In most ads the idea is to platform the product and feature it front and centre, but in a seemingly backwards move beer brand Corona has launched a series of print and OOH ads that have purposely removed its bottles from the shot.

The campaign has been created by agencies David São Paulo and David Bogotá and is made up of five different ads that celebrate nature, and feature sun, sea, sand – the perfect setting for cracking open a bottle of Corona.

Featuring the tagline ‘We returned the bottle of this ad. Return yours’, the brand’s bottles have been removed in post-production from each of these idyllic scenes so hands appear empty and sandy bottle imprints are left on the beach. Shot by photographer Thierry des Fontaines, the idea is to encourage people to dispose of their empty Corona bottles correctly and not just dump them on beaches and pollute our oceans.

Set to run in Germany, Uruguay and Brazil, the ads are slightly reminiscent of Heinz Ketchup’s invisible bottle ad from over a decade ago, but rather than highlight the power of the brand, here Corona spotlights a problem much bigger than itself and tries to become a part of the solution.

Credits:
Agencies: David São Paulo, David Bogotá
ECD: Edgard Gianesi, Renata Leão
Creative Directors: Fabrício Pretto, Rogério Chaves
Art Director: Felipe Revite
Copywriter: Filipe Rosado
Production Company: Sicarios
Photographer: Thierry des Fontaines