“Engaging with a digitally absorbed Gen z audience on the streets is increasingly challenging. The onus is on brands to continually innovate and create an unmissable presence,” says Islam ElDessouky, global vice president of creative strategy and content. “Our latest executions were focused on ‘value exchange.’ OOH is an accessible traditional medium and it’s for everyone, just like Coca-Cola but what are people really experiencing from our brand when it’s on the streets?”

Sore necks, perhaps, if you keep following the trajectory of that pixelated ball for too long.

WPP Open X, Grey N.Y. and Dubai Studios produced the project, which ties into brand iconography (bottles as paddles) and nostalgia (vintage gaming styles) on an impressive scale.

And while we’re on the subject of recycling culture, a separate Coke effort—developed through Open X, led by Ogilvy N.Y.—crushes the brand’s iconic cans and logo to illustrate its commitment to sustainability.

“The logo is so recognizable that people instantly know what they’re looking at even when they see a version of it that looks like it has been ‘crushed’ as part of the recycling process,” says Guillermo Vega, global creative network lead at Ogilvy.

The push includes billboards in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico plus videos and social content, touting Coke’s pledge to make its packaging 100 percent recyclable by next year.

Finally, Coke launched “Magic Catch” in Europe through Open X, led by Ogilvy Paris and Subvrsive.

Who wouldn’t want to use their phones to “catch” a digitized Coke bottle as it zips across billboards? (Insert your snarky comment here.)

“The idea is based on a universal cultural behavior and breaks the boundaries that exist between physical, digital and social touch points,” say Ogilvy creative directors Thibault Michal and Yann-Gaël Cobigo. “As it becomes increasingly difficult to grab the attention of Gen Z, it’s great to have found a way to stand out in the visual jungles that our cities have become. With the ‘Magic Catch’ we want to make people stop, look up and have fun for a few minutes with our interactive billboard.”

So. Many. Santas.

The city’s crackling with Kringles in Coca-Cola’s holiday spot.

Crafted by Open X and Stink Films’ directing collective Traktor, “The World Needs More Santas” shows St. Nicks hustling down busy streets, riding the subway, pumping iron, skateboarding and prepping gifts for Dec. 25.

The twist at the end? We’re all Santas, inspired by the season to be our best jolly old selves.

That’s a simple, relatable message in keeping with the ethos of a brand which has long focused on Christmas to generate memorable campaigns. Clocking in around 2-minutes, the work certainly tallies, offering unabashedly memorable visuals unencumbered by narrative trickery.

Celeste’s “I Could Be Santa Claus” works wonders on the soundtrack. It’s playfully on point but not overly familiar. (Though the imagery puts the Twilight Zone’s “do do do do” theme in our heads).

“‘The World Needs More Santas’ hinges on the idea that through acts of kindness, anyone can embrace their inner Santa. Kindness is one of the brand’s core values,” Islam ElDessouky, global creative, strategy and content lead for Coke, tells Marketing Week.

Notably, the work weds snappy visuals—a hallmark of the brand’s recent tech-infused outings—with traditional yuletide themes. That fizzy festive combo delivers the goods with style and heart.

The hero film drops today, with other seasonal elements to follow. These include more videos, a “Find Your Inner Santa” quiz across DOOH and packaging, as well as Christmas cards powered by AI (what else?).