Restaurants Embrace Teas, Chillers, and Natural Beverages to Bring in Consumers: A Look at What Makes Americans’ Mouth Water

BevIndustry.com’s recent report on quick service restaurants highlighted the unmatched growth of the fast-casual dining segment during current economic recovery. This segment of slightly higher quality fast-restaurants, like Five Guys, Go Roma, and Noodles & Co, has garnered a growth of over 11% in the last 5 years, in comparison to the 1.4% overall growth of quick-service offerings. One reason for this sector’s rebound is its investment in high-quality, all-natural beverage options. Consumers are willing to spend slightly more in exchange for the natural, quality, and unique drinks that have come to define the fast-casual dining experience.

The entire quick-service restaurant segment has been quick to respond, with an increase in pricier, unique beverage offerings. McDonald’s Chillers with “100% fruit juice and natural flavors” as well as Wendy’s  “cane sugar” all-natural lemonade demonstrate the growing popularity of premium nature-based beverages, even in a time of economic hardship. BevIndustry highlights the swift response of beverage providers to create offerings that consumers are craving. Caribou Coffee introduced its newest line of all-natural sparkling teas and juices, and Numi Organic Tea invested in five, Fair Trade, organic brewed iced tea options.

NextLevel Markteting identified consumer’s primary concern for quality over affordability when selecting a restaurant or fast-casual experience. Beverage selection has become a determining factor, and companies like Coke have worked to increase the assortment and number of their beverage options at restaurants, via new Fountain machines. Coke Freestyle, interactive fountain machines with 100+ flavors are experiencing increased distribution and are available in over 4000 locations. 

Beverage-concentrate provider, Multi-Flow Industries, addressed consumer interest in natural ingredients by offering zero-calorie, natural choices like nourisH20 vitamin-enhanced water and all-natural, sugar-sweetened Fountainhead Gourmet Craft Sodas. The company continues to address American’s long-time desire for fountain drinks. However, it now ensures that there are options for the “modern socially-aware consumer” at a time when the “natural’ trend is the single largest [trend] affecting food and beverages.” Multi-Flow anticipates increased investments in lemonade, smoothies, energy drins, and iced tea products as soft drink consumption remains flat or declines. With consumers’ primary concerns moving toward the natural and innovative, restaurants are taking the time and money to create drinks that will bring customers in and leave them coming back for more.

Blog post written by Deutsch Intern: Olivia Lassoff

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Coca-Cola and Auntie Anne's new campaign targets moms in Atlanta shopping malls

Coca-Cola and pretzel seller Auntie Anne’s have partnered on a location-based, back-to-school-oriented mobile ad test in Atlanta.

Through Aug. 15, the pilot will target moms, teens and tweens who might be back-to-school shopping. The banner-like ads will appear via a network of apps from categories such as games, health, fitness and weather. The creative will pitch a coupon for a Coke and a soft pretzel item when the consumers are close to one of Auntie Anne’s 11 shopping mall locations in the southeastern city.

Coke and Auntie Anne's are utilizing technology from mobile advertising companies Millennial Media and Sparkfly in the effort. The brands can track the campaign’s performance by assessing redemption rates and other data. However, Tom Daly, an interactive manager for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, said that his beverage company's reaction to the test won't tilt too heavily on redemption rates. "Certainly, we'll be interested to compare against other coupon tactics, but redemption rate alone is not what we are looking for," he said. "We will be looking at other data points along the 'value chain' to help best understand [mobile's] true role."

At the same time, Auntie Anne's brass sounded a little more compelled to see what percentage of coupons were converted to sale.

“The ability to measure ROI on mobile...and track it on one platform enables [us] to make an intelligent assessment of mobile's performance against other channels," said Heather Neary, CMO at the Lancaster, Penn.-based retailer.

In technical terms, Millennial Media general manager Marcus Startzel described how the campaign can zero in on moms. “We use our first-party data to build unique audiences on our platform, and moms are certainly one of the key real-world audiences we are able to reach,” he said. “We can then overlay this with location data we have on our platform, and combined, it allows us to reach the right consumer, at the right time and place.”

