Y3000 Zero Sugar is Coca-Cola’s latest limited-edition Creations flavor.
Coca-Cola Co., which has aggressively used artificial intelligence to help shape its marketing, is now using it to create products. The beverage giant says AI played a role in formulating its newest limited-edition flavor, “Y3000 Zero Sugar.”
The variety is supposed to taste “what the future could look like,” according to the brand, which also used AI for the packaging design, such as the logo and text script. Coca-Cola also considered input from fans when formulating the drink’s profile.
Each can will feature a QR code, which will direct buyers to an online site where they can experience an AI-powered view of the year 3000 (hence, “Y3000”). The brand will additionally drop a clothing collection themed around the launch, in collaboration with the designer brand Ambush.
Read about Coke’s artful use of QR codes
Coca-Cola collaborated on the campaign with Forpeople, Virtue and WPP’s Open X and EssenceMediacom.
Y3000 is the latest installment of Coca-Cola’s Creations platform, in which limited-edition flavors of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar are released to drum up interest from niche, typically younger demographics. Previous flavor themes included gaming via a tie-up with League of Legends, the metaverse and electronic dance music (EDM).
The new flavor builds on Coca-Cola’s significant AI activity. The company has used generative AI tools such as ChatGPT in its consumer-facing marketing, in addition to striking a partnership with OpenAI and Bain to more deeply incorporate AI models into its marketing strategy.
Last month, Coca-Cola held a three-day workshop with artists to develop ads using AI.
“TikTok made everyone an entertainer. Instagram made everyone an influencer. Generative AI is making everyone an artist,” Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola's global head of generative AI, told Ad Age in a recent interview.
The role of optimism as a theme positions “Y3000” within a tense conversation surrounding the growth of AI. In this debate, businesses are the optimists, racing to activate the technology for its use cases in driving efficiency. Yet AI remains unprecedented and unregulated, which has spurred top technologists to stress forbearance, fearing that without responsible development, wide-spanning risks could run rampant.
