426. SPRITE: "“Reaching For More”, Local Adaptation of a U.S. Campaign, 1980

SPRITE " Reaching for More" TVC 30: When Global goes Local, 1980

The late 1970s were a time of growth and robust business for Coke, and in 1979, a refreshing lemon-lime flavored soft drink with a crisp, clean taste was pipelined in the market, to compete against the established 7-Up brand that had been in the Philippines since the 1930s. The new soda in a green bottle was called SPRITE, which was concocted in 1961, and introduced 2 years later to the world by Coca-Cola.

 As was the case with multinational brands, McCann-Erickson Phils. was mandated to use the creative elements of SPRITE’s “Reach for More, Reach for Sprite” campaign, and the result is a localized version that made use of the same jingle, same sports vignette-type of execution, and same campaign theme. 

 THE ORIGINAL U. S. SPRITE VERSION, 1980

The most obvious differences were the choice of sports; U.S. version had Long Jump, Volleyball, Jumping Rope, and Karate, while the Philippines featured its popular sports disciplines like Swimming, Cycling, Billiards, plus the field event, Shot Put. There  were subtle differences, a change of line or words in the lyrics here and there, and the singers, too (Note the word "reachin'" in the end-frame slogan of the Philippine ad vs. "reaching" in the U.S. ad) The Philippine version was sung by popular singer, Becca Godinez (of "Shining" and Morris Albert fame).

     WATCH THE PHILIPPINE VERSION OF SPRITE

"Reaching For More" TVC, 1980 (Source: VOT III) uploaded by Dateline Anime

The SPRITE TV ad aired in the Philippines, pretty much adhered to the U.S. developed global commercial, and the formulaic campaign apparently worked as SPRITE became a major payer in the market. In the future, SPRITE commercials became more original and Filipinized, even with mandatories from the worldwide office--the “Magpakatotoo ka” series, under the “Obey Your Thirst” campaign.

SOURCES:

Sprite TV Commercial (PH) 1980, uploaded by VOT III via Dateline Anime, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S1eUC1qquY

Sprite TV Commercial (US) 1980, uploaded by deftmahatma, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn5AIJVv6Ow