Coca-Cola appoints Ogilvy for Coke Zero

Coca-Cola has appointed Ogilvy & Mather to explore new creative work for Coke Zero globally, following a competitive pitch.

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The agency’s Paris office will now be responsible for finding new ways to promote the soft drink, which is often referred to as “bloke coke” for its focus on “real taste, zero sugar” and slogans such as “impossible made possible”.

Ads have traditionally focused on men drinking the drink and “high-energy” action scenes. Grey Copenhagen filmed one of its most recent commercials in and around Bangkok, which premiered in September this year.

Ogilvy already handled Coke Zero in Latin America and Australia, prior to scooping the global account. The soft drink has often been branded as “a knee-jerk reaction to Pepsi Max” and has suffered from declining sales worldwide. Last year, Venezuela banned the sale of the calorie-free Coke Zero, calling it harmful to people’s well-being.

It is unclear how the global appointment will affect localised agencies including VCCP in the UK and McCann Erickson Guangming in most parts of Asia-Pacific.

VCCP was Coke Zero’s UK agency, appointed in 2006 to handle the launch of the brand.

However, it has not created localised work for the brand in three years, after Coca-Cola centralised ad agency responsibilities, handing them responsibility for Five Alive and Oasis instead.