The Jaguars partner with Pepsi to give fans a chance to win with Golden Cans

via Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Pepsi are partnering to give fans the chance to win prizes and unique experiences with the limited-time Pepsi Golden Can promotion. From Sep. 28 to Oct. 25, 50 gold cans will be placed in specially-marked Pepsi 18-packs available at participating retailers throughout North Florida and South Georgia. Fans who purchase 18 pack cans have a chance to win prizes and special fan experiences including a player meet-and-greet, pregame sideline passes to a Jaguars game and one grand prize trip for two to Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., including airfare, two nights hotel accommodations and two tickets to the game. 

“Pepsi is the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to activating its Jaguars partnership, and we are pleased to join Pepsi in the Golden Can Giveaway to send a lucky Jaguars fan to Super Bowl 50,” said Jaguars senior vice president of corporate partnerships Scott Massey. “Each of the 50 prizes that will be awarded are unique experiences or great items that any football fan would enjoy.”

For a chance to win, fans can purchase an 18-pack of Pepsi at any participating location and look inside for a Golden Can, which will have a golden wrap and a special five-digit number. There will be a total of 50 Golden Cans placed inside random 18-packs of Pepsi, and each Golden Can is valid for a prize. Complete rules are available athttp://www.jaguars.com/fanzone/promotions.html.

The special 18-packs will be distributed in retail stores throughout the greater Jacksonville area, including Palatka, St. Augustine and into South Georgia in the Brunswick, Kingsland and St. Simons areas. They will include all retail stores that carry Pepsi 18-pack cans such as Walmart, Winn Dixie, Publix, Circle K, Daily’s, Gate and independents.

Each Golden Can is worth a special prize or experience. In addition to the grand prize, the other prizes include a one-year supply of Pepsi and a Best Buy gift card for purchase of a refrigerator; tickets for Jaguars home games; autographed footballs; game-used gear; tickets for a Jaguars Tailgate Cabana for a game; and a meet and greet with Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee.

Does Mountain Dew Have A Darker Side?

via Hungry Forever

For those who thought ‘Do The Dew’ wasn’t hardcore enough, PepsiCo has announced that it will unveil ‘ a whole new side’ of Mountain Dew. And boy, is it dark!

Basically, the sweet neon soda that at first all of us thought looked like you-know-what just hit adulthood. And one of those ‘puberty hit him/her like a truck’ meme is just what this drastic makeover calls for.

Black Label

The new “craft soda” will be labeled ‘Mtn Dew Black Label’. And no, to all you excited kids’ disappointment, despite the ‘black label’ tag, it does not contain even the slightest trace of alcohol. It’s actually just a classy, handcrafted soda made with real sugar and “crafted with dark berry flavor and herbal bitters.”

PepsiCo is marketing the product toward beverage enthusiasts who “want to unwind – but with a touch of class.”

Dew Date

Students are getting a taste of this brand new high-end Mountain Dew first. Black Label will appear on 600 college campuses this fall around the United States, with a national release planned for 2016.

The suggested retail price for each 16-ounce can is $1.99. It also comes with a brand new slogan: Boldly Refined.

Family Tree

If this venture into fancier sodas sounds familiar, that’s because Mountain Dew already has a craft soda. DewShine, also made with real sugar, was released this spring, “inspired by Dew’s home-brewed mountain roots.”

So how is Black Label any different from its cousin, Dew Shine? Apart from the obvious difference in their classy and roguish names, the two sodas differ in taste and appearance.

Citric in flavor, Dew Shine was introduced (now discontinued) to honor a clear liquor called moonshine. This because the liquor was also referred to as ‘Mountain Dew’ at times.

Coca-Cola buys first emoji on Twitter with #shareacoke drive

via Marketing Magazine

Coca-Cola has become the first brand to pay for an emoji on Twitter, with a picture of two Coke bottles clinking coming up when a user types #shareacoke.

After the emoji went live on Friday, Coca-Cola claimed a record for the "largest Twitter 'Cheers!'". 

Twitter has in the past created the same function for Star Wars and the MTV Video Music Awards, but this is the first time it has been part of an ad deal, according to TechCrunch. 

