Vita Coco pays tribute to New York's bodegas in a new outdoor campaign, thanking the owners and workers for their role as unsung heroes of the pandemic. 

The brand, which was founded in New York, was originally planning to launch a campaign this spring focusing on its Pressed coconut water line, until the pandemic changed its plans. Working with agency Interesting Development, it decided instead to use its media buy to support bodegas. The bodega has traditionally been a big source of sales for the brand, and a key part of NYC life that’s taken a big hit as the city’s become a center of the Covid-19 crisis.

The campaign will include ads on phone kiosks and wild postings throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, as well as window posters distributed directly to bodegas. Copy starts with “Dearest Bodega” and closes with “Love, Vita Coco,” and calls out the various attributes of bodegas, including a lack of judgment of their patrons, variety of products (“You’re our convenience store, hardware store, deli, supermarket and second home”) and the well-known BEC (bacon, egg and cheese) bodega breakfast sandwich. Creative is designed to emulate the idiosyncratic look of the bodega.

The ads serve as a thank you to bodegas for keeping the stores open and shelves stocked amid the pandemic. As part of the campaign Vita Coco is also partnering with My Bodega Online, a recently launched delivery app, to deliver the "Essential New York Breakfast," including a BEC and Vita Coco Coconut Water, to 5,000 local healthcare workers at six hospitals across New York City.