Marketing & Communications Marketing & Communications

Coca-Cola Gamifies Recycling in Bangladesh with 'Happiness Arcade'

“What happens when no one is concerned about recycling?” That’s what Coca-Cola asks in a YouTube video detailing its recent effort to engage youth in the Bangladeshi city of Dhaka on the importance of recycling.

Coke’s latest campaign in the country involved an arcade machine, which runs on empty plastic Coke bottles instead of coins. Coke says the machine, called the “Happiness Arcade,” is meant to engage youth in the importance of recycling by making it fun. According to Coke’s blog, the machines accept empty plastic bottles through a customized slot and reward the user with a Coke-themed video game reminiscent of “Pong.”

By Jennifer Elks | Published 10 years ago | About a 2 minute read

“What happens when no one is concerned about recycling?”

That’s what Coca-Cola asks in a YouTube video detailing its recent effort to engage youth in the Bangladeshi city of Dhaka on the importance of recycling.

The game, developed in partnership with Bangladesh-based advertising agency Grey Dhaka, was installed in six different locations across the city over six days — the activation collected thousands of bottles, which will be converted into pellets for reuse in other products.

Coke says it plans to continue the program in the coming months to increase awareness.

Here in the US, even for consumers who say they do care about recycling and understand its importance, there tends to be a lack of consistent follow-through. According to the 2014 Cone Communications Recycling in the Home Survey, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of consumers consistently recycle at home, but despite a genuine concern for the environment, only about half do so in rooms beyond the kitchen. This is due mostly to the fact that 56 percent only keep recycling bins in the kitchen, as opposed to other rooms throughout the house. But bins aren’t the only roadblock to recycling: Consumers also fault not knowing which products or packaging are recyclable and the amount of space recycling requires as additional factors in favor of tossing recyclables in the trash.