6 Responses

1. raman

   April 4th, 2007 at 4:15 pm

   1

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv8YgrqUCVU

2. The Angry Medic

   April 8th, 2007 at 3:35 pm

   2

   Arr matey! ‘Tis a shame those ads don’t airrr over here across the pond. But the YouTube link makes things clearrrr…that was a brill ad. BRILL I tell yarr!

   Also, you prolly know by now but Tim dropped your name again when talking about integrity. You must’ve really made an impression on him.

3. Jordan

   April 11th, 2007 at 5:21 pm

   3

   Jack Trout disagrees with you on the strategy part:
   http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/03/29/trout-marketing-coke-oped-cx_jt_0329trout.html

   I agree with Jack. Sorry, buddy.

   I remember when I first heard about Coke Zero. I’m a Diet Coke drinker, so I was naturally curious. I compared the labels. Exactly the same. I was confused. Then I learned that Coke Zero was Coke’s attempt to make Diet Coke palatable for guys, since Diet Coke was apparently for girls. News to me.

   Now, I drink Coke Zero and Diet Coke interchangeably, depending on my mood or the availability of either product. I think most Coke drinkers are like me, meaning Zero cannibalized Diet or Classic. The net result was “zero” — as in zero new Coke drinkers added.

   I also question the product name. Zero? Isn’t that a negative word association? “The soft drink for zeroes!”

   Jack has it right. Consumers need another Coke line extension to think about like they need a hole in the head. And when it ends up being a pointless exercise with no payoff — the product ends up being the same as Diet Coke but in a new package — you feel robbed of your precious time.

   So, funny commercial, bad strategy.

4. surya.yalamanchili

   April 12th, 2007 at 8:36 am

   4

   Jordan:
   Hmm…I think we’re missing each other here. You’re talking product strategy (what are you launching, who are you targeting, why are you launching, etc) and I’m talking advertising strategy (what are you trying to say, how should you say it, etc). I don’t address the product strategy at all in this post. Only the advertising strategy (which I think is great). But I will address the product strategy now:

   I assume that this thing actually tastes more like regular coke. Or at least more so than Diet Coke or Diet Coke with Splenda. If not, these guys are idiots. To promise a benefit that consumers can immediately tell that you can’t deliver is idiocy. From a quick web search this indeed appears to be the case. It sounds like it still tastes diety, and tastes a lot like the diet coke w/splenda. Anyway, instead of working on cool commercials maybe they should have either a) actually developed a calorie-free coke that tastes like regular coke or b) used this commercial for diet coke w/splenda?

   Oh, and it seems the ingredients are not exactly the same…Coke Zero also has this sweetner in it which diet coke lacks: http://www.caloriecontrol.org/acesulf.html

5. george c

   April 26th, 2007 at 3:26 am

   5

   I love Coke Zero. A recent article in the WSJ indicated that in a blind taste between Coke Zero and “Classic” or “Real” Coke the differences were imperceptible. This is very significant as Coke Zero has apparently attracted many new drinkers who want to avoid sugar for the obvious health reasons, and cannot stand the acidic taste of Diet Coke (which by the way is as similar to Coke as say an apple is to a pear… no similarity in taste, therefore the real question is — is it misleading to call Diet COKE– COKE? when it has nothing to do with Classic/”Real” Coke from a product taste standpoint). Here is where I see Coke Zero leading towards… not replacing Diet Coke (some people do like the acidic taste!) but replacing the Real Coke– the sugar ladden stuff. Why would anyone choose to drink a sugar drink with all of its obvious health issues and not the substitute which tastes just like it? In the process, new drinkers like me–folks who gave up on the sugary stuff after too many painful visits to the dentist and could not stand the acidic Diet Coke– are attracted to the brand. B-t-way, same evaluation on the Sprite Zero. Awesome product, indistinguisable from the sugary (”Real”) Sprite…

6. Brian Siegel

   November 30th, 2007 at 6:29 pm

   6

   Creative marketing such as the Coke ad works! I was driving to work today and noticed a billboard with an ad for a radio station that said “Cut the Cra*”, with a gentleman pointing his finger at folks in the rat race. What was intriguing about the billboard was that the station didn’t put their dial information on there! This made me ponder if they did it on purpose to create the channel for a consumer aka “listener” to seek out the channel, building a “private organically creative” bond to a person, or did they really forget to put the ad on there during busy marketing meetings/decisions/cost cutting etc.? Brilliant or stupid? Also, gotta love the “Career Builder” ads! Wonder what those monkies make an hour, and the animals on there too, ha! Humor, what a great concept! I hope GE and P&G take steps to integrate human connection through channels such as creative humor to build consumer intimacy instead of maintaining the safe, stable, stagnant basic “3 point”, repeat, product info commercials! But hey, can’t argue with success, what works, but companies should follow the advice they preach about “innovation”. Companies are so afraid to take risks, with the possible side effect of “Great to Good”, but again, they work! I am curious to see with such market segmentation and changes in taste, society, and culture, how many departments, community relations/external relations, and research is obtained. The “GE’s and P&G’s” are successful with talented people, but they’re going to have to adapt by creating and investing more in true innovation rather than use it as a buzz word.

   later bud,
   Brian Siegel
   www.siegelinnovations.blogspot.com/
   ps wish me luck, having lunch with John Pepper in a week to listen, learn, and connect with regarding P&G, and see about him being a voice and earning an opportunity in marketing with a company I admire and have passion for!