Diet Coke is looking to promote its brand online with a new, Flash-based Web site designed to tap into the “passion” that Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, Inc. said diet Coke drinkers have for entertainment, celebrity and “lifestyle-based activities.”
What this concept translates into is “What’s Your 20?”, a series of streamed video episodes on the site that detail a diet Coke fan as she pursues her lifelong dream of making it in the movie business.
“What’s Your 20?” — or studio parlance for “Where are you?” — features Mary Burton, a twenty-something from Virginia who is living in L.A. and looking to break into the movie industry. As a result, she signs on as a rookie production assistant on a hectic movie set in bitter cold Montana.
Coca-Cola marketing executives say the 13-episode series, designed by Hollywood-based production company Essential Entertainment, will entertain and encourage repeat visits — in the process, conveying key diet Coke brand points.
“This new Web site embodies the modern sexiness and confident attitude of people who choose diet Coke as their favorite beverage,” said diet Coke brand manager Kristi Baxter. “The site’s innovative and relevant content will be fun, sophisticated and uplifting, providing visitors with information and exclusive programs that they can find only at dietCoke.com.”
Copy on the site reads: “What is diet Coke? It’s a snowstorm, massages and bubble baths. It’s love handles, freckles and bunny slippers. It’s a sense of humor, a sense of style, and a sense of self. It’s whatever makes you happy. Enjoy.”
The site will also use joint promotions with Coke partners to boost interest and traffic. Through alliances with the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and AOL/Moviefone.com, visitors can enter for a trip to the 2002 Blockbuster Awards or tickets to exclusive advance screenings. Additional dietCoke.com online alliances will include Sony.com, Rollingstone.com, and VH1.com.
The company said the alliances will provide frequently-updated content to create an “exciting environment that consumers will want to visit time and time again.” The site will also offer screensavers and desktop wallpaper.
“DietCoke.com will connect consumers with the world of entertainment in a way that has been part of the brand’s heritage since its launch in 1982,” said Dexter King, who is associate brand manager for diet Coke at Coca-Cola North America. “By using the Internet, we are not merely giving people a taste of Hollywood, but offering them a chance to interact with it through exclusive content, sweepstakes, and much more.”
Spending was not disclosed on the work.
Clothing manufacturer Levi’s used a similar concept in the design of its LostButNotLost site last year, in which streaming video and Flash-based rich media described three teenagers’ journey in Morocco. That campaign was designed to support its Silvertab line of clothing, and was recently reprised with new creative last month.
