Coca-Cola to Launch "Beauty Drinks" in France

NEW YORK -- The Coca-Cola Co. and Sanofi are partnering to launch a line of "beauty drinks" in France.

The drinks will be positioned under the Oenobiol Beautific brand, but Coca-Cola declined to provide further details. The Coca-Cola business unit in France said in a statement that the drinks will be sold in a "small scale pilot" limited to a number of pharmacies in the country.

Coca-Cola, the world's largest beverage maker, declined to comment beyond the statement. But as concerns about sugary drinks grow at home and abroad, the Atlanta-based company has moved to diversify its options. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola in France introduced Sprite with stevia, a natural sweetener that has no calories. The launch followed its introduction of Fanta with stevia in 2010.

Sanofi, a drug maker based in Paris, bought Laboratoire Oenobiol in 2009; the company makes nutritional supplements for skin and hair care.

The partnership to make the drinks was reported earlier Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal.

Citing a presentation of the drinks made to the Sanofi works council, the Journal said the four Oenobiol drinks will be made of mineral water, fruit juice and nutrition additives. The drinks will come with claims that they "help strengthen hair and nails, embellish skin, lose weight and improve vitality," the paper said.

In 2009, more than two dozen states settled a case with Coca-Cola and Nestle over the green tea drink Enviga, and claims that drink would burn more calories than it contained.

Coca-Cola and Nestle agreed to add disclosures to Enviga and any similarly formulated product to disclaim any weight loss benefits and note that weight loss is only possible through diet and exercise.

The news of the beauty drinks in France comes as Coca-Cola struggles to grow its sales volume in Europe, with sales volume up just 1 percent in the third quarter.

 

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AriZona Beverages and Richard Prince team up for Lemon Fizz Concoctions

Up until now Andy Warhol's exquisitely awkward commercial for Braniff Air arguably held the title for most bizarre sellout debacle of all time. But we think the time has come for Warhol to step aside and make room for appropriation artist Richard Prince in honor of his collaboration with AriZona Beverages.

Yes, Richard Prince now has a brand of fizzy beverage, which was described as "lemonade with a slight carbonation" during a phone call with an AriZona representative. While you may know Prince as the guy who took a naked picture of Brooke Shields at only ten years old, you probably didn't know that he is also a guy with a serious soft spot for soda. According to the AriZona rep, Prince approached the company looking to collaborate on a beverage of his own and eventually discovered his soda soul mate in lemon fizz.

The cans of the citrusy refreshment were designed by Prince himself, and the can-art basically serves as a curriculum vitae for Prince. The objets d'art are adorned with representations of his nurse paintings and joke paintings, as well as a larger black-and-white glam shot of Prince looking like a pissed-off rock star who needs his damn AriZona lemon fizz already! (Also, there is a Playboy bunny skull, which is very classy.)

The can will be released in December at Art Basel Miami Beach. Until then, even the most artsy of consumers will have to drink regular old lemonade without a mini-museum on the can. How humiliating.

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Unlock the 007 in You

Name of Company/Competitor: Coke Zero
Name of Campaign/Spot: Unlock the 007 in Your
Date Launched: 10/18/12
Description: Coke Zero challenged unsuspecting train passengers to unlock the 007 in them for their chance to win exclusive tickets for the new James Bond movie SKYFALL.
However, the tickets weren't free. People had to go the extra mile and unlock their inner 007 in less than 70 seconds to win.
Media Details: Online

No Time to Try a Pepsi Next? Brand Will Give You An 'Extra Hour' So You Can

Pepsi is promoting Pepsi Next, in a campaign that promises to give people a "25th hour" in their day to tackle their to-do lists.

The campaign, orchestrated by The Barbarian Group, teams Pepsi with TaskRabbit, a startup website and mobile app that's designed to boost productivity by enabling people to outsource jobs and tasks to (fully-vetted) people in their neighborhood -- a kind of concierge service by the hour.

To take part, people need to go to the website, and sign up. For the next four weeks until Nov. 12, Pepsi will be giving away 50 tasks a week. The winners will receive a dedicated Task Rabbit for one hour to tackle errands of their choosing, from preparing dinner to cleaning the house. The Task Rabbit will give a Pepsi NEXT for each winner to enjoy with their new found time.