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Vitaminwater Looks to Boost Awareness via Olympics Campaign

Vitaminwater is looking to boost its international presence with its first Summer Olympics campaign.

The campaign called "Games, Only Better" is an international awareness campaign aimed  at trial and recruitment overseas and will not be aired in the United States. In just four-and-ahalf- years, the 12-year-old brand is now in 24 international markets, but only 1/5 of the brand's sales come from outside the United States.

Eric Lewis, the global brand director for Glaceau which produces Vitaminwater said "Vitaminwater is an iconic brand in the U.S. But overseas it's such a young brand, with pretty low brand awareness. With out size, we need an asset like the Olympics to cut through. But we have the same brand vision and architecture in the U.S. and internationally.

Additionally, Rana Kardestuncer, global marketing communications director at Glaceau said "The Olympics are a compelling way to introduce ourselves and help people get to know us.

The Olympic campaign was built around the insight that a certain group of consumers is viewing the Long games as a "big party with a sporting event in the middle," said Lewis.

A mobile unit, dubbed, the Glaceau Tasting Vehicle, will be traveling the streets of London and setting up interactive games such as oversized Jenga and Twister. Popular British singer, Jessie J will lend her vocals for a virtual version of musical chairs at GamesOnlyBetter.com, with her song "Laserlight". The prize for playing? Tickets to her concert in London next month of course.

Out-of-home will feature taglines like "Long jump, only better" and "Archery, only better", which shows a couple jumping into a lake and the latter shows cupid aiming an arrow over London. Droga5 was the agency behind this campaign.

Vitaminwater is hoping for the same success they had acheived in Canada after the 2010 Vancouver games (Canada is now the most successful market, by volume and profit after the U.S.) and are hoping these 2012 games will have major impact on their business in the U.K.

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Pepsi "Vive Hoy"

Name of Company/Competitor: Pepsi

Name of Campaign/Spot: Vive Hoy

Date Launched: 7/22/12
Description: Futbol stars arrive at a packed concert and run across their screaming fans and use a soccer ball to to release Pepsi's from the vending machine.

Media Details: TV

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PRESS: PepsiCo strikes deal with Stealers for stadium deal

There's a new soft drink in Pittsburgh and this time it's Pepsi.

PepsiCo has officially signed a multi-year agreement to be the exclusive provider of soft drinks, salty snacks, and "sports fuel" at the Pittsburgh Steelers' home stadium, Heinz Field.

While the financial terms have yet to be disclosed, this does bring an end to the four-decade-long relationship that the Coca-Cola Company has had with the Steelers. What was the deciding factor? Well, PepsiCo's deal has opened up opportunities across the whole PepsiCo North America Portfolio, including their other brands, Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana, and of course, Pepsi.

So what does Pepsi get out of this deal? Well PepsiCo will have exclusive selling, dispensing and serving rights, fixed stadium signage, venue and team sponsored assets, integration into the team's mobile, TV and digital assets, and local media and retail promotion opportunities. PepsiCo beverage brands have already replaced Coca-Cola branding in the stadium and full transformation will be complete before the start of the 2012 NFL season.

In addition, PepsiCo has announced a limited edition Pepsi MAX can in honor of the Steelers' 80th anniversary and will be available for purchase in Pennsylvania beginning in the fall.

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Mountain Dew - Green Mountain Project

Name of Company/Competitor: Mountain Dew
Name of Campaign/Spot:  Green Mountain Project

Date Launched: 2/10/12
Description: Let's face it, we all consume a lot of stuff, but there are ways we can reduce our impact -- recycling is one of them. The Green Mountain Project, brought to you by Burton Snowboards and Mountain Dew, reclaims plastic soda bottles to create materials that reduce our collective impact. Our new generation fabric is made by transforming recycled bottles into pellets that are spun into the yarns that are woven into fabric to make the Green Mountain Project outwear collection. Learn more about the project from Danny Davis and his fellow Frends Crew member Jack Mitrani in the video below and do your part to close the loop -- Drink it. Recycle it. Wear it.

