Celebrating Designated Drivers at Christmas

We are really looking forward to Christmas. It’s a period where we get together with family and friends to share festive moments. It’s also an equally special time for our business. Coca-Cola plays a unique role for many households during the festive period. Our ‘Holidays are Coming’ TV advert, which is now in its 20th year, marks the official countdown to Christmas for many.

Christmas and New Year period is a time where people often visit their local pubs to spend time with friends and families. To support this tradition we have launched our 8th Designated Driver campaign , which rewards consumers who are tasked with driving to the pub with a buy one get one free offer. For me, theses designated drivers are the most important people to recognise during the festive period – the ‘Heroes’ of the group. Encouraging consumers to drink responsibly is at the centre of this campaign and is the reason why we continue to work with the Department for Transport’s THINK! road safety campaign.

Christmas is also extremely important for the British pub industry which experiences some of its busiest times during the festive period. Pubs are at the very heart of the local community and this campaign allows us to support them to encourage responsible drinking and also helps them to increase sales.

It is our belief that we should offer consumers sustainable soft drinks choices. This year to reflect our full choice of soft drinks, and to encourage more consumers to try the Designated Driver offer, we have extended the range of products on offer to include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life, in addition to our Schweppes range – which includes our new low calorie sparkling juice drinks – and Appletiser.

Christmas is a time to celebrate and share memories – and a local pub is a great place in which to do both. So why not use our new Pub Finder to identify outlets where you can make the most of this year’s Designated Driver campaign ? I hope that this year you will spend time with those who are closest to you, and visit the local pubs in your communities. And if you are there I would encourage you to try our Designated Driver offer, as I will be doing. I wish you all a very Happy Holidays.