of-home, films and other creative executions will offer humorous-yet-authentic takes on how innocent conversations and innocuous scenarios can escalate quickly. The “Heat Hacks” on-pack reward program enables fans to scan a code for ways to beat the heat of everyday life, whether at home or on the go. “Heat Happens” will roll out in 2022 across North America, Greater China, India, Africa, Europe, A-South Pacific, Korea, the Middle East and Latin America.

“In a world more heated than ever before, we feel the time has come to launch the first unified platform and visual identity on Sprite, to provide a consistent consumer experience around the world, introduce a new younger audience to the brand, engaging them in moments of physical or mental heat throughout their day, and offer them exciting experiences by tapping into passion points like music,” Dasani added.

Selwyn Low, Creative Director, Sparkling Flavors Category, Greater China & Mongolia, said: “The idea behind Heat Happens is rooted in the fact that there is simply nothing you can do about the heat, whether is it the scorching sun or the seething frustration inside. What we can do, however, is not lose our cool in these heated situations.”

The brand also is introducing a new visual identity featuring a revamped logo and packaging design to provide a consistent look and voice around the world. Sprite packaging graphics will retain their recognizable green hue, while a pared-back look for Sprite Zero Sugar—which is expanding in key markets including China and the United States—features a bold, black font and logo design. Prominent “Recycle Me” messaging supports Sprite’s commitment to sustainability, continuing its transition from green to clear (and easier to recycle) PET plastic.

“Heat Happens” signals the next creative chapter for The Coca-Cola Company’s second-largest brand, with more than $20 billion in global retail sales. The integrated campaign is the first global output of The Coca-Cola Company’s new networked marketing model with agency partner, WPP. From ideation through to creation and execution was managed in partnership with Open X. The film production was handled by Sweetshop.

The new platform will put consumer experience at its heart, combining different elements to enhance interaction with the brand:

Creative campaign: The new out-of-home campaign brings the ‘Heat Happens’ commentary to life, through a suite of creative assets. The campaign will also include the roll-out of social content, tapping into consumer insights about innocent situations which can quickly become heated, as well as ‘Heat Hacks’, an instant on-pack reward program, which will enable our fans to scan forways to help beat the ‘heat’ of everyday life, whether they are at home or on-the-go.

New visual identity:A new visual identity, including a refreshed Sprite logo and stand-out packaging design, will provide global consistency for the brand for the first time. Whilst the Sprite packaging will retain its recognizable green hue, a paired-back look will highlight the choice of original and zero-sugar options, the latter bolstered with a bold, black font and logo design. The new packaging is also making a clear commitment to sustainability, with unmissable ‘recycle me’ messaging on-pack, amongst other initiatives

Global music program: Heat Happens is the precursor to the launch of a ground-breaking music program kicking-off later this spring. Leaning into the brand’s heritage with music in key markets, such as the USA and China, Sprite will provide fans with a host of new and engaging content and experiences, that offer chilled vibes to help cool them down over the heat of summer.

Reed Collins, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy APAC, said: “It’s almost a year since this all kicked off and now, we’ve produced over 1000 assets across 200 markets for this brand spanking new global Sprite platform called ‘Heat Happens’ Such a simple idea at its core and can’t wait to see it unfold around the world.”

Selwyn Low, Creative Director, Sparkling Flavors Category, Greater China & Mongolia, said: “The idea behind Heat Happens is rooted in the fact that there is simply nothing you can do about the heat, whether is it the scorching sun or the seething frustration inside. What we can do, however, is not lose our cool in these heated situations.”

VIEW THE INVISIBILITY FILM
VIEW THE OH BROTHER FILM
VIEW THE RIDE FILM
VIEW THE MUSIC FILM
VIEW THE CRY FILM

Credits
TCCC
Ibrahim Salim Khan – Sparkling Flavors Category Lead, Greater China & Mongolia
Selwyn Low – Creative Director, Sparkling Flavors, Greater China & Mongolia
Virgilio Antonio Villarroel – Manager Sparkling Flavors Shopper & Customer Content, LATAM
Bassam Qureshi – IMX Lead, Greater China & Mongolia
Elsa Casadevell – Producer
Shrenik Dasani – Senior Global Director, Brand Strategy, Sprite
Pietro Pio Cirsone – Senior Global Director, Creative Strategy, Sparkling Flavors
OpenX
Reed Collins – CCO (Ogilvy APAC)
Matt Nisbet – ECD (Ogilvy HK)
Ariel Chiesa – ECD (Santo Buenos Aires)
Richard Sorensen – CD (Ogilvy HK)
Michele Salati – CD (Ogilvy HK)
Ollie Davis – ACD (Ogilvy HK)
Soenar Santoso – ACD (Ogilvy HK)
Stratos Efstathiou – ACD (Ogilvy HK)
Adrienne Andaya – SAD (Ogilvy HK)
Alexandra Colgan – SCW (Ogilvy HK)
Tim MacLehose – Global Client Lead (WPP)
Ngoni Gudo – Program Director (WPP)
Javier Campopiano – CCO (Grey Global)
Arvind Srivastava – CSO (Ogilvy APAC)
Eric Lai – Head of TV (Ogilvy SH)
Jessie Lai – Producer (Ogilvy SH)
Katherine Zhang – Senior account director (Ogilvy SH)
Lily Li – Project Director (Ogilvy SH)
Lili Guo – Senior Project Manager (Ogilvy SH)
Antony Hung – GAD (Ogilvy HK)

Production Company: Sweetshop
Director: Damien Shatford
Executive Chairman: Paul Prince
Global CEO: Wilf Sweetland
Global Director of Production: Fiona King
Managing Director / Executive Producer: Laura Geagea
Producer: Katie Kempe
Director of Photography: James Brown
Production Manager: Monique Maree Tourelle
Casting Producer: Guy Campbell
Director Assistant: Scott James White
Production Designer: Michael Iacano
Offline Editor: Luke Haigh
Editor Assistant: Hayden James Weal
Bidding Producer / Post Producer: Stu Giles
Post Producer: Thiti Wongtikul (Fai)
Office Manager: Montakarn Kawkome (Ann)
Accounting Manager: Nuanlaor Rattanawattanathorn (Kimmy)
Post Production: Heckler, Singapore
Managing Director: Richard Mayo-Smith
Executive Producer: Vanessa Thomas
VFX Supervisor: Cody Amos, Fernando Canevaro
Colourist: Billy Wychgel
Online Artist: Fernando Canevaro, Patrick Firmansyah, Sebastien Gombeaud-Saintonge, Keith Seah, Kitson Ong, Abi Santos, Brad Wood, Azreena Ahmad
Music Production, Sound Design & Audio Post: MassiveMusic