Nascar Drivers Get A Taste Of Coke Zero Humor
July 2, 2009: Coca-Cola's fictitious “brand managers,” who have been railing against territory encroachment by sibling Coke Zero, return to preach their faith, this time to a group of Nascar drivers including Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Eric Sadler and Denny Hamlin. Two 60-second versions of “Cover Up,” via Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami, will debut July 4 on TNT during coverage of the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. "Cover Up" also will run in theaters and online. The effort coincides with the fourth anniversary of Coke Zero.
In previous spots, including one with Troy Polamalu of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, the two brand managers blatantly push Coke over Coke Zero. Here, the guys appear to be on the side of Coke Zero; in fact, as the Nascar drivers soon learn, they actually plan to sabotage the brand. “First they stole our Real Coke taste, then they stole our drivers, but we’re past that and moving forward,” the brand managers tell the group of drivers, who are all members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family. The plan: To put a huge Coke Zero decal on "the one part of the car that no one has bothered to use for sponsorship yet – the windshield." Hamlin replies, "You're out of your mind." Biffle asks, "Would that be safe?" One of the brand manager replies, “I don’t know if it’s a 100% rating of safety, but you’re doing 200 miles per hour, so you’ve made some choices to begin with.” And when Sadler's windshield is covered with Coke Zero signage, he exclaims, “It’s really dark in there.” One of the brand managers replies, “Well, are you a Nascar driver or Na-SCARED driver?”
“With Coke Zero, we’ve shown it’s possible to combine Real Coke taste and zero calories. The only thing that doesn’t seem possible is convincing our Coca-Cola brand managers to end their campaign against Coke Zero," Bill Kelly, senior vice president, Coca-Cola Trademark Brands, Coca-Cola North America, said in a statement. "Even members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family can’t do it. Of course, the harder they try, the more they remind people that Coke Zero tastes like Coke.” Back to Home Page