Viral Now: Coke goes anti-phubbing

Coca-Cola has taken it upon itself to correct the digitally connected generation's social habits. The new viral video urges people to get off the screen and spend time with real friends and family.

Each of us must have at least one friend who is always busy with his smartphone. Sit with him at a restaurant, and he is busy checking his email. Go for a movie and he is likely to step out to take an important call. These are the 'phubbers' - social media slang that refers to people who are so engrossed in the digital world that they ignore the real one.

Beverage giant Coca-Cola decided that the festive season is the best time to remind people that family and friends do come before one's digital life. The campaign subtly pokes fun at the language of the virtual world.

The video opens with the warning that it contains language suitable 'only for people who spend too much time online'. It goes on to show an old man chasing pigeons, with the caption 'let's follow @life' - a dig at Twitter users. Facebook 'check-ins are given a new twist as a man jumps into the sea. Instead of photographs, viewers are urged to 'snap real moments' and 'save them forever' in their minds.

Instagram's hashtag #nofilter makes a cameo appearance as a beautiful sunset is shown on screen. Posting, tagging - even 'LOL' (laugh out loud) gets new meaning in the two-minute-long video. Almost all the social networking sites are mentioned indirectly in the video while showing their counterparts in the real world in a whole new light.

The video ends with the message, #Enjoynowsharelater - urging people to live the moment instead of sharing it online as is the habit with the net-savvy generation.

Created by Memac Ogilvy, Dubai, UAE, the video was posted on YouTube on December 17, 2014. So far, it has garnered over 21 million hits. Coke this year has already brought out some popular digital campaigns. Be it the Hello Happiness campaign, which gave migrant labourers in the UAE a chance to use coke bottle caps as currency to call home, or the sharing can, which lets two people share a can of coke. The 'happiest thank you' video saw unlikely people being thanked through personalised coke bottles.