Food & Beverage

Coca-Cola sends restaurants love poems in form of free drinks

Photo: Provided.

June 2, 2021

Coca-Cola is waxing poetic as the warmer weather moves us into prime soft drink-sipping weather. The beverage company is not only engraving rhymes across packaging, but promising to give restaurants and their customers free Cokes through June 15 as part of the beverage-maker's "This Coke's On Us" campaign, according to a news release.

Starting this week, customers registering online at Coke.com/summer will get an email prompt to complete signup on June 15 for a free Coke, redeemable June 17-21.

"This past year has deprived everyone of opportunities to get together with loved ones, so this feels almost like a re-celebration of humanity," Melissa Schwartz, Coke & Meals brand director, said in the release. "Summer is a time of joy and togetherness, and this feeling has escalated more so in 2021 than in any year in recent memory. Coca-Cola has always been a beacon for togetherness. As Americans re-emerge from lockdown, we hope to facilitate these connections by encouraging consumers to enjoy an ice-cold Coke on us with friends and family at their favorite restaurant."

Coke said this latest initiative is part of its ongoing efforts to generate traffic and sales for restaurants over the past year.

"We're giving fans an incentive to revisit and rediscover restaurants reopening after a very tough year," Kelley Emrey, Coca-Cola senior manager of foodservice channel strategy, said in the release. "The restaurant business has been heavily impacted, so we want to do all we can to support them in this critical phase."

The poetic verse is being inscribed on Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar bottles that pay homage to summer pastimes like beach trips, barbecues and baseball games. The 24 poems will appear on 20-oz., 1-liter and 2-liter bottles, and the company plans to unveil more on-packaging poems later this summer in advance of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Here's a sample of one of the bottle wrappers verses for a hot day at the beach:
"100 degrees.
Zero Breeze.
Shirt soaked.
Time for a Coke."