Coca-Cola’s popular holiday mascots, the polar bears, will soon be selling soda to consumers around the world. For nearly a century, those big white salesbears have been charming us with six packs of celebration, and this year they’ve got a real treat for U.S. consumers. Wrapped up in a complex square of black-and-white code is a free iPad and trip for two to the Arctic. Oh, and a nice little donation to the World Wildlife Fund.
Incredibly, Coca-Cola is launching its first-ever QR code campaign this holiday season (and running through March 2012). Millions of coded cups, distributed by 7-Eleven exclusively, will enable users to download the iPhone and iPad app, Snowball Effect by Coca-Cola. This Facebook-connected game enables users to rack up points and win one of 80 iPads and the Arctic adventure. The app links users to Coca-Cola Arctic Home, a site that takes donations to WWF’s work in conserving the bears’ arctic habitat. The beverage behemoth has already donated $2 million and will match user donations up to $1 million.
Scanbuy, the producer of the code-enabled drinkware, ran a QR code program for Taco Bell in August 2011 — thought to be one of the first QR code campaigns in the fast food category. That particular program connected consumers to Taco Bell–sponsored MTV content. McDonald’s has also used QR codes in non-U.S. markets. Results of a comScore survey released this summer noted that 14 million people in the U.S. scanned QR codes in June alone. This could be great news for polar bears around the world.