Coca-Cola’s new white cans, part of the company’s “Arctic Home” marketing campaign in support of polar bears, hit shelves today and will remain there for the holiday season. This is a fascinating move for Coke because it “has spent billions of dollars over the years” branding its iconic cans as red. What made Coke decide to risk this, as well as likely a significant amount of redesign and marketing costs?

Coke is trying to continue to participate in the ever-growing sustainability trend, probably hoping to gain a short-term sales boost as well as strengthening its brand for the long-term. Matt Scheckner from AdvertisingWeek noted that this campaign allows Coke to connect customers’ head, heart, and wallet.

Katie Bayne, Coke’s president of sparkling beverages, claimed that what “big, iconic brands can and should do is point out things that matter.” What struck me is that she said brands such as Coke “should” raise awareness about ethical or sustainability issues. This resonates with what Green to Gold authors Andrew Winston and Dan Etsy (Etsy, perhaps not coincidentally, sits on Coke’s Environmental Advisory Board) wrote – that consumers are increasingly “expecting” companies to take initiative in regards to social issues.