Create Your Future: Sprite Inspires Multicultural Youth to Make Their Voices Heard Via Inclusive Voter Education Program With Help From Cultural Tastemakers

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Oct 01, 2020, 09:01 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprite is encouraging fans to use their voices at the polls on Nov. 3 and beyond through the "Create Your Future" voter education program.

"Create Your Future" will give young creators a platform to share why they vote and use the brand's resources, reach and partners in the hip-hop community to amplify these expressions. Six emerging artists – fashion designers BLUBOY and Dorothy Lawes, photographer Yvette Glasco, artists Sage Guillory and Foremost and illustrator Neka King – will create pieces about why voting is important to them. The non-partisan initiative also will inform and educate Sprite fans on voting rights, the electoral process and why voting is important.

"Our purpose is to help Black and multicultural youth make their mark on culture. And what better way to do so than by voting," said Aaliyah Shafiq, Sprite brand group director. "'Create Your Future' will use the power of creative expression to showcase how personal and pragmatic our reasons for voting can be and inspire our community to embrace and share their own reasons."

This summer, Sprite launched "The Give Back," a program to support the Black community in the fight against racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand also announced a partnership with Black Lives Matter Global Network and a commitment to donate $500,000.00 to the organization. "Create Your Future" is the next iteration of these efforts, all of which use the "Thirst for Yours" platform blueprint to elevate Black and multicultural voices.

"We did not want to make a one-time statement, but instead kick off a series of meaningful, tangible actions to fulfill our commitment to social justice," said Danielle Henry, integrated marketing & content group director, Coca-Cola North America. "The election and voting are on our community's minds, so we see 'Create Your Future' as an authentic next step."

Additional partners for the "Create Your Future" program include global creative incubator and youth empowerment foundation, VFILES, along with notable figures and celebrities including Actress & Change Agent Yara Shahidi, GRAMMY Award-Winning Artist 2 Chainz and GRAMMY Nominated Artist Rapsody.

"We hope to help make voting cool and inspire participation in the electoral process – not just at the top of the ballot during such an historic election year, but for all national, state and local races," Henry said.

Fans are encouraged to share their reasons for voting on Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube by tagging @Sprite with #CreateYourFuture and visit sprite.com/createyourfuture for more information on the creators and their custom art pieces inspired by each of the creators' personal reasons to vote. A fully integrated marketing campaign (IMC) will support the "Create Your Future" initiative with new TV creative premiering during the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 27, as well as online, social, and out-of-home, mobile and streaming audio advertising.

The Coca-Cola Company is committed to making sure all Americans are able to vote in this year's election – from producing state-by-state voting guides for all U.S. system employees and creating non-partisan volunteer opportunities on and leading up to election day, to developing and giving resources to non-partisan voter education initiatives. Election Day is a paid company holiday for the company's U.S.-based employees.

Media Contact:
Alex Ebanks, The Coca-Cola Company
[email protected]

SOURCE Sprite