In its continuing efforts to draw a distinctly male consumer base, Coke Zero has launched a new ad campaign that absolves men of their sport addictions and defends their right to “guys-being-guys.”
To coincide with the American college basketball season’s NCAA March Madness, Coke Zero has launched a series of cheeky 30-second TV ads which position the drink as the “defender and celebrator of guy enjoyment.”
What does that mean?
It’s not their fault, for example, that NCAA broadcaster Greg Gumbel’s voice is as smooth as honey, lulling them into hypnosis and causing them to watch marathon sessions of March Madness.
Another ad likewise enters the stream of male consciousness and justifies working on office basketball tournament pools instead of work — as only men can — as their patriotic duty.
It’s the latest effort by Coke Zero to segment their market base, given that Diet Coke is heavily targeted towards women.
The latest ad campaign for Diet Coke, for example, tapped fashion designer Marc Jacobs to design a series of cans.
In 2011, Dr. Pepper hit every male machismo cliché in the books, with a TV ad for its Dr. Pepper Ten, featuring machine gun-toting heroes in high-speed chases through the jungle in an effort to convince male consumers that diet drinks aren’t just for women.
Watch the new Coke Zero ad here.
