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Coca-Cola is serving up Diet Coke and SmartWater in what has become an unusual place for the company in recent years: a big Hollywood film.
The beverage giant’s many products often appear in movies and TV shows, but not usually as the result of a promotional arrangement. On May 1, however, both beverages will be easily spotted in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” part of an alliance struck between Coca-Cola and Walt Disney Co., which have a decades-old agreement that allows them to discuss potential sponsorships. Other marketers have also honed in on the film; Unilever’s TreSemme also has a tie-in with the property.
The sequel to the original 2006 film is “such a big moment in fashion, in culture,” says Sue Lynne Cha, vice president of water and tea beverages for Coca-Cola. Appearances by the low-calorie brands in the film, set within a fashion-media outlet, are likely to be seen as authentic, rather than incongruous. “What’s exciting about this movie is that not only does it appeal to the O.G. consumers like me that love the original movie, but I think there’s a new generation of fans that are eager to connect.”
Starting this week, consumers in the United Kingdom will start to see videos from Diet Coke that help promote “The Devil Wears Prada 2. “Meanwhile Coca-Cola’s SmartWater will also tie-in to the film.
Diet Coke will introduce special slim cans and a bespoke ad set in the offices of “Runway,” the media property that sits at the center of the action. The commercial will offer a Diet Coke break as a moment when fashion needs to pause, and will be seen in with localized elements, across the U.S. the U.K. and other regions. Meanwhile, SmartWater will launch a digital experience that will offer consumers a chance to win rewards, including a special edition bottle.
Placing multiple products from a single sponsor in a movie isn’t the typical route, but executives at Coca-Cola say their customers don’t sip from the same fountain throughout the day. “If you think about your normal consumption day, you don’t drink just one product all day,” says Stacy Jackson, vice president, Coca‑Cola Trademark. “We recognize that the consumer actually takes more of a portfolio view.”
Coke, to quote from one of the company’s many famous ad slogans can add life to many media properties. Coca-Cola was a notable backer of the original run of “American Idol” on Fox, and raised eyebrows in 2019 when it re-launched New Coke as part of an agreement with the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
But the company chooses such alliances carefully, says Jackson. “We’re so intentional about making this so real and earned, and not engineered, she says. It’s rare, she says, for the beverage giant to arrange a sponsorship. “We don’t do that very often.”
English (US) ·