Kenya Barris is telling an American story, one can of soda after another.
In a new six-minute short film, the writer, director and showrunner, known for his work behind the ABC series “Black-ish,” helps Coca-Cola show the resonance its broader portfolio of beverages have had on Americans for more than half a century. The new commercial, called “Westside’s Finest,” features Barris, Omari Hardwick, Lionel Boyce, Lauren London and Nelson Franklin as the family that runs a local convenience store changes with the times and eras. There are also appearances by Coke, Sprite, Mr. Pibb, Honest Kids — and even New Coke and Tab.
By the time the piece ends, viewers may feel like they sat through a mini-series — one that is made for modern attention spans.
“It’s counterintuitive, but I think people do like to watch longer-form commercials when they’re done in an interesting way,” says Barris, during a recent interview.
The Westside saga is Coca-Cola’s latest effort to remind consumers of the broader range of drinks it makes. Last year, the company rolled out an ad early in 2024 from “The Bear” creator Christopher Storer that depicted a very large family making use of different Coca-Cola products as they welcome one woman’s new significant other to the fold. The difference? That commercial was designed to turn up in ESPN programming and entertainment shows on cable networks. Barris’ work will stream online, with different edits distributed to a variety of different audiences on social media and TV.
The strategy has “increased our share, increased even people’s perception of the company, and the products we sold,” says Alex Ames, director of content and creative excellence at Coca-Cola North America, during an interview.
This new effort seeks to remind consumers that Coca-Cola is a “sponsor of generations,” a concept that Barris took to heart. “I was able to really wrap my head around it,” he says, and envisioned “what it meant to see a store being in the neighborhood, and changing and changing and changing.” Over the six minutes — and the decades depicted within them — couples meet; family members pass away; and others come to the fore. A neighborhood store, says Barris, “is like a piece of life. It’s almost a second home.”
The effort sent Coca-Cola creative executives and archivists scrambling to find the appropriate designs, packaging materials and promotions so that every time period in the store looked just right. That sometimes meant having to source actual cans and memorabilia, said Ames, or having to recreate items from scratch.
Sometimes, such work is more difficult than coming up with the creative concept,, the executive says. “You try finding a Minute Maid can from 1995.”