Media Details: Online

New Flavors, But Weakers Sales for Pepsi Next

Despite weaker sales for the mid-calorie soda, PepsiCo has launched two limited-edition flavors for Pepsi NEXT. PepsiCo debuted Pepsi NEXT Cherry Vanilla and Pepsi NEXT Paradise Mango earlier this week, and each will be available nationwide through September 8. “We’re infusing real cola taste with unique flavor blends, and giving cola lovers two more reasons to drink it to believe it, ” said Angelique Krembs, Vice President, Pepsi Marketing.

As consumers increasingly shun high-calorie and sugary beverages, PepsiCo has high hopes and expectations for Pepsi NEXT, which has 60 calories per 12 oz. serving, and 60 percent less calories and sugar than regular Pepsi. PepsiCo Americas Beverages CEO Al Carey said that the company feels “very good” about Pepsi NEXT and that the brand was pacing ahead of its projected 25 million cases in first year sales. Speaking at at Deutsche Bank’s Global Consumer Conference last month, Carey, said that because Pepsi NEXT tastes very much like regular Pepsi, “we’re finding this product highly incremental in pulling back lapsed cola drinkers that we’ve lost over several year.”

Yet while PepsiCo remains positive about the prospects for the brand, recent sales data and apprehension among industry retailers suggest that Pepsi NEXT may have a long road ahead. According to Symphony IRI sales data for the four weeks ending on June 10, Pepsi NEXT’s volume share fell to 0.6 percent, down from one percent in the previous month. Additionally, a recent Wells Fargo survey of convenience store retailers found that while Pepsi NEXT has strong distribution within the channel – 94 percent of respondents said they carry the soda – most stated that the beverage is generating weak repeat sales. Moreover, none of those surveyed said that Pepsi NEXT is generating strong repeat sales.

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Mountain Dew Launches First-Ever Global Campaign with "The Dark Knight Rises"

Mountain Dew® today announced that its partnership with Warner Bros.' and Legendary Pictures' summer blockbuster "The Dark Knight Rises," which opens in theaters on July 20, is extending beyond the United States with activations to engage DEW and Dark Knight fans in nearly 20 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East this summer as part of Mountain Dew's first-ever global campaign.

"DEW fans in the U.S. and around the world have incredible passion for the Dark Knight franchise. With DEW's first-ever global campaign we are giving fans the exclusive opportunity to experience Gotham City like never before," said Brad Jakeman, president, Global Beverages Group, PepsiCo. "Mountain Dew is a tremendously successful brand, and we are excited about continuing to find unique and authentic ways to connect with DEW fans and fuel the growth of the brand around the world."

Promotions in all participating markets will invite eager fans to "Go Inside Gotham City." Program activations will vary by market, enabling DEW fans to experience "The Dark Knight Rises" campaign in a variety of ways, including for example:

• A new limited-time-only flavor, Mtn Dew Dark Berry, inspired by "The Dark Knight Rises"
• More than 800 million bottles and cans featuring on-pack campaign graphics
• In-store point-of-purchase retail displays in retailers
• Robust TV, cinema, radio and digital advertising will drive mass campaign awareness
• Digital access to exclusive, never before seen Dark Knight movie content
• Consumer engagement programs offering fans opportunities to collect gear and win prizes.

With a one-of-a-kind citrus taste, Mountain Dew is PepsiCo's second-largest beverage brand and generates more than $5 billion in annual retail sales. It is the No. 1 flavored carbonated soft drink in the United States, and the fourth largest flavored carbonated soft drink worldwide.

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Pepsi MAX & Kyrie Iving Presents: "Uncle Drew"

Name of Company/Competitor: Pepsi MAX
Name of Campaign/Spot:  Uncle Drew

Date Launched: 5/18/12
Description: Pepsi MAX went to a pick-up game in Bloomfield, NJ pretending to shoot a documentary on a basketball player named "Kevin." When his Uncle Drew came into the game, some magical things happened.

Media Details: Online

This video is just at five minutes long and has garnered over 13 million views in 2 months, with 5.4 million views their first week.

