The commercial is part of the soft drink maker’s “Coke side of life” initiative, and shows the boy riding through a quiet, city neighborhood. He takes a sip of Coke Classic and suddenly finds himself in a parade, surrounded by marching bands, circus performers and an enthusiastic crowds. The boy appears to travel cross country, passing through a variety of urban and rural locales, but when he finishes his soft drink, it all disappears, leaving him alone again on the street where he began.
POP Sound’s Peter Rincon handled the surround mix. The commercial has no dialogue or voiceover. Rather, it is driven by the minimalist score and Rincon’s subtle sound design.
“The music has a contemplative feel,” notes the mixer. “It is a very sparse piece that never modulates into a melody. It’s an interesting approach that contributes to the slow-motion, suspended reality quality of the spot. The score also leant itself very well to 5.1 and I tried to capitalize on it by using the environment to the fullest extent. I wanted the music to wrap around the heads of the audience.”
Rincon also prepared a stereo mix for a version of the spot that will air on standard definition television. That version was challenging, as he worked to preserve the magical quality of the soundtrack.
“The cinema version relies so much on the music’s bass line,” he explains. “But when it’s brought down to a stereo playback on a small television you could lose that heart beat. We had to redo the dynamics of the music track to get that to come through on small speakers.”
LA’s MJZ produced the commercial and Kirk Baxter of
Rock Paper Scissors in Los Angeles handled the edit. Santa Monica’s Asylum provided effects and online services. Titles were created by Brand New School.