Coca-Cola And ‘Star Wars’ Unite To Celebrate Connection And Fandom’s Uplifting Power
by Anton Kromoff
Welcome to the table,
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, people were thirsty…
I have always been a big fan of this kind of collaboration. I remember the brilliant landscape of Star Wars promotions that came out when Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace was set to hit theaters.
While we do not have a new film on the horizon, Coca-Cola is such an expansive and iconic brand that they may be one of the few companies in the world to pull something off on this level. Let’s get into it.
Coca-Cola and Disney have announced a cool new collaboration to unite fans from across the galaxy. Coca-Cola x Star Wars: Refresh Your Galaxy is set to be a celebration to uplift the power of fandom and community in the pop culture landscape.
It makes sense as a collaboration. Coca-Cola and Disney have a 70-year relationship that started with the opening of the Disneyland Resort back in 1955. The intent behind this global campaign is to spotlight the power of the Star Wars fandom and how it can unite people and cause meaningful moments to celebrate human-to-human connections.
This collaboration is going to come in the form of limited-edition Coca-Cola pack designs featuring Star Wars characters, new creative content, and an augmented reality experience that allows fans to share messages of community and connection in the style of a Star Wars hologram transmission.
The collaboration kicks off with new creative content set in a movie theatre, a culturally iconic location for Star Wars and Coca-Cola. From discovering the hum of a lightsaber to experiencing movie marathons, the cinema has long been a powerful place to capture the real magic of Star Wars and Coca-Cola, and it will be front and center in this campaign.
The 27 limited-edition cans and bottles will be available for purchase in select markets around the world. Three of these designs are only available at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.
By scanning a Coca-Cola can or an associated advertisement, you will be able to unlock an AR digital experience and learn about the various collectible cans featuring characters from the Star Wars universe.
Through the experience, fans can record a video of themselves that will be transformed into a Star Wars-style hologram transmission that they can then share with friends and family. As far as which characters are available on which products, some of the known options include the following:
Original Taste: Lando Calrissian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Queen Amidala, Kylo Ren, Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul, K-2SO, Boba Fett, Poe Dameron, The Mandalorian, Cassian Andor, General Grievous and Emperor Palpatine
Zero Sugar: Darth Vader, Yoda, Princess Leia, Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, BB-8, C-3PO, R2-D2, Finn, Rey, Grogu, and an Imperial Stormtrooper
There will also be character designs available only at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Those will be The Mandalorian and Grogu, the First Order Stormtrooper, and Chewbacca. The Mandalorian and Grogu design will also be available at Tokyo Disney Resort vending machines.
This collaboration will be available in select markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, Japan, and Asia South Asia Pacific region starting in July.
Until next time, I remember seeing vast collections of Star Wars soda cans back in the day, and occasionally I will still come across them at smaller conventions and antique malls. It’s this really fun thing that happens where the cultural zeitgeist holds on to things that spark joy. Star Wars is such a universally beloved franchise that it’s hard not to recognize how much of a global phenomenon it really is.
