• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 14, 2013

Coca-Cola is scheduled to air a special, “open-sourced” Valentine’s Day ad tonight on “American Idol.”

The ad -- filmed in New Zealand by a 23-year-old New Zealander, Hugh Mitton – was awarded first place by Coca-Cola in the 2012 MOFILM Cannes Lions video competition.

The 60-second spot, “Love Is In The Air: A Coca-Cola Valentine,” features red balloons tied to cans of Coca-Cola that float down from the sky to spread happiness to unsuspecting recipients. The ad ends with a Happy Valentine’s Day greeting.

“This work redefines the benchmark of open-sourced excellence,” said Jonathan Mildenhall, Coke’s VP of global advertising strategy and content excellence, adding that “American Idol” is by far the biggest stage the company has given to crowd-sourced content.

Coke will also promote the spot on Facebook and other digital channels.

The Valentine’s Day spot is the latest, timely manifestation of Coke’s “happiness” branding position. 

“It’s one thing to represent happiness as a brand – which we’ve done for more than 126 years – but what we’re trying to do today, more than ever, is to inspire people to create and share happy moments every day,” notes David Campbell, Coke’s global content director.