At March Madness, Coca-Cola Debates The GOAT With Joel Embiid, Breanna Stewart
Friday, March 18, 2022 at 04:02PM By Barry Janoff
March 18, 2022: Coca-Cola is using its status as an official NCAA partner to bring an on-going debate to center court: Which player is the Greatest of All Time?
In Coca-Cola’s multi-media campaign, “Debate the Goatness,” the discussion includes Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Lisa Leslie, whose mantles are carried by NBA star Joel Embiid and WNBA star Breanna “Stewie” Stuart in their own spots, “Dr. Joel” and “Breanna Leslie,” respectively.
The bottom line for Coca-Cola, however, is not in finding the GOAT among basketball players but from among its own roster of products.
“March Madness is such an exciting time in collegiate sports where moments of Real Magic come to life on the court, in arenas, on campuses and around TVs across the country,” Rafa Prandini, Coca-Cola Trademark Category Lead for the North America Operating Unit, said via the brand.
“It’s a time when the next generation of basketball ‘greats’ are made, and it is the perfect platform to continue driving relevance with current and future Coca-Cola Zero Sugar drinkers.”
The “Debate the Goatness” campaign will run throughout both Men’s and Women’s tournaments including March Madness Live, CBS, ESPN and Warner Media properties and ESPN.
Creative also will be seen across digital and social media throughout the tournament.
In the two anchor commercials, Embiid (who attended Kansas) and Stewart (a four-time NCAA champion at UConn) are confronted with an array of Coke choices available in a vending machine, which have printed on them “ Coke. Zero Sugar. Best Coke Ever?”
Inside his head, Embiid hears a voice — not his, but that of Dr. J.
“ Best ever? Good question. Wait, Why do you sound like Dr. J in your head? I’ve always sounded like Dr. J in my head. Which means Dr. J’s outside voice sounds like . . . (the voice now switches to Embiid’s) my inside voice?!”
The voice now switches back to Dr. J’s): “Which Coke? The Doc would know. He got the world to call him Doctor without going to med school. There’s only one Best ever.”
In her spot, Stewart hears the voice of Leslie in her head.
“Best ever? These debates can get nasty.”
In weird moment, Stewart speaks to the voice. “Hello Lisa.”
And the voice of Leslie replies, “Hey, Stewie, I’m in your head again. Which means your head must be the Hall of Fame. So which one is it going to be. Which one is the Lisa Leslie of Coke? There’s only one best ever.”
Both spots end with the text, “Debate the Goatness.”
Coca-Cola’s presence also includes sponsorship of the Men’s March Madness Music Festival (along with Capital One and AT&T) and for both Tournaments a Coca-Cola Score The Final Four sweepstakes.
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