US soft drink giant Coca-Cola has released a new ad capitalising on Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow women to drive for the first time.
A video posted on the beverage company’s YouTube channel shows a young veiled female driver swigging the caffeinated soft-drink as she zooms through the Saudi desert for the first time.
Launched under the hashtag, #ChangeHasATaste, the video depicts a young female being handed the keys of a vintage red car by her father.
After the daughter stalls the car in the first few attempts, the father cracks open a bottle of coke, sweating with condensation in the desert heat and places it on the car dash-board.
After a few more failed accelerations and deft saves of the bottle as it falls off the dashboard, the bottle is handed to the daughter who takes a swig before balancing it back on the dashboard.
She then smoothly cruises into the desert with trendy rock music blaring.
The beverage company said the ad campaign, launched in the GCC continues the company’s legacy of celebrating positive social and cultural change.
“The ad, which debuted on November 2, celebrates the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s decision to lift its longstanding prohibition on women drivers, focusing on a heart-warming scene of a father teaching his daughter to drive,” a spokesperson said.
“The campaign touches on the brand’s values surrounding diversity and inclusion and aligns with Coca-Cola’s commitment to enable the economic empowerment of women.”
Set in the sprawling Saudi desert, the advert has garnered over 43,000 views and 198,000 shares so far.
In October 2016, Coca-Cola announced plans to build $100m bottling plant in Sudair, Saudi Arabia, to be completed by 2019.
In 2011 Coca-Cola bought around 50 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s Aujan Industries, one of the Middle East’s biggest beverage companies, for $980m.
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