Exploring the Art & Science of Marketing
Coke punks own lawyers for marketing campaign
Coke duped (punk’d) its own lawyers when the company had two “brand managers” tell a Coke attorney they wanted to sue Coke Zero because it was infringing on the Coke brand and taste. Turns out, the “brand managers” were just improv actors, and Coke is now using this material in a coordinated marketing/PR campaign to position Coke Zero as something that tastes just like Coke. Pretty smart. Authenticity wins.
The sad part is . . .
Two of the three attorneys in these videos actually figure out a way to sue Coke Zero. Give credit to the third. She pretty much tells them they’ll be laughed out of court.
Next attorney . . .
And finally . . .
thanks Chris.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Russ on March 26, 2007 at 11:10 am, and is filed under Branding, Citizen Marketing, Consultant, Consulting, Customer Evangelism, Marketing, PR, Public Relations, Strategic Marketing. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |

about 4 years ago
Those are great ads.
But don’t confuse these with authenticity, Russ. The entire pitch is built on Coke’s marketing premise that Zero tastes “just like” the original Coke. Buyers (consumers) will ultimately decide if that’s an authentic statement or not, not the Coca Cola company.
about 4 years ago
You missed my point. And, I\’m a consumer of Coke Zero, so I have the right to call it authentic just as much as anybody else. So, I did. I thought it was authentic from the standpoint that there was no scripting on the attorney\’s end.
Your preaching to the choir on Coke deciding the authenticity.
about 4 years ago
Love the Ads. I think it can be done!
I drink it all the time now too – but it just doesn’t have that ZING!
about 4 years ago
…but who will drink the original Coke now? I mean, if they say it tastes the same, only it is better because it contains no sugar, why should I drink the original?