Coke Will Uncork a New Ad Campaign

Coca-Cola Co. is dropping its long-running “Always Coca-Cola” tag line for a new advertising jingle that urges consumers to “enjoy” the world’s most popular soft drink.

The commercials that will debut on network television Monday mark a crucial juncture for a company that has been hobbled by a product contamination recall in Europe, the resignation of its chairman and charges of racial discrimination at its Atlanta headquarters.

The new ad campaign, introduced to 2,000 Coke bottlers in Atlanta on Wednesday night, is Coke’s latest attempt at differentiating its flagship cola brand from archrival Pepsi-Cola. Coke’s first new brand advertising campaign in seven years is viewed as a crucial tool in an industry where competitors must scramble to build loyalty among free-spending but trendy youngsters.

“People, as we know, associate themselves with a winner, and if you have a great brand, you have to make people remember it,” said Mike Kamins, a marketing professor at USC. “If you’ve got a catchy tune and solid creative material, it makes people remember you.”

Some industry insiders have faulted Coke for producing ads that were too much like No. 2 Pepsi’s recent campaigns.

“Coke and Pepsi are two fundamentally different companies,” said Santa Barbara-based marketing consultant Tom Pirko. “But when you see Coke ads that have looked like Pepsi ads, then you have a problem. I think these [new] ads put Coke back on its [own] side of the fence.”

The new campaign uses humor, high-powered Hollywood directors, state-of-the-art animation and a variety of music to polish Coke’s image.

One ad, dubbed “Message in a Bottle,” takes viewers inside a Coke bottle where dancers weave their way through six dance sequences. A second spot shows a stream of Coca-Cola morphing into a Hawaiian waterfall. Still another ad shows a clever parrot that mimics the sounds of a cola being poured to prompt a customer to order a Coke.

“The ads are really on point,” Pirko said. “They’re clear, simple, they’re full of energy and innocence. It’s the best advertising I’ve seen from Coke in a while.”

Critics contend that catchy jingles and glitzy commercials are losing relevance among media-savvy youngsters. But marketers maintain that brand advertising is still a necessary tool when it comes to building loyalty among youthful consumers who drink the majority of soft drinks sold.

Ian Rowden, Coke’s director of consumer communications, says that it’s not enough to “simply talk about a product. . . . The way consumers connect to a product’s usefulness is very important. . . . Coke is an idea, it’s more than just a carbonated, bubbly drink.”

Rowden would not disclose the campaign’s price tag, but he said the marketing assault that includes radio, television, Internet and billboard elements will be substantial.

“Within seven days, 95% of Americans will have seen the three initial spots,” he said.

The ads also mirror an ongoing attempt by Coca-Cola to fashion a single image in more than 200 countries where it advertises. Soundtracks are designed to be used around the globe and incorporate pop, rap, salsa and swing. Actors in the ads represent diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Six commercials unveiled Wednesday in Atlanta are the work of Santa Monica-based Edge Creative. Chicago-based Leo Burnett USA also created spots.