Soft drinks giant Coca Cola have released their latest 3D billboard ad, which is part of the series based on the ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. The astonishing virtual reality ad appears to show a real ice cold Cola bottle travelling from the screen to a vending machine.

The Drum reports that the ad is displayed on four state of the art LED screens that are positioned directly above a vending machine to make it seem even more realistic. The ad is blended with an adaptation of Vermeer’s famous painting to show the subject picking up the Coke bottle.

This is just the latest example of how 3D technology is blending reality with the virtual world in a way that would have seemed impossible even just 10 years ago. The ad was created by David Miami and follows on from a series of ads featuring famous artworks adapted in surprising modern ways.

In 2021, Coca Cola released the “Masterpiece” ad, which depicts a young artist struggling to find inspiration. He then glances around a gallery before spying Andy Warhol’s iconic black and white image of a Coca Cola bottle. 

The bottle becomes animated and bounces around the gallery, highlighting some of the world’s best known paintings, including JMW Turner’s ‘The Shipwreck’, Munch’s ‘The Scream’, and Van Gogh’s ‘Bedroom in Arles.’ 

Ted Ketterer, director of marketing for Coca-Cola Brazil, said: “At a time when the barriers between the physical and digital worlds are increasingly diminishing, Coca-Cola is aware of and integrated with this evolution, and how technology can positively impact our consumers.”

The campaign has launched in Latin America and Asia, and will be launched in other worldwide markets later this year. As well as the 3D billboards, the campaign will feature 2-minute videos and an online gallery to support emerging artists.