Ross Hoffman, senior director of global brand strategy at Twitter, told TechCrunch: "Coca-Cola is a massive global partner of Twitter and they have been pushing us for some time on building a custom emoji."

The ad buy follows a wave of brand creative picking up on the popularity of emoji including McDonald's featuring pre-existing emoji in ads, Ikea creating its own set of emoji and WWF theming an endangered animals campaign around them.

Marshawn Lynch Makes Pepsi Commercial Because He Doesn't Have to Speak

via NESN

Marshawn Lynch is the new spokesperson for Pepsi. Well, maybe “spokesperson” is a strong word. 

While we don’t expect #SpeechMode to be trending on Sundays during Seattle Seahawks games, it might be during Lynch’s postgame press conferences — if he does any. Lynch is notorious for his distaste of the media, who he feels always find a way to twist his words. So, to remedy that problem, he just doesn’t speak publicly — or when he does, it’s not very helpful.

Watch Pepsi's "Unlikely Spokesperson Marshawn Lynch" here

Corporate Ad Mocking Burning Man's Corporate Influence Is So Accurate That Burning Man Might Sue

via SFist

A still from the ad in question. 

A new advertisement that mocks Burning Man's corporate influences and was itself produced by sandwich company Quizno's (as a faux-installment of The Maze Runner movie franchise) is so meta and self-aware as to be nearly sentient. At once brilliant and sordid, this is the kind of meta-TV that David Foster Wallace warned us about, may he rest in peace. Oh, and perfectly completing the meta-mind-fuck of this whole episode, Burning Man officials are considering a lawsuit against Quizno's — for commodifying its culture.

 Watch "Burn Trials - Out of the Maze and onto the Playa" here.

Moleskin Celbrates Coke's 100th Anniversary with Beautifully Designed Notebooks

via Ad Week

Moleskine, the makers of those sleek black journals that every aspiring poet in America seems to own, is doing its part to revel in Coca-Cola's centennial glory with limited-edition notebooks created as part of the soda giant's "Mash-Up" project.

 Watch "Coca-Cola Bottles 100th Anniversary on Moleskin" here.

A talented roster of visual artists designed the covers to reflect Coke's unique bottle design. And the work is pretty clever: Tom Farrell's "Sipping" notebook has an elastic band that doubles as a drinking straw, and David Schwen's design—only 5,000 were made—was inspired by photos of paint dripping from actual Coke bottles.



It begs asking, how many celebrations of Coca-Cola's bottle design are there going to be? Sure, a 100th anniversary is a big deal, but it feels like the world finds a reason to fête the iconic beverage every six months. Maybe Nike will do contoured running shoes next.

Coke Wants People to "Come Alive" in Latest Brand Push

via Ad News

As part of the campaign there are four different spots which highlight each individual product, Coke Life, Diet Coke and Coke Zero, with on spot highlighting all of the brands together. 

The ads aim to speak to the younger demographic as the weather gets warmer.

The 'Coke Come Alive' campaign will launch with a series of TVCs across TV, digital and mobile video and cinema. Additional outdoor advertising will be rolled out to amplify campaign and product messaging, and build awareness.

Dianne Everett, group marketing manager Coca-Cola Trademark for Coca-Cola South Pacific, said: "We want Australians to re-appraise the uniqueness of Coca-Cola's uplifting refreshment and what each product has to offer. Our campaign will bring the brand to life in the coming months designed to engage and connect with Australian consumers."

Watch the latest spot here.

The New Currency in the Market is Nostalgia

via CNBC

Cue "Eye of the Tiger," this soda is making a comeback. After a 12-year hiatus, Surge is returning to shelves.

The citrus-flavored soft drink technically relaunched in 2014, when parent company Coca-Cola released it exclusively throughAmazon.com, but now it's getting a proper release.

Fanatics of the brand—who famously bought a billboard less than a mile from Coca-Cola's headquarters in Atlanta that read "Dear Coke, we couldn't buy Surge so we bought this billboard instead"—have taken to social media to share their excitement.