New Malt-Flavored Mountain Dew!

Looking for a unique edge in a weakening soft drink market, PepsiCo Inc. plans to launch a new malt-flavored version of Mountain Dew later this summer, according to Reuters. PepsiCo will initially test Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold at Kroger and 7-Eleven stores in select cities in the Midwest as well as Denver, Colo. and Charlotte, N.C. beginning in late August.

Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold – named after the Tennessee birthplace of Mountain Dew – will have a malt flavor and a “kick of lemon-lime.” The new beverage will retail for approximately $1.49 for a 16 oz. can, about $.50 more than the cost of a similar sized can of Mountain Dew.

PepsiCo spokesperson Andrea Foote told Reuters that the new product is not a foray into the craft soda space, but rather a unique offering for loyal fans of Mountain Dew. Foote noted that while malt-flavored drinks are popular elsewhere in the world, such products have yet to gain much attention in the U.S.  However, the tiny subcategory may be gaining some steam. PepsiCo’s introduction of Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold follows Monster Beverage Co.’s launch of Ubermonster, a non-alcoholic energy drink made with a base of fermented malt, earlier this year.

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Honest Tea Launches "Refreshingly Honest" for Half & Half flavor

Name of Company/Competitor: Honest Tea

Name of Campaign/Spot:  If it's not real, it's not Honest

Date Launched: 7/11/12
Description: See what happens when something other than real, organic ingredients try to get inside a bottle of Honest Tea

Media Details: TV

Read about their strategy here

Coca-Cola helps rebuild Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnsons' hometown after disaster

Name of Company/Competitor: Coca-Cola

Name of Campaign/Spot:  Rebuild

Date Launched: 6/19/12
Description: Olympic Gold Medalist, Shawn Johnson shows how with the help of Coca-Cola they were able to rebuild their flooded gym with the help of Shawn, her family, and community.

Media Details: Online

Coke and Telemundo Team Up for the Olympics

Quieres una Coca-Cola? Telemundo is working with Coke in what will be the beverage giant's first Olympics-focused integrated marketing campaign keyed directly to Hispanics, and it's focusing not on hispanophone countries' Olympic teams, but on the surprising diversity of the U.S. athletic lineup.
"When you see the Chinese team coming in, you look at them and you know they're the Chinese team," said Coke avp of Hispanic marketing Reinaldo Padua bluntly. "The German team, the Nordic countries, look like they're from there. The USA team looks like the team of the world. It's very well-aligned with the values of the brand; being authentic and real and spontaneous."

Though Padua said Coke has been marketing to Hispanic consumers for a century (the company entered Latin America more than 100 years ago), he concedes that the current marketing push has been "consistent over about ten years." The landscape was changing and the growing demographic was now no longer considered a niche in the same way it might have been in the early aughts. And Coke likes the Olympics.

"In many companies, you say, 'Let me do something specific for Hispanics in Spanish,' but it's such a big group that up to 25 percent of the volume is coming from Hispanic consumers [but] 40 to 60 percent of the growth is coming from Hispanic consumers," Padua said. It's that much more important, then, to use a platform like the Olympics, which has high viewership across all demos, to target a group that's growing.

For Telemundo's part, the partnership is yet another extension of parent company NBCU's reinvigorated interest in the Hispanic demo, and also a major get for a network anxious to beef up its market share. Dan Lovinger, the Spanish-language broadcaster's evp of ad sales and integrated marketing, said that the deal ended a long dry spell between the broadcaster and the advertiser. "It's been a while since we've done business with Coca Cola," Lovinger said. "They were exclusively doing business with one of our large competitors." Presumably Lovinger means Univision, but a fun game for journalists to play with execs from both broadcasters is to try to get them to say the name of their main competitor in an interview (Try it. You will fail).

The deal, Lovinger said, "didn't start out being about the Olympics, but it quickly became about the Olympics. They said, 'You know, we have this media buy that was originally part of the NBCU discussions, but we really don't think that's going to move the needle.'" Coke wanted to know how to make the Olympics an event for U.S. Hispanics in the same way that the World Cup is an event for U.S. Hispanics, and the two companies' mutual solution (abetted by agency Oglivy) was to push for the American Olympic team.

