The most renowned global beverage company is pushing for a world without labels – by dropping its own.

Coca-Cola is temporarily removing its name from soda cans in the Middle East to encourage people not to judge each other. Instead of their logo, the iconic red and white cans contain the message, "Labels are for cans, not people."

The centerpiece of the advertising campaign is a film depicting a diverse group of men sitting in the dark, discussing their lives and backgrounds, with only their voices and words as cues to each one's outer appearance. While still in the dark, the men share their preconceived notions about what the others must look like, only to have those images shattered when they see the group – including a facially-tattooed psychologist and wheelchair-bound adventure athlete – with the lights on.

The campaign runs in the Middle East during Ramadan, the Muslim holiday that ends July 17th, and ties in with Coke's global "Let's take an extra second" campaign– with another poignant video– that discourages stereotypes based on looks alone.

The ad team, FP7/DXB and Memac Ogilvy, explained the concept behind the campaign:

"In the Middle East, a region with over 200 nationalities and a larger number of labels dividing people, Coca-Cola has set out to remind us that while it takes just 7 seconds to build prejudices based on someone's appearance, nationality or culture, it takes just 1 extra second to overcome them."

Because the holy weeks of Ramadan call for a focus on charity, in addition to their tolerance campaign, Coca-Cola announced that, instead of advertising on television, it would only post its video ads on social media.

The millions of dollars saved will be used to help develop more than 100 underprivileged villages in Egypt.

(READ more at Egyptian Streets)

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