Campaigns We Love: Happiness Without Borders - Coca-Cola Small World Machines Bring India & Pakistan Together

In March 2013, Coca-Cola set out to break down barriers and create a simple moment of connection between two nations -- India and Pakistan. The initiative "Small World Machines" provided a live communications portal between people in India and Pakistan and showed that what unites us is stronger than what sets us apart. The key to engaging with each other through the machines was simple: people in India and Pakistan could complete a task, like touching hands, drawing peace, love, and happiness symbols -- together. 

“The people of Pakistan and India share a lot of common passions and interests – from food and Bollywood movies, to Coke Studio music, to cricket,” said Saad Pall, Coke’s assistant brand manager in Pakistan. “What this project did was connect people who are not exposed to each other on a daily basis, enabling the common man in Lahore to see and interact with the common man in Delhi. It’s a small step we hope will signal what’s possible.” Wasim Basir, integrated marketing communications (IMC) director, Coca-Cola India, added, “We wondered what would happen if people from these two countries came together, and the answer was clear: goodness and happiness.

At the end of the nearly 10-hour shoot, both audiences cranked up the music, danced and waved goodbye to their new-found friends across the border. The crews behind the camera joined in, too, including the Coca-Cola teams from Pakistan and India. 

“It was such a great way to conclude what I consider to be the highlight of my career,” Jantos Tulloch said. “Working on brand Coca-Cola is powerful enough because of the voice and scale of the brand, but when you layer a story like this on top, you realize that we’re not just telling a Coca-Cola story. We’re telling a bigger, more profound story about the happiness of the world.”

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