Corona marks World Oceans Day with a giant plastic beach message

The beer brand worked with W+K on installation in Mexico and activations around the world

Published On
Jun 09, 2022

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Corona is continuing its efforts to raise awareness of plastic pollution with a giant installation for World Oceans Day. 

In a global campaign conceived by Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the AB InBev brand created a giant letter, made from plastic collected from the Mexican coastline, on a beach on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The letter is headlined "Imagine a world free of plastic" and the copy goes on to explain that "we need plastic gone from beaches like this one and businesses like ours."

 

Corona: World Oceans Day - Plastic Letter

The beach letter, which is being promoted in a short film created via W+K, was cleaned up directly after production with a local recycling partner.  As an extension of the main installation, other Corona markets around the world including Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Canary Islands are translating the letter’s headline into their regional languages in local activations also made of cleaned up beach plastic.

Corona: World Oceans Day - Global Markets Plastic Headlines

 

"What’s important to note is that the plastic we recovered is not local to Mexico. It’s plastic that comes from all over the world and ends up on beaches everywhere through ocean currents,” said Mercedes Guzman, founder of Lamerced, Corona’s beach clean up and recycling partner for the Mexico plastic letter, in a statement. “Although our work in the field is very difficult, it’s fulfilling to send the message that even though it’s not my plastic, it’s my shared world to protect.”

Another spot in the campaign, "77 Earths," emphasizes the brand's net-zero plastic footprint. It juxtaposes footage of people enjoying beaches and sharing bottles of Corona with images of plastic pollution, and says, "If there were 77 Earths, we could let plastic suffocate whole oceans."

 

As well as long and short form cuts of the film, the campaign also includes out-of-home, social and digital efforts. In some markets, including Brazil, Chile and Guatemala, for every Corona bottle purchased the brand will recycle the equivalent of one plastic bottle.

The campaign comes as Corona continues to win awards and plaudits for its "Plastic Fishing Tournament" campaign via We Believers, including Ad Age's Creativity Award for Best Work for Good.

 

Corona: World Oceans Day - Imagine A World Free of Plastic