"That same message that will establish a deeper relationship with the consumers," Padua said. "That emotional and cultural connection is really more on the emotional side with this consumer."

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Coke Warms Up Summer with Foursquare and Paul McCartney

Coca-Cola is dialing up its efforts to combine social media with outdoor events, following a successful initiative around a Paul McCartney concert.

In a goodwill effort dubbed “America Is Your Park” (AIYP) that runs through July 15, Coke is inviting Foursquare users to check in to their favorite local, state or national park. The check-ins equate to votes in a contest where the winning public park gets a $100,000 grant from Coke, while second place garners $50,000 and third place, $25,000. Consumers can also vote online. AIYP is in its third year, but it’s the first time Foursquare has been employed (and reportedly is only the second time Coke has run a Foursquare-based promotion in the U.S., in contrast with rival Pepsi, which has been active with with app since its inception).

And Coke is giving park enthusiasts an extra incentive to check in. While an online vote produces a single tally for the consumer’s favorite park, a Foursquare check-in registers 100 votes. Coke is steering its 45 million Facebook fans to a dedicated campaign page on the geosocial app, where they can learn about national parks, share links and tap a button to tweet about the effort.

“Communities across the country rally behind their parks and use a variety of means for drumming up support,” a Coke rep said in an email. “These recreation grants are provided to help restore, rebuild and enhance activity areas in parks where people can play and be active.”

The campaign follows a digital branding play that Coke recently orchestrated around a Paul McCartney concert in Mexico City. The beverages brand sponsored a live streaming of the show via its Latin-focused CocaCola.TV. The live stream was promoted through various social media channels such as Twitter, where it was pushed to the brand's 570,000 followers with the hashtag #CocaColaTV.

Social marketing software company ThisMoment provided a considerable part of the online effort for Coke’s Latin America division. According to San Francisco-based ThisMoment, roughly 500,000 consumers watched the live stream, averaging 42 minutes time spent per user.

“There’s definitely an emerging trend towards combining digital with outdoor live events, whether it's music or sports,” said John Bara, chief marketing officer of ThisMoment.

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Pepsi Brings Back Michael Jackson Promotion

PepsiCo Inc. is going on a reunion tour with The King of Pop.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based company on Thursday announced its deal with the estate of Michael Jackson to use the late pop star's image for its new global marketing push. The nature of the promotion will vary by country, but will include special edition cans bearing Jackson's image, a TV ad in some markets and chances to download remixes of some of Jackson's most famous songs.
Pepsi, which first partnered with Jackson in 1983, did not disclose the terms of its deal with the singer's estate.

The promotion is part of a global marketing blitz planned for the year ahead by Pepsi, which is looking to revive its brand and win back market share from The Coca-Cola Co. Next week, Pepsi is also launching a TV ad featuring singer Nicki Minaj and announcing details of its partnership with Twitter to stream concerts online.

The broader "Live For Now" campaign is intended to amplify the company's longstanding ties with pop culture, said Brad Jakeman, who oversees the creative strategy for Pepsi's carbonated drinks around the world.

Pepsi has a lot riding on its new push. Although the company has a diverse portfolio of brands including Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats and Tropicana, it's often judged by the performance of its namesake cola. And in 2010, Pepsi was knocked out of the No. 2 spot among sodas in the U.S. by Diet Coke, with Coke remaining in the No. 1 position, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest.

Last month, Pepsi also reported that volume in its key Americas beverages unit slipped by 1 percent in the first three months of the year.

The Jackson promotion is one aspect of Pepsi's strategy to reverse that slide. Consumers in the U.S. and China will be the first to get a taste of the campaign in coming weeks, which is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of "Bad," the singer's multiplatinum album. The campaign will spread to about two dozen countries by fall.

In the U.S., the company is rolling out collectible 16-ounce blue cans that bear an image of Jackson striking one of his iconic poses. Consumers will be able to scan codes on the cans with their phones to download remixed tracks from "Bad."