Previously, the company created an "Internet Taste Test" to promote the beverage. Featuring Rob Riggle, Gary Vaynerchuck and meme Scumbag Steve, an app created by The Barbarian Group let you watch Funny or Die comedians taste Pepsi NEXT while they impersonated you.

Check it out on Creativity-Online.com, and follow @creativitymag on Twitter for more great work.

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Coke Zero in position to leapfrog Coca-Cola Light in Europe

In Europe, Coke Zero, long a star performer for the company, is poised to surpass Coca-Cola Light.

The zero-calorie beverage that purports to have the "same great taste" as regular Coke already ranks as the market's fourth-largest brand, behind Coke, Fanta and Coca-Cola Light (called Diet Coke in the United States). But Gianluca Carpiceci, marketing director for Coca-Cola Europe, says the brand could vault to the No. 2 spot in four to five years.

In the European market, Coke Zero grew 14% last year, compared with 11% in North America. Spain, France and Poland have seen growth figures between 20% and 30% for the past few years, Mr. Carpiceci said. It is already Western Europe's fifth-largest brand, according to Euromonitor International.

"If Coke Zero continues on the same trajectory, it will overtake Coke Light," Mr. Carpiceci said. "The fact is that Coke Zero probably has the potential to have a more global and universal appeal than Coke Light. In the beginning, in the same way Coke Light is slightly [skewed] toward a female target, we thought [Coke Zero] could be more male. But Coke Zero has a much more universal proposition than we thought."

Coke Zero has been available in Europe since 2006, a year after the brand's U.S. introduction. Broad distribution -- it is available everywhere Coke products are sold -- has been key to the brand's success, of course. But the European markets have also doubled down on sampling, a practice typically reserved for new-product introductions in the U.S. Mr. Carpiceci says sampling drives trial and penetration, even though the brand has already reached critical mass. Case in point, red-can Coke is also still sampled in Europe.

"We're treating sampling as a science, measuring the conversion rate," said Mr. Carpiceci, noting that everything from the location to the temperature of the product is carefully maintained. "We're reminding people -- even current users -- about the drink and experience. It is very effective. Recruitment is a continuous effort. You can't just recruit a consumer once and expect them to last forever."

In Europe, Coke Zero works with Grey, Publicis, McCann and Ogilvy, among other agencies. Recent campaigns include "Swap" in Spain, a stunt that involved switching regular Coke with Coke Zero at cinemas. Prior to the movie, a one-minute ad aired featuring an employee at the snack bar, who revealed to the audience that they were drinking Coke Zero out of regular-Coke cups.

The "Swap" campaign contributed to 30% growth in the market and is now considered a best practice. "It's a nice way of demonstrating how close the taste is," Mr. Carpiceci said.

In the U.S., Coke Zero recently tapped Droga5 as its creative agency, ending its relationship with Crispin Porter & Bogusky, which had been behind the brand's memorable "Taste Infringement" advertising series.

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One Direction and Drew Brees star in new Pepsi spot

Name of Company/Competitor: Pepsi
Name of Campaign/Spot: Pepsi Showdown
Date Launched: 10/12/12
Description: Drew Brees can be in the band. He just has to give up the Pepsi
Media Details: TV

How Coke got 52 million Facebook likes

Authenticity and transparency are the keys to engaging consumers—and becoming a social media force.

Coca-Cola has 52 million "likes" on Facebook. One of the earliest advertisers on the social media platform, the company has been one of the leaders among large global brands in establishing authentic relationships with consumers. The key? "You have to be "flawsome," said Wendy Clark, who is Coke's Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing Communications and Capabilities.

Speaking at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel on Tuesday, Clark explained it this way: "You have to be awesome with your flaws, the things that aren't exactly perfect. You want to be human, to speak like a human and act like a human."

Easy to say, but Clark was clear this is hard to do. "We are 126 years old," she said. "We are used to controlling the dialogue [about Coca-Cola]."

Since Clark moved into her role in 2008, Coca-Cola has given consumers an increasingly larger voice on social media sites. There are 15,000 tweets on a day on Coca-Cola (KO), she said. That type of content is currency in a social networking world. "If we can give consumers content that is engaging, that's currency. Then they become our salesman."

