Coke goes white for the holidays.

Starting in November for the first time in history the iconic Coke can will be predominantly white. In a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund Coke has temporarily redesigned its can featuring it's longtime winter mascot, the polar bear. These seasonal redesigns are a standard affair for Coke. Over the years they've helped keep the brand youthful and current. Until now, however, they have intentionally kept the dominant color red.

It's foundational that a successful brand should own a particular color. We preach this to all of our clients. There is a sequence to perception; shape → color → content that the best designed identities adhere to. This is why Starbucks in their recent brandmark evolution retained the circle shape, the green color and the mermaid. Equity is built into these devices over time to encourage familiarity and accelerate differentiation. You typically should not muddy the water with aimless deviations that might confuse or devalue the brand's equity.

But then coherence is also foundational to building a brand identity. One voice that makes all experiences with the brand feel familiar. Different campaigns, products and services, can all come and go. They can be seasonal, like what Coke is doing here, just as long as they evolve from the same big idea. Not everything has to look the same, all the time.

Coke is not your typical brand. Iconic in so many ways because they've balanced control and creativity so well over the years. We've mentioned before that Coke's big idea is something along the lines of "Refresh the world." From this perspective it's seems perfectly "Coke" to do fun seasonal or even arbitrary collectable redesigns. Too, their familiar brand identity allows them a certain flexibility without worry that flipping colors might confuse it's customers. Not too much though. The box they come in will still be red and inside the familiar Coke script will still be there, beaming off the all white can, making your sugary dreams come true.

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