Coke Ad:  Real?

Footage from security cameras is unlikely fodder for a feel-good campaign, which is why this ad for Coca-Cola seems to be catching on.

Loaded to YouTube on June 11, Coke’s celebration of the altruistic, brave and foolish behavior has passed 1 million views and netted close to 13,000 likes (and about 500 dislikes.) Though the ad ties in nicely with Coke’s “Open Happiness” campaign, which features other such scenes of spontaneous delight from around the globe, not everyone has been won over. The Huffington Post‘s U.K. edition, for instance, wonders if some or all of the scenes are staged. It’s also unclear how Coke got the footage and the rights to images of people in the ad.

Update: A Coke rep tells us that while many of the clips in the ad are real, “there are a few clips that, while the situation is real, we had to recreate for the ad because it was impossible to find and secure permissions from all the people recorded on the cameras.”