To do so, Coke must let consumers engage with the brand's assets, even when Clark doesn't like what they are saying. This is the greatest risk to the company's social media strategy. Said Clark, "There's plenty of content I would prefer wasn't around on Coca-Cola but you can't take that content down. It's bloody hard. If you start it's like a game of whack-a-mole. And once you start, you're never going to win."

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Snapple heads to Green Mountain's Keurigs

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc struck a deal with Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc to offer Snapple iced teas in single-serve packs for its Keurig and Vue brewers, the companies said on Tuesday.

The deal, which complements similar ones with Starbucks, Dunkin' Brands Group Inc and Caribou Coffee Co, comes as Green Mountain is working to fend off competition from lower-cost rivals, including private-label manufacturers.

The addition of Snapple "demonstrates Green Mountain's ability to attract and align itself with the best consumer brands, further bolstering its variety of offerings and relevance to consumers," Lazard Capital analyst Matthew DiFrisco said.

The Snapple K-Cup pack iced teas will be available in the United States and Canada in spring 2013, with Vue packs to follow, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Green Mountain's stock has been under pressure as investors have been concerned that recent rebates on coffee brewers would hurt the company's profit margins. But DiFrisco said those concerns appear "overblown," citing conversations with management in which they affirmed that the rebates were planned and factored into the company's previous forecast.

Single-serve coffee pods are expected to reach $959.1 million in retail sales this year - up 32 percent, according to Euromonitor International. That would account for about 10 percent of the overall coffee market, which is expected to grow by only 6 percent this year.

Green Mountain shares rose 24 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $22.77 in midday trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Dr Pepper shares were down 12 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $43.93.

Alex Bogusky Takes on Coca-Cola, Soda Companies

You could say that Alex Bogusky has gone from subservient chickens to unhappy bears.

After a hiatus of a couple of years, he's back doing what he did for most of his career: making ads. Only this time, the work has a real activist streak. His first target? The soft-drink industry.

And in what seems to be becoming Mr. Bogusky's M.O., he's turned against a company that once lined his pockets. For years, his former agency, CP&B, was employed by Coca-Cola (working on the Coke Zero brand). In a similar fashion, Mr. Bogusky created advertising for Burger King and later launched a book called the "9 Inch Diet" and condemned fast-food companies.

His new video ad -- which was first reported by USA Today -- was created for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group based in Washington. It's a nearly four-minute animated film set to an original track called "Sugar" by singer Jason Mraz.

Throughout, an adorable white polar bear family that resembles the bears associated with the Coca-Cola brand are seen guzzling soda, resulting in ill effects. They grow overweight and their teeth rot. They patronize "Be Happy Please" machines -- an apparent shot at Coke's "Open Happiness" ad campaign and vending machines. At the end, the bears realize they are sad because of how the sugary drinks make them feel and dump the soda.

The video drives viewers to a website, where visitors are invited to share the video via social media.

"Facebook it. Tweet it. Pin it. Google+ it. Email the link to your friends and relatives. Show it at school. Sit down and watch it with your whole family. Host a movie night and watch it before the main feature. Talk about The Real Bears on your YouTube show. Embed it on your website or blog. Have at it. You are the messenger. Sharing is the only means we have to make sure the unhappy truth about soda gets out to the world."

But more inflammatory than the cutesy video is a part of the website that highlights quotes that have historically been made by Coca-Cola execs such as the company's President-CEO Muhtar Kent and Katie Bayne, president-sparkling beverages, North America.

For example, a quote from Ms. Bayne stating that "there is no scientific evidence that connects sugary beverages to obesity" is accompanied by the word "lie" in bold letters. Adjacent to that are statements such as "Truth: Drinking one or two sugary drinks per day increases your risk for Type 2 diabetes by 25%" and "Diabetes can lead to erectile dysfunction."

In an email, Coke spokeswoman Susan Stribling told Ad Age: "This is irresponsible and the usual grandstanding from CSPI. It won't help anyone understand energy balance, which is key according to recognized experts who've studied this issue -- a group that, by default, doesn't include CSPI. Enough said."

The timing is inopportune given the ANA Masters of Marketing conference taking place this week in Orlando, Fla., during which a top Coca-Cola marketing exec is scheduled to speak. However, it's understood that the video's release was not intentionally pegged to that event.

