coca-cola animates masterpieces of warhol, van gogh, vermeer, and munch to spark creativity

Timeless artworks in coca-cola’s masterpiece

Coca-Cola brings classic and contemporary artworks to life quite literally. From Andy Warhol to Vincent Van Gogh, the masterpieces of timeless artists move and swiftly act to help an uninspired art student rekindle his untapped and dormant flash of creativity. The soda brand’s latest expression of its ‘Real Magic’ platform celebrates its interpretation of uplifting refreshments in the moments when people need them.

images courtesy of Coca-Cola

The moving artworks for the new Coca-Cola’s Masterpiece global campaign include Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles (1889), Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring (1665), Munch’s The Scream (1895), and Warhol’s Coca-Cola (1962). The scene begins with the protagonist art student looking bored in a museum of classic and contemporary artworks. His art teacher roams around the spacious room to check her students’ progress in sketching. She’s close to peeking at the protagonist’s empty sketchbook when Aket’s Divine Idyll (2022) wakes up from its pose and grabs Warhol’s Coca-Cola off the canvas.

The painting chucks it to a sailor inside Turner’s The Shipwreck (1805) who then flings the ice-cold bottle towards the floating lady in Kushwah’s Falling in Library (2012). She’s about to pass it on to the next painting when she suddenly drops the bottle. Thankfully, Ramadan’s The Blow Dryer (2021) springs to life, stretches her arm, and flings the bottle toward Munch’s The Scream (1895). The screaming man’s reflex snags the Coke from hurling toward the sea but pauses as he gazes at the bottle in shock, perhaps from its sudden frosty temperature in his warm hand.

coca-cola in Hiroshige’s Drum Bridge And Setting Sun Hill, Meguro From One Hundred Views Of Famous Places In Edo (1858)

Animating artworks for a creative storyline

Coca-Cola’s Masterpiece campaign and commercial playfully brings classic and contemporary artworks to life. Munch’s The Scream (1895) chucks the bottle of Coke to Wonderbuhle’s You Can’t Curse Me (2022) who is determined to get the soda to the uninspired art student, but temporarily runs into a bump as he spirals down into Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles (1889).

Stirred to make haste, he jumps off the bed and masterfully throws the bottle to the colossal statue in the middle of the museum. He stops himself from moving as the security guard looks at him, tipping his hat down to his eyes as if to pretend the statue hasn’t moved at all.

coca-cola in Wonderbuhle’s You Can’t Curse Me (2022) and Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles (1889)

The bottle flies, and before it lands inside Tejada’s Natural Encounters (2020), the woman in the painting jumps off the canvas and torpedoes to grab the bottle. She hurls it straight Hiroshige’s Drum Bridge And Setting Sun Hill, Meguro From One Hundred Views Of Famous Places In Edo (1858). Before the bottle sinks at the bottom of the river, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) salvages it, pops it open, and leaves it beside the art student.

The protagonist looks to his left, just in time to see and drink the freshly opened bottle of Coke. The art teacher is coming. The flash of inspiration dawns. In a split second, the art student begins and finished his sketch. The teacher glances at his draft and nods in agreement, an unspoken impression crossing her face. A moment of reprieve has arrived. The art student turns to Vermeer’s painting who winks at him in return.

Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) winks at the protagonist

Coca-cola as a medium-agnostic muse

Pratik Thakar, Global Head of Creative Strategy and Integrated Content for Coca‑Cola, says that Masterpiece isn’t a story where Coke appears. ‘Coke is the story,’ he says. ‘True to the spirit of the brand, a diverse collection of artwork spanning multiple genres, geographies and generations comes together to uplift a slumping teenager. Creating human connection and bringing enchantment to everyday moments is what ‘Real Magic’ is all about.’

Coca‑Cola has served as a medium-agnostic muse for decades, with artists reimagining its iconic bottle and brand attributes. Warhol’s authentic celebration of work provided the jumping-off point for the film, which curates a creative collision of centuries of art movements and masters from the past and present.

Aket’s Divine Idyll (2022) grabs Warhol’s Coca-Cola (1962)