Coke is making a comeback from the 80's. The soft-drink company (not the snowy white powder) has just released a new campaign targeting fearless, starry-eyed millenials in a punchy sentence that ends in “You’re on Coke.”
In all fairness, these ads aren’t promoting cocaine use — we are the ones with the filthy minds and drug-addled assumptions (or so they would say to the Federal Trade Commission).
“Diet Coke in no way endorses or supports the use of any illegal substance. Instead, ‘you’re on’ is meant to remind young achievers that Diet Coke is there to support them in the moments when they are at their best. Every single day, young people around the world experience ‘You’re On’ moments big and small. It could be a job interview or a national TV interview, a first date or a final exam, a presentation to your boss or a performance in front of thousands.”
What they are really promoting is an elevated sense of self to young dreamers who are unsure if they will make it- the “broke college students”, the “starving artists”, and the “overeducated and underemployed.” You can’t do lines of their product, but they boast a little bump of confidence for your journey to stardom. You see those big, bold letters? They are talking to YOU.
So who is behind it all? Executed in early February, just in time for the Olympics, A-List agency Droga5 created these gems. This edgy agency has been known to be a risk-taker, making the fake porn site Hot Malms for Ikea bedding and a 2006 Mark Ecko campaign tricking viewers into thinking a bunch of hooligans graffitied the Air Force One. So it makes sense that they would create such an in-your-face campaign that is as shameless as it is genius. With diet soda sales plummeting as people grow wary of artificial sweeteners, it would be interesting to see how effective this campaign. Now the real question is, is this strategy screaming desperation or brilliance? Only numbers will provide the answer.
What it all comes down to is very clever psychology. Either you relate to their story and need focus, or you lack these lofty dreams and need focus, in which both cases Diet Coke will provide. Extra thousand points if you’ve never tried cocaine and are curious, because this campaign frames the artificially sweetened beverage as the perfect replacement. (I’m just waiting for the moment when the one guy who is actually high on cocaine reads the five posters on the subway and freaks out because every knows.)
In a world where adderall, Red Bull, and 5-hour energy have saturated the market for focus junkies, Diet Coke has found its niche. It has rebranded itself not as an energy drink, but as a lifestyle beverage, for the young, bold, and brilliant. No cute polar bears dancing around with scarves and soda, like Coca-Cola’s Christmas season. Classic is out, progress is in.
Guess what? You’re on. So have a Coke and a smile.
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