Coca-Cola is hoping that the UK release of Coke Zero, nicknamed "Bloke Coke" because it targets a young, male audience, will help reverse a decline in the sales of carbonated beverages in the country. When Coke Zero was launched in Australia with a similar marketing strategy, total sales skyrocketed 19% in only two months. Its marketing campaign, which included a fake blog and other tricks that were decried by media watchdogs, worked well and didn't seem to put consumers off, meaning that Coke actually has its strategy down well for selling Coke Zero.
Coke Zero is, if you haven't had it, a calorie-free soda that is meant to taste more like regular Coke and fill a gap in the marketplace left by Diet Coke, which some perceive as a girly product.
Speaking of girly vs non-girly, Coke Zero was released with black cans and labels in Australia, but white in the US. Which is it in the UK?
7-11-2006 @12:13PM MK said... The cans are black in the UK as well.
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7-11-2006 @12:17PM rainey said... This isn't the pirated recipe that Pepsi didn't even *want*, is it? Can't wait to see how that one fares! ; >
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7-11-2006 @4:03PM chrisdoh said... They are also just starting to market them in Germany. Bottles are also black here.
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7-12-2006 @4:48AM Chris said... I had a bottle yesterday, and I liked it a lot. I don't drink Diet Coke - far too girly, but I felt suitable masculine supping from the black bottle.
Since I don't like most diet fizzy pop, this will be a regular part of my shopping from now on.
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7-12-2006 @8:49AM Justin said... I had a bottle at the weekend. I'm a bloke, but I still prefer Diet Coke to this. It tastes like a mix between Coke and Diet Coke, but because Coke is sweeter than DC, they have obviously had to put more artificial sweetener in. This left me with a chemilcal aftertaste. I'll stick with Diet for now...
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7-22-2006 @4:43PM Suzi said... Yeah, they market it to men by making their advertising as sexist as possible, sure as hell doesn't make me want to buy their cancer in a can.
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