• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, October 26, 2010

Following the success of the commercially released adaptation of "Wavin' Flag," by K'NAAN, as its theme song for its 2010 FIFA World Cup sponsorship campaign this past summer, the Coca-Cola Company is going for the gold again with a holiday campaign featuring a new song by Grammy-winning band Train.

The holiday campaign -- an extension of the brand's "Open Happiness" marketing platform that was developed through collaboration between Coke's German and global brand teams -- will be deployed in more than 90 countries and include a new TV commercial, digital engagement efforts, in-store promotions and packaging.

Launching in November, the campaign will feature traditional holiday images like Santa Claus, as well as Coke's own well-established Christmas "caravan" (holiday-themed delivery trucks) and the Coca-Cola Polar Bear -- with the notable addition of an original Train song, "Shake Up Christmas."

The "Snow Globe" TV spot, created with McCann, Madrid, conveys Coke's "connecting through (Coke-inspired) simple moments" theme by showing Santa and the Coca-Cola Christmas caravan helping to bring lonely people, and even a lonely dog, together again with loved ones at Christmas.

"Shake Up Christmas," produced by Butch Walker, will be released as a single worldwide, and the song will be included as a bonus track on the deluxe version of Train's latest album, "Save Me, San Francisco (Golden Gate Edition)" from Sony Music, which will debut globally on Nov. 2.

Train, which recently hit international charts with the song "Hey, Soul Sister," will also promote "Shake Up Christmas" by performing it during the band's current tour.

Train debuted the Christmas song at a concert at London's Shepherds Bush Empire arena on Oct. 25, which was filmed by MTV and will be broadcast globally as part of its "World Stage" programming.

The Train/Coca-Cola partnership was developed through boutique "innovation house" Deviant Ventures.

K'NAAN's "Wavin' Flag -- Coca-Cola Celebration Mix" soundtrack for the brand's FIFA campaign was released in more than 150 markets worldwide, broke into the top 10 music charts in 11 countries, and peaked at #1 in China, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, according to the Coca-Cola Company.

The song was heard on TV spots, Coke's YouTube site, and a broadcast documentary about the history of goal celebrations sponsored by Coke, and was performed live by K'NAAN at more than 20 stops of the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola.

The song's success inspired Coke, during the FIFA games, to launch what's believed to be the first digital radio station entirely supported by a single brand. The station featured K'NAAN's personal audio blogs on the activities during the World Cup games.