The Coca-Cola Company has Britain’s local business owners in the frame, commissioning a quartet of artists known for painting the Royal Family to immortalise the people behind the neighbourhood businesses that keep their communities ticking.
The brand’s new ‘Local Royalty’ campaign swapped the usual royal sitters for the owners of a fish and chip shop, a pub, a café and a convenience store, giving the everyday faces behind the counter a regal upgrade.
The four portraits were commissioned by Coca-Cola Great Britain and will be exhibited at London’s Saatchi Gallery from 28 October to 1 November, with free entry for the public.
Each artist brought a royal connection of their own. Nicky Philipps, who painted the late Queen Elizabeth II twice, has portrayed Pindy Kaur of Ocean Fish Bar in Barnsley. Jamie Coreth, who painted the first official portrait of the Prince and Princess of Wales, has turned his attention to Simon Dafforn-Jones, landlord of The Ferry Boat Inn in Dittisham, Devon.
Meanwhile, Gareth Reid, who painted King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales, has captured Gino Verecchia of Glasgow’s University Café. Nick Bashall, portrait painter to Princess Anne, painted Kaual Patel, owner of Torridon Convenience Store in Catford, south-east London.
While the artists are accustomed to painting royal subjects, the people sitting for them have built their reputations much closer to home.
The idea is backed by research commissioned by Coca-Cola Great Britain, which found 87 per cent of people considered independent businesses an essential part of life in Great Britain. A further 79 per cent believed their communities would be worse off without them, while 80 per cent wanted to see these businesses celebrated more often.
Each owner will receive their portrait to display at home or at their business, as well as a donation to a local charity of their choice.
The campaign was developed by MHP Group across MHP, Mischief and Studio La Plage, and marks the third instalment in Coca-Cola GB’s wider ‘Localness’ platform. It followed ‘The Bosses’, a documentary and photography series, and ‘Counter Cultures’, which celebrated family-run hospitality businesses.