While the ad squarely takes aim at Coke, Jeff Cronin, head of communications for CSPI, said that the group is trying to ensure Americans think twice before drinking all sugary drinks and is taking on all the companies that market them.

"The polar bears imagery has long been cynically co-opted by Coke, and I suppose you could say that with the Real Bears, we're reclaiming the bears for everyone," Mr. Cronin told Ad Age. "But the film doesn't just take on Coca-Cola; it seeks to reposition all sugary drinks, no matter who produced them. Pepsi, Coke and other companies market such drinks as sources of happiness. We want to show that they cause more than their share of sadness."

But can one video about why sugar isn't healthful can persuade consumers to change their behavior?

Mr. Cronin said: "The biggest source of consumers' information about sugary drinks is the sugary-drinks industry, not health experts. We'll never compete with them when it comes to advertising budgets. But this short film has information that will be new to most people."

Mr. Cronin characterizes Mr. Bogusky's railing against the soda industry as "courageous". When asked whether the move could be seen as hypocritical, since Mr. Bogusky once profited from his work on Coca-Cola, he said: "I think for Alex, and for the other people on the creative team who come from the commercial advertising world, making 'The Real Bears' reflects their courageous commitment to happier, healthier communities."

Recently Mr. Bogusky jumped into one of the biggest food fights of the year, dropping $100,000 in support of a California ballot proposition that would require special labels for foods containing genetically engineered ingredients. His donation pits him against big packaged-food and drink marketers such as PepsiCo, Nestle, Coca Cola Co. and ConAgra, which have donated millions of dollars to the No on Prop. 37 campaign.

Mr. Bogusky's reappearance in adland came within days of the expiration of a noncompete agreement with MDC Partners. He announced at that time that he was working with Made Movement, a startup focused on American manufacturing set up by some of his former CP&B colleagues. But this is not a Made project; it's one all his own.

Mr. Bogusky was unavailable for comment.

It seems Mr. Bogusky and singer Mr. Mraz have gotten to know each other well; as what may have been a hint this summer that a collboration was coming, Mr. Bogusky tweeted "@jason_mraz is such a good dude. He's greening his tour and you can get involved! http://jasonmraz.com/?p=89851 #TourIsAFourLetterWord"

Watch the video below.

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Pepsi's Next Innovation: Buy a Soda, Send a Gift, Play a Game, Charge a Phone

Now that PepsiCo has begun marketing in its flagship Pepsi brand in a much more significant way this year, investors, analysts and other pundits are giving PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi the benefit of the doubt as she continues to unfold her strategy for making the company a major player in better-for-you markets rather than just a traditional purveyor of snack foods and soda beverages. From Australia to India, from vending machines to sweeteners to ad agencies, PepsiCo is pushing to innovate.

Case in point: PepsiCo just announced a pilot rollout of its Pepsi Interactive Vendingmachine pilot program, allowing consumers in a handful of U.S. locations to not only buy a beverage, but also send virtual gifts, play games and even charge their mobile devices. In addition to buying a Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist Natural, Aquafina or Lipton Green Tea, users can also gift a 20-ounce bottled beverage to a friend by entering the recipient's name and email along with a personalized message. That person, in turn, can send a gift back to the gift-giver — or pay it forward by sending their own gift to another friend.

The next-generation social vending machine is "part of a broader global platform of equipment innovation we're developing to engage consumers," stated Mikel Durham, PepsiCo's Global Growth officer. "The pilot launch of our Interactive Vending equipment is an exciting step in transforming the point-of-purchase experience," added Margery Schelling, the company's Global Innovation officer.

Thanks to the machine's digital advances, soda-buyers can also compete in an on-screen random chance game to win a free 20-ounce bottled beverage that can be redeemed immediately or at a later date at any Pepsi Interactive Vending machine. They can also charge their mobile devices while enjoying a PepsiCo beverage by plugging into specially designed AC power outlets and USB ports directly from the machine.

Competing with Coca-Cola's futuristic Freestyle machines, the Pepsi machines' touchscreen technology also displays nutritional information, current PepsiCo beverages campaigns (witness the "Live for Now" branding), TV commercials and other video promotions. On the analytics side, vendors can tap into "PepsiCo’s pioneering use of telemetry" to closely manage inventory levels and delivery scheduling remotely, and easily update digital content and messaging online as needed.