"There's a higher order going on here and what we're looking at is a company paying really close attention to a very passionate subset of their user base," said Ken Harris, managing partner at Cadent Consulting Group. "And [they are] doing some very smart things with regard to mining data and seeing what the data is telling them and getting it to a point where they believe that by answering the call and accommodating the request they can drive business."

First introduced in 1996 as a counter-product to Pepsi's Mountain Dew, Surge had a lackluster initial run.

It stayed on the shelves for years, but Surge was outsold by its competitor nine-to-one.

In its debut year, 69 million cases of Surge were sold, according to Beverage Digest. In comparison, Mountain Dew sold 605.2 million cases, and Diet Mountain Dew sold 78 million cases in that same period of time.

By 2003, Coca-Cola halted production and discontinued Surge fountain syrup because of dwindling sales.

A dozen years later, the company is singing a very different tune.

"We were pleased with the excitement and demand for Surge during the initial launch," said Scott Williamson, vice president of brand and business communications for Coca-Cola North America, in a statement. "We continue to explore the possibilities of Surge."

Coca-Cola is not the only company to tap into consumer nostalgia in order to sell products. General Mills re-released its French Toast Crunch cereal last December, Mars began selling Crispy M&Ms, again, and Burger King brought back its Yumbo ham-and-cheese sandwich in 2014 after a 40-year hiatus.

And it is likely not the last brand to bring back an old favorite. Pepsi could be revitalizing Crystal Pepsi in the near future. The company shared a note with an avid fan of their long-discontinued soda, saying, "We definitely hear you and your followers, and we think you'll all be happy with what's in store."

"There is nothing that Coca-Cola does that Pepsi-Cola doesn't take seriously. And vice versa. That's who they are… nothing is casual," Harris said. "I am absolutely certain that Pepsi is watching this very closely because they have done a really good job of building their Dew franchise and in a world where soft drinks are not growing in single- and double-digits any more."

Pepsi declined to comment.

Coke Brings Back Classic 'Mean Joe Greene' Ad

via Ad Age

Coke is bringing back its classic "Mean Joe Greene" ad in its latest nostalgia play. The spot, which is technically called "Early Showers," is scheduled to air during Sunday night's broadcast of the "Bojangles' Southern 500" Nascar race at Darlington Raceway on NBC.

The race has a throwback theme, which is why Coke is running the spot, which debuted in 1979 and hasn't aired since 2000. As part of the throwback theme, race teams are painting cars with retro designs and concession items will include old classics such as fried green tomatoes, sausage perlo and pimento cheese sandwiches, according to Nascar.

"Resurrecting 'Early Showers' is an example of Coca-Cola's continued use of iconic advertising in a contextually relevant way," a spokeswoman said. "The meaning of this ad is timeless. It remains relevant to the brand and to audiences as much today as it did over 30 years ago."

The spot -- and its classic line, "Hey kid, catch" -- debuted in 1979 during the Major League Baseball season but is best known for airing a few months later during Super Bowl XIV. Created by McCann Erickson, the spot features the Pittsburgh Steelers player and his co-star, 12-year-old Tommy Okon. The ad inspired a made-for-TV movie two years after its original airing.

Penny Hawkey, the former McCann-Erickson copywriter who created the script, said that "we wanted a boy and an intimidating man -- someone who needs and someone who rejects -- and to have plenty of tension and relief when the Coke was handed over," according to a story posted on Coke's corporate blog last year.

"While we didn't set out to make a great social or cultural statement, we certainly had one," Ms. Hawkey added. "Joe was perhaps the first black male to appear in a national brand commercial, and it had a profound effect at the time. The letters we got were full of gratitude and excitement."

Another classic Coke spot, 1971's "Hilltop," was in the news earlier this year when it was woven into the plot of the final episode of "Mad Men." Coke did not pay for the integration and had little to do with it. But the brand seized on the free publicity by running a digital billboard in Times Square featuring "Share a Coke" bottles bearing the names of the show's lead players,Don, Betty, Peggy, Pete, Joan and Roger.

Both "Hilltop" and "Early Showers" made Ad Age's list of the top 10 Coke ads of all time.