In the Chinese market, consumers will also see a TV ad featuring Jackson's music. Contests will also let consumers win tickets to a Michael Jackson-inspired show by Cirque du Soleil and leather jackets inspired by the singer's style. The global campaign builds on Pepsi's deal with the singer's estate last year to use his image in a commercial that premiered during the "The X Factor" TV show last year.
Although Pepsi is banking on the nostalgia Jackson can evoke, the partnership also resurrects painful memories.

In 1984, Jackson's hair famously caught fire while filming a commercial for Pepsi at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The blaze happened after a spark from a pyrotechnics display landed on the singer's head. Jackson suffered severe burns and many trace his addiction to painkillers to the incident. Pepsi gave Jackson $1.5 million as a result.

Other music partnerships have led to controversy for Pepsi as well. In 2002, conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly ran a segment criticizing Pepsi for an ad featuring the rapper Ludacris. The company pulled the ad the next day, but ran into trouble a few months later when it ran ads featuring Ozzy Osbourne, who is known for peppering his speech with swear words. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons urged a boycott and the issue was resolved after Pepsi agreed to donate $3 million to charity.

The partnership with Nicki Minaj hasn't yet raised many eyebrows, even though her lyrics also contain profanity and sexual content. Jakeman noted that Minaj's song "Moment for Life" was selected for the ad because of specific lyrics that perfectly captured the Pepsi ethos of living in the moment.

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Soda Makers Begin Their Push Against New York Ban

A newly created New Yorkers for Beverage Choices have began their campaign to halt New York City's proposed restrictions on large servings of sugary drinks.

Canvassers hired by the beverage industry are stopping their fellow New Yorkers on the street to sign petitions, and to Facebook and tweet their followers "say no to a #sodaban."

The New Yorkers for Beverage Choices are urging that the real issue is freedom, not fatness. In their first radio spot out this week the ad starts "This is New York City; no one tells us what neighborhood to live in or what team to root for, so are we going to let our mayor tell us what size beverage to buy? It's unbelievable!"

The soda industry faces a tough battle as more and more elected officials are citing sugary beverages as a key component to the obesity epidemic in the United States. Plus, with federal funding, like the $2.8 million campaign that already blankets New York on the health risks of consuming sugary beverages, the battle will only get harder.  

Soda executives are vague about their long-term strategy plan, but they are staying focused for now on recruiting local businesses, unions, and lawmakers to join their cause, but currently the City Council wishes not to get involved.  While the American Beverage Association has said that "it's important, regardless of the endgame here, to make sure people understand the impact of this thing, to let them know how will impact their daily lives."

In the end - regardless of outcome of the proposed soda ban in New York City, this is definitely not the end of discussion. This issue will most likely trickle through major cities, most recently the issue has come up in Boston and Los Angeles.

New Yorkers collecting petition signatures in Brooklyn for New Yorkers for Beverage Choice, a grassroots-style coalition created by the beverage industry.

Read full New York Times Article Here

Spite "Camo"

Name of Company/Competitor: Sprite

Name of Campaign/Spot:  Camo

Date Launched: 7/5/12
Description: Sprite wants you to stand out and spark your true self! Check out the new Sprite film, Camo.

Media Details: TV

Here is a behind the scenes look at the making of the shoot. 

Coke Zero and CP&B Part Ways After 7 Years

Coca-Cola is ending its longtime relationship with MDC Partners-owned shop CP&B on Coke Zero, Ad Age has learned.

"After an extremely successful seven-year partnership, Coke Zero and CP&B have decided to part ways. We are all very proud of the results we have achieved together and will continue to partner on the Vitaminwater account, as well as other potential projects going forward," the two companies said in a joint statement.

It's a surprising split given the length of the relationship and the fact that the work over the years really helped to establish Coke Zero as a lower-calorie alternative to regular Coke that does not skimp on the taste.

