MNN - Mother Nature Network

On Sunday, February 5 football fans will be glued to their televisions for the airing of Super Bowl XLVI. As football aficionados watch the action between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, others will be checking out the action in between the plays – specifically the high-dollar advertisements. Coca-Cola is ready for the Super Bowl ad attention with a media campaign that will feature the company’s beloved polar bears.

 

In today’s digital world, a simple 30-second Super Bowl ad just doesn’t cut it and the advertising geniuses behind Coca-Cola’s campaign are prepared. In addition to the standard television ad, fans can visit CokePolarBowl.com to watch computer animated polar bears watching the game. Yes, you can watch a fake polar bear pretending to watch the game.

 

Honestly, I love this idea; let me use an example from an article in USA Today to explain why.  “The computer-animated bears will appear in a video stream running throughout the game at CokePolarBowl.com, a site hosted within Facebook. The bears, appearing to watch the game, will respond in real time to the real game's action, such as touchdowns, turnovers, bad calls and even commercials for other brands. For instance, if a sexy ad airs, an adult bear would cover the eyes of a baby bear.”

 

Digital puppeteers will be watching the game and making the polar bears perform a pre-programmed action that corresponds to the action in the game and during the commercials. I’m a big football fan and since my team lost to the Giants on Sunday I think I’ll actually spend more time watching the Coke Polar Bowl than I will the actual game.

 

Coca-Cola’s social media advertising blitz goes beyond the Facebook hosted CokePolarBowl.com, though. The busy bears will also be tweeting live during the Super Bowl.

 

While all of this is creative and will likely be fun to watch, I love the reason behind it. Coca-Cola has partnered with World Wildlife Fund to help support polar bear habitat conservation efforts. Information about the Arctic Habitat and Arctic Refuge Project can be found on the ArcticHome.com website.

 

The website allows visitors to donate to the fund and select a virtual parcel of the Arctic to call their own. Coca-Cola has committed $2 million to the campaign and will match up to an additional $1 million in consumer donations made with a qualifying product code. Learn more about the campaign and find out how you can donate: Coca-Cola cans go white for the polar bears.