ZERO
to consumers concerned with nutrition, Coke introduced
Diet Coke Plus in 2007, a sweeter version of Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals. But what they really needed was a way to reach young male consumers, and
Diet Coke Plus, marketed with the tagline “Your Best Friend
Just Got Friendlier!” wasn’t going to do it.
A few new products appealed to certain male demographics, such as Coca-Cola Blak, a cola with coffee essence created for older, more sophisticated consumers who are willing to pay more, and Full Throttle Blue Demon, an energy drink with an agave azule flavor (think margaritas) designed to appeal to Hispanic men. However, research showed that there was still a big demographic hole to fill as young men between the ages of 18 and 34 were abandoning the Coca-Cola brand altogether. They didn’t want all the calories of regular Coke, but neither were they willing to make the move to Diet Coke, which has traditionally been marketed to women who want to lose weight.
Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola
North America, says that the men who weren’t put off by the “feminine stigma” of Diet Coke often rejected it anyway because of its aspartame-sweetened aftertaste. “What we were seeing before Zero launched was that more and more younger people were interested in no-calorie beverages but weren’t going to sacrifice taste,” Bayne said. “So when they got interested in no-calorie, they were like, ‘Forget it,
I’m not going to Diet Coke.’” Testing showed that the name
“Coke Zero” would be an effective way to sell a low-calorie cola to men without using the word “diet.” And advances in artificial sweeteners made it possible for Coke to finally create a product that tasted more like the real thing. So expectations were high when Coke Zero was introduced in 2005 with a big marketing push, including a commercial that remade the famous 1971 “Hilltop/I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” ad—this time with rapper G. Love on
Diet Coke Plus in 2007, a sweeter version of Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals. But what they really needed was a way to reach young male consumers, and
Diet Coke Plus, marketed with the tagline “Your Best Friend
Just Got Friendlier!” wasn’t going to do it.
A few new products appealed to certain male demographics, such as Coca-Cola Blak, a cola with coffee essence created for older, more sophisticated consumers who are willing to pay more, and Full Throttle Blue Demon, an energy drink with an agave azule flavor (think margaritas) designed to appeal to Hispanic men. However, research showed that there was still a big demographic hole to fill as young men between the ages of 18 and 34 were abandoning the Coca-Cola brand altogether. They didn’t want all the calories of regular Coke, but neither were they willing to make the move to Diet Coke, which has traditionally been marketed to women who want to lose weight.
Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola
North America, says that the men who weren’t put off by the “feminine stigma” of Diet Coke often rejected it anyway because of its aspartame-sweetened aftertaste. “What we were seeing before Zero launched was that more and more younger people were interested in no-calorie beverages but weren’t going to sacrifice taste,” Bayne said. “So when they got interested in no-calorie, they were like, ‘Forget it,
I’m not going to Diet Coke.’” Testing showed that the name
“Coke Zero” would be an effective way to sell a low-calorie cola to men without using the word “diet.” And advances in artificial sweeteners made it possible for Coke to finally create a product that tasted more like the real thing. So expectations were high when Coke Zero was introduced in 2005 with a big marketing push, including a commercial that remade the famous 1971 “Hilltop/I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” ad—this time with rapper G. Love on