The Rule That Made Coca-Cola Billions

Hey Beyonder!

Here's a test.

Close your eyes and think of Coca-Cola.

What do you see?

I bet it's not a bottle. It's not a logo.

It's something else. A moment. A feeling.

Maybe it's ice clinking in a glass. Maybe it's someone laughing at a table. Maybe it's that first sip on a hot day.

That's not an accident. That's a framework.

And it's the difference between content people scroll past and content they feel.

Why Most Content Falls Flat

Most creators tell you what to feel.

"This made me so happy!"

"I was really nervous."

"It felt amazing."

And your brain just... skips it.

Because words don't create feelings. Moments do.

When you say "I was nervous," I understand it.

When you show shaking hands reaching for a button, I feel it.

That's the gap most content never crosses.

The Brain Processes Images 60,000x Faster

Here's the science part.

Your brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text.

Not twice as fast. Not ten times. Sixty thousand.

That's why a single frame can hit harder than a paragraph.

A kid's smile. A door closing. Rain on a window.

These aren't decorations. They're the story.

And brands that understand this don't explain emotions. They show them.

How Coca-Cola Sells Feeling, Not Soda

Coca-Cola's "Open Happiness" campaign ran globally in 2014.

Here's what they didn't do: Say "Coke makes you happy."

Here's what they did: Show you happiness in 15 seconds.

Slow motion bottle clink. Kids running through sprinklers. Families around a dinner table. Friends laughing in the sun.

Zero voiceover explaining joy.

Just moments that made you feel it.

That campaign wasn't about the drink. It was about the pause. The gathering. The shared moment.

And people didn't buy soda. They bought the feeling.

The Secret Weapon: B-Roll

If you've watched my videos, you've probably noticed something.

I'm rarely just talking to the camera.

There are cuts to my hands typing. Coffee cooling on my desk. The sky outside my window.

That's not random. That's intentional.

B-roll isn't filler. It's the emotional layer.

When I talk about starting over, I cut to an empty notebook.

When I talk about badminton, I show clips of me playing.

When I talk about friends, I show their faces.

These shots don't explain my words. They amplify the feeling behind them.

And that's exactly what Coca-Cola does. Every laugh, every clink, every summer scene is B-roll that carries the emotion their words never say.

I shoot B-roll everywhere now. Not because it looks cool. Because it makes people feel something.

The Mute Test

Want to know if your content works?

Mute it.

If the story disappears, you're telling, not showing.

If the story still lands, you nailed it.

Coca-Cola's ads pass the mute test every time.

You see the bottle open. You see faces light up. You see people together.

You don't need words to feel what's happening.

Most content? Fails the mute test instantly.

Because it relies on captions to carry the emotion instead of using visuals to create it.

Show vs Tell in Action

Let's compare two versions of the same story:

Version 1 (Telling):

Text overlay: "I finally launched my project after months of hard work. I was so relieved and excited!"

Version 2 (Showing):

You see hands hovering over a laptop. Deep breath. Finger clicks "Publish." Screen goes live. Shoulders drop. Slow smile.

Which one did you feel?

The second one. Because you didn't read the emotion. You saw it unfold.

Coca-Cola has built an empire on version 2.

What to Show Instead of Tell

When you're planning content, swap these:

Instead of saying "I was anxious":

Show: Pacing. Checking phone repeatedly. Biting nails.

Instead of saying "It was beautiful":

Show: Golden light through trees. Wind moving grass. Someone stopping mid-step to look.

Instead of saying "We had fun":

Show: Heads thrown back laughing. Food spilling. Someone doubled over.

The rule: If you can show a gesture, color, or moment instead of a word, do it.

The Three Visual Layers That Work

Great visual storytelling uses three layers:

1. Gestures

Hands fidgeting. Eyes closing. A hug that lasts too long.

These communicate what words can't.

2. Colors

Warm tones for comfort. Cool tones for tension. Saturation for energy.

Coca-Cola uses red for excitement and warmth everywhere.

3. Moments

The pause before someone speaks. The look after good news. The silence after the door closes.

These moments are the story.

When all three align, you don't need to explain anything.

Start Building Your B-Roll Library

Here's what I do.

Whenever I'm out, I shoot 5-10 seconds of random moments.

Morning light on my desk. Traffic at the junction. Hands holding a pen. Rain on glass.

These clips sit in a folder. And when I'm editing, I pull from them.

They turn talking head videos into stories.

Because while I'm explaining a concept, the B-roll is making you feel it.

That's the difference between content that informs and content that moves.

Try This This Week

Pick one emotion you want to communicate.

Now ban yourself from using the word.

Instead, create a 10-second clip that shows it:

Frustration? Show crumpled paper. Deleted drafts. Head in hands.

Excitement? Show quick cuts. Fast movement. Wide eyes.

Peace? Show slow pans. Still water. Deep breaths.

Post it. Don't explain it. Let the visuals do the work.

And start shooting B-roll today. Your future self will thank you.

The Real Lesson

Coca-Cola doesn't tell you happiness tastes like caramel and fizz.

They show you what happiness looks like. Feels like. Sounds like.

And your brain fills in the rest.

That's not magic. That's understanding how humans process stories.

We don't remember what we're told. We remember what we see.

So stop writing feelings. Start filming them.

Keep it visual,
Epaphra

P.S. Next time you watch an ad that hits you, mute it. See how much of the story survives. That's your benchmark.