Pepsi Max X Noisey 48 Hour Mixtape Series with Norwegian Footwork Producer Slick Shoota

via Hard Blogger Faster

This summer Pepsi Max and Noisey have joined forces to challenge three emerging artists from three cities where Pepsi Max have a festival presence (London, Manchester & Oslo) to create a brand-new mixtape in just 48 hours.

In the third and final episode of the series, Norway’s preeminent footwork producer Slick Shoota is challenged to create a mixtape from scratch in just 48 hours to capture the best of what Olso has to offer.

Pepsi Max and Noisey, naturally, then documented the entire process as each artist used their city, experiences at festivals, and the summer vibe as inspiration as they created their unique, collaborative mixtape.

With little time, Slick Shoota called upon his friends and a host of Norway’s up-and-coming electronic talent – including Drippin’, Purrpurr Purple, and Boska – to help him with his challenge.

“I’m really stressing out, it’s only 48 hours, and I need to make 6-8 tracks. And that’s quite heavy,” explains the producer as it dawns upon him the magnitude of the challenge he has in front of him.

“This week is Oya Festival, the whole city is really excited, and I really want to capture the energy of the city. If there’s a 48 hours to choose to do a mixtape like this, this is it.”

With his field recorder in hand, and the sun shining, Slick Shoota takes in the sights and sounds of his hometown for some inspiration for his mixtape.

“When you’re using a field recorder, you never know how those sounds are going to come out, but the good thing is you get sounds you never thought you would,” explains the producer.

Shoota’s home studio quickly became a hive of activity for 48 hours as the rag-tag group of artists, producers, and musicians set about creating 7 original tracks for the mixtape, which then got its premiere at Oya Festival’s after party.

Watch all three episodes by clicking the links below:

Slick Shoota's 48 Hour Mixtape

Jme's 48 Hour Mixtape

Murkage Dave's 48 Hour Mixtape

Coca-Cola Kicks Off Hispanic Heritage Month with #OrgullosoDeSer Campaign Embracing Latino Pride in their Culture and Family Names

via Business Wire

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For many Hispanic families, celebrating their culture is a priority and it frequently permeates their everyday lives. With that in mind, Coca-Cola created a film that does more than celebrate Hispanics and Hispanic Heritage Month - the film explores family names and the pride surrounding them through personal stories shared on camera.

“At Coca-Cola we have been a part of so many of the important moments in Hispanic families’ lives, and we want to continue making new memories with them”

The “Orgulloso De Ser” film evokes the power of family, culture and community by bringing people together in celebration of their heritage and unique family stories. In the film, participants share stories and display their pride by applying a temporary tattoo of their last name using the special Coca-Cola Heritage Tattoo Can. The Heritage Tattoo Can allowed participants to wear and share their pride and love for their culture and family names.

“At Coca-Cola we have been a part of so many of the important moments in Hispanic families’ lives, and we want to continue making new memories with them,” said Lauventria Robinson, vice president, Multicultural Center of Excellence, Coca-Cola North America. “During Hispanic Heritage Month, we are celebrating the immense pride Latinos have for their culture and heritage, a pride that translates most significantly into their family names, which they carry with honor and joy.”

Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer campaign is encouraging people to share their passion and pride in their last name and heritage. Using the hashtag #OrgullosoDeSer #[InsertLastName], people can post special family moments and their own reasons for being proud to be Latino as well as share the film on their social media platforms.

Coca-Cola recognizes that Latino’s last names are a source of pride, and families can visitwww.coke.com/OrgullosoDeSer to purchase a “Share a Coke” contour bottle personalized with their last names to share that pride with the world.

Coke Zero Kicks Off Year Three with ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’

via Bevnet

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Coke Zero™ is bringing its first-of-its-kind drinkable marketing campaign to the football field, giving fans a chance to try delicious and refreshing zero-calorie Coke Zero through multiple innovative avenues. This season, Coke Zero is expanding the “You Don’t Know Zero ‘Til You’ve Tried It”™ campaign through a fully integrated drinkable campaign using multiple broadcast spots, traditional media, digital, out-of-home, retail, social media engagement and the most popular pre-game show on television — ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot.