CP&B's work has been ambitious, and at times funny. It included a Super Bowl promotion that tried to make the Monday after the big game a national holiday called "Magnificent Monday," complete with a video to promote the new holiday and a hashtag to promote it, #magmonday; a tie-in with the movie "Battleship" with spots directed by the movie's director Peter Berg, and probably the best-known work, the "Lawyers" spot. To convince a sea of skeptics that a drink with zero calories could actually taste like regular Coke, CP&B hired actors to pose as Coke brand managers to ask real Coke attorneys to file a lawsuit against Coke Zero for stealing Coke's taste.

Marketing spending on the Coke Zero brand has surpassed that of Diet Coke; according to Kantar, Coca-Cola devoted about $35 million in U.S. measured media spending to Coke Zero in 2011, compared to $23 million for Diet Coke. Spending for brand Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Classic still get the largest chunks of Coke's spending, about $100 million and $55 million respectively.

It's not the first time Coca-Cola has made changes to its North American agency roster this year. In April it moved duties for Sprite to Leo Burnett from Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The beverage giant has publicly said it's doubling down on marketing and advertising. CEO Muhtar Kent in early 2012 said Coca-Cola plans to cut $550 million to $650 million in annual costs by the end of 2015, and promised that much of that money will be reinvested in marketing and brand building.

It's unclear if another agency is waiting in the wings to get North American duties for Coke Zero, but in recent times, WPP's Ogilvy, Paris, has been doing more work for the brand, especially with its "Step from Zero" film that got a lot of pass-around.

The film follows the journey of a young dancer who turns his frustrations against his parents into the inspiration for a new dance move, the Toe Tappy, which goes viral and eventually makes him famous. The Toe Tappy was chosen through Coke's "Make It Possible" project, which used a website to invite choreographers to submit videos of their dance moves. The side-by-side foot-shuffling move won, and the casting was also done through an open call for submissions.

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London Olympics 2012: Coca-Cola & McDonalds Ban Called For By London Assemby

As McDonald's readies to open its biggest location in the world as part of its sponsorship of the Olympics, the chain's opponents are also ramping up their efforts to ban it and soda mega-corporation Coca-Cola from the games.

With just a month before competitions get underway, the London Assembly has voted to call for a ban on the two sponsors. The Olympics, an event that showcases the world's best athletic talent, should not be bankrolled by companies that produce high-calorie food and drinks that may contribute to obesity, believes the Assembly.

The London Assembly, established in 2000, is an elected body that monitors the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power to amend the mayor's annual budget.

The move urges the International Olympic Committee to adopt strict criteria for sponsorship of the Games, which would exclude companies like McDonald's and Coca-Cola.

But, the issue isn't black and white. Coca-Cola is the games' longest-running sponsor, since 1928, and McDonald's has been one since 1976. Over time, the companies have developed a mutually beneficially relationship.

TIME has the details:

"But despite the criticism of their presence, without companies like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, the Olympics would be under serious financial threat, a fact that organizers are happy to admit. Cash generated by commercial partnerships accounts for more than 40% of Olympic revenues, and the companies under fire have been two of the biggest contributors for many years."

The two companies' sponsorships have been blasted by UK doctors, who say they send the wrong message in a country struggling with obesity rates.

McDonald's UK's chief executive, Jill McDonald, defended her company's offerings to the AP in May. "We do offer a breadth of menu," she said. "You can see on the menu here we have grilled chicken wraps, we have salads, fruit smoothies as well as the more indulgent recipes that people know and love."

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Coca-Cola "Crabs and Penguins" Animation and Free Game

Name of Company/Competitor: Coca-Cola

Name of Campaign/Spot:  Crabs and Penguins

Date Launched: 6/27/12
Description: This game chronicles the amazing ocean adventure of a crab that hopes to return a lost soccer ball to a community of arctic penguins. Crabs and Penguins is a state of the art mobile application designed for players 13 years of age and older. This action adventure game uses cinematic and gameplay elements featuring impeccably rendered 3D graphics that put players in the role of a brave 'Hero Crab'. Brought to you by The Coca-Cola Content Factory in partnership with Emberlab. Music by Jeff Rona.

Media Details: Online, Multimedia