At its global headquarters in Purchase, NY, meanwhile, global CMO Salman Amin is busy consolidating its roster of ad agencies — as General Motors did a year ago — in an effort not only to drive economies of scale but also to push more resources to what consumers see and to create ad-agency partners who understand the company and its diverse brands, marketing initiatives and businesses better. "The goal is not to cut money; the goal is to refocus money ... against consumer-facing activities," Amin told Forbes. In a bid to elevate its brands' creative, PepsiCo recently named a chief design officer, recruiting Mauro Porcini from 3M, where he "turned pedestrian Scotch tape and Post-it note dispensers into desk art," noted Bloomberg. He's tasked with helping PepsiCo make design statements with its products a la Apple.

PepsiCo's innovation push also extends to ingredients. In Australia, for example, it is rolling out its reduced-calorie Pepsi Next brand with stevia, the "honestly sweet" natural plant-based sweetener; it also includes some sugar. The Pepsi Next introduced this year in the United States doesn't rely on stevia, even though PepsiCo has a joint-venture stake in the stevia-based sweetener, PureVia. That may be because many Americans are reporting disappointment with a bitter afternote in stevia-based beverages.

Meanwhile, in India, PepsiCo is rapidly renting IT services to help the company crunch numbers for its increasing reliance on "big data" to uncover patterns across the company and in the market that may be ripe for exploitation. And in China, PepsiCo has opened its sixth food-manufacturing plant to help reach its goal of investing $2.5 billion in that market in the three years ending next year.

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Soda Industry: Vending Machines Will Show Calories

As criticism over sugary sodas intensifies, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are rolling out new vending machines that display just how many calories are in their drinks.

The machines will let customers see the calorie counts for drinks before making a purchase. They will launch in Chicago and San Antonio municipal buildings in 2013 before rolling out nationally.

The American Beverage Association, which represents Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., said Monday that the machines will increase the availability of lower-calorie drinks and remind consumers to consider alternatives with messages such as "Try a Low-Calorie Beverage."

A 12-ounce can of regular soda typically has about 140 calories and 40 grams of high-fructose corn syrup. Most diet sodas, which are sweetened with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, have zero calories.

Starting next year, Coca-Cola says its vending machines in the two cities will feature calorie information for each beverage choice. The Atlanta-based company notes that it already provides calorie information on the front of its drinks rather than just on the nutrition panel on the back.

The move comes as the soda industry has come under increasing fire for fueling obesity rates. Last month, New York City approved a plan to prohibit the sale of sugary drinks over 16 ounces in the city's restaurants, movie theaters and stadiums. The beverage industry aggressively fought the measure, saying it takes away customer choice.

Soft drink makers are also dealing with shifting consumer habits. On a per capita basis, soda consumption in the U.S. has been declining since 1998, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest. The decline is partly the result of the growing number of beverage options, such as flavored waters, bottled teas and sports drinks.

As a result, Coke, Pepsi and Dr Pepper are focusing on developing more diet drinks, as well as expanding into other types of drinks to reduce their reliance on sodas.

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New Pepsi X - Dragonfruit flavored

On Thursday, Pepsi unveiled its newest "Pop Star" in dragonfruit-flavored Pepsi X, The Pepsi with THE X FACTOR. This spring, Pepsi joined THE X FACTOR and embarked on "The Pepsi Flavor Audition Tour," giving contestants and fans at more than 20 locations in 15 cities, the exclusive opportunity to sample four new Pepsi flavors and be the judge of which one earned the right to be called Pepsi X. With more than 15,000 contestant and fan votes captured, the limited edition dragonfruit Pepsi flavor was crowned as the nation's next "Pop Star," Pepsi X.

"Our partnership with THE X FACTOR has given us the opportunity to further engage with our passionate consumers, and continue the Pepsi legacy of supporting aspiring musical talent," said Eric Whitehouse, director of marketing for Pepsi. "With Pepsi X, we put fans in the judge's seat - giving them the power to select our next limited edition flavor - the Pepsi with 'THE X FACTOR.'"

The dragonfruit Pepsi X will be available in 12-packs, 2-Liters and 20oz bottles wherever Pepsi is sold while supplies last beginning Oct. 8.

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