To kick off the third year of its partnership with ESPN College GameDay, Coke Zero is returning to college football with Section Zero — now, a Saturday staple, and the most coveted seat for the ultimate fan. At each campus ESPN College GameDayvisits, Section Zero will treat 50 fans to premium seating and a chance to see ESPNCollege GameDay’s newest cast member, Rece Davis! Students can gain access to Section Zero by showing their school spirit on game day and participating in a few classic tailgate games on campus. Those fans not on campus can experience the fun of Section Zero by tuning in to the show nationwide, or by following @CokeZero on Twitter and Instagram.

“Coke Zero fuels the most passionate college fans throughout the season, allowing them to enjoy the ritual of watching ESPNCollege GameDay on television or — if they’re lucky — in person,” said Racquel Mason, Vice President, Coca-Cola & Coca-Cola Zero. “Section Zero was created to offer the pinnacle viewing experience, and by posting social content from this premium section, we can show fans at home that Section Zero truly has the best seats in the house at ESPN College GameDay.”

Along with Section Zero, Coke Zero’s 23,000-pound, 26-by-36 foot drinkable billboard will be making an appearance this season at a few ESPN College GameDay campuses. After running through a giant contour bottle and 4,500 feet of straw tubing that spells out “Taste It,” ice-cold Coke Zero is dispensed through a free sampling station to thirsty fans.

Football fans around the country, watching the game from their homes, will also have the chance to try Coke Zero – for free! The “You Don’t Know Zero ‘Til You’ve Tried It” campaign will bring 11 spots to football, and for the first time ever, includes drinkable commercials with the ESPN College GameDaycrew. Three :30 spots will feature a mix of Lee Corso, Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, and will provide a behind-the-scenes look of the guys prepping for an ESPN College GameDay show. Viewers should have their mobile devices ready: as they watch a delicious Coke Zero pour from a glass contour bottle, they will be asked to open the Shazam app to redeem a mobile coupon for a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero at participating retailer locations. Three more :30 spots will feature Herbstreit, Howard and Corso describing their first time trying a Coke Zero, and the last four spots (three :15s, one :30) will pair delicious imagery of Coke Zero product with iconic sounds of the game.

The original Drinkable Commercial, which debuted during the NCAA® Men’s Final Four® weekend, will launch “You Don’t Know Zero ‘Til You’ve Tried It” campaign’s expansion into college football, and can be seen nationally on September 5^th on ABC, NBC and online.

“ESPN College GameDay vividly conveys the excitement of being on campus before the big game, and a focal point for that excitement will be Section Zero, for those at the event. For all of those who are not in Section Zero, our ‘drinkable’ commercials make it fun to try the delicious, ice-cold refreshment of Coke Zero,” said Ivan Pollard, Senior Vice President, Connections and Assets, Coca-Cola North America. “Thinking how fans consume college football on multiple screens at once, we worked hard to make our broadcast and digital experiences intertwine wonderfully to surprise and delight fans during ESPN College GameDay all the way through to watching the games themselves.”

Football fans on campus can also try Coke Zero through additional innovative drinkable elements, including:

∙		Drink Me! Drinkable Jersey
		Select students will be given a Drink Me! Drinkable Jersey, which will feature their home team colors and a logo that can sync with the Shazam app. Fans will be encouraged to Shazam the logo to get a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero at participating retailer locations.
∙		Coke Zero Sip-Off Drinkable Challenge
		Fans from opposing teams can prove their dedication to their team, and attempt to finish a virtual Coke Zero before the other. The microphone on their smartphone becomes a straw, and as if by magic, the Coke Zero on their screen disappears with each “sip” they take. The winner will get a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero (at participating retailer locations) and other great prizes.

Throughout the college football season, Coke Zero will share social content from ESPN College GameDay, straight from the fans sitting in Section Zero. Each week, drinkable social content will be shared, giving fans online another chance to use their Shazam app to receive a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero. Don’t miss any of the excitement by following @CokeZero on Twitter and Instagram, and joining the conversation with #sectionzero.

Coke Zero’s drinkable advertising campaign was developed in partnership with Ogilvy & Mather New York, one of the largest marketing communications agencies in the world.