Coke launches ‘space-flavored’ variety called Starlight

Coca-Cola Co. is taking its flagship cola trademark into new territories—including outer space and augmented reality—as part of a global marketing and product innovation program meant to pump youthful energy into the soda brand. The effort, called Coca-Cola Creations, involves a series of limited-edition flavor varieties whose names don’t sound like flavors at all. The first one, called Coca-Cola Starlight, is a red-tinted liquid that the brand is pitching as “space flavored.” In marketing materials, Coke describes it as having “additional notes reminiscent of stargazing around a campfire, as well as a cooling sensation that evokes the feeling of a cold journey to space.” That is a pretty over-the-top description of what is essentially a cola line extension with a different flavor mix. But it is representative of the new appeals classic soda brands are making to new generations in an attempt to keep them interested as beverage choices multiply. It also gives Coke news to promote as it deploys a new global marketing platform called “Real Magic." That platform began late last year in an attempt to recruit new Gen Z drinkers with digitally-focused campaigns that put the soda at the center of experiences that involve music, gaming and sports. The new approach arrives at the same time as Coca-Cola revamps its marketing model with a bespoke WPP agency at the helm along with a roster of preferred creative shops. The company in a statement described the Coca-Cola Creations program as including “limited-edition, sequential releases” with “new products and experiences across physical and digital worlds.” Starlight is expected to remain on sale for about six months, while future limited-time offerings might last as short as a couple weeks, executives said during a media presentation. Limited-time colas have long been part of the playbook of Coke’s top competitor, Pepsi, which in recent years has tried everything from a marshmallow cola co-branded with Peeps to a “Cocoa” Cola. With Starlight, Coke seems to be leaning into an upsurge in interest about space. Coke is connecting the futuristic play to its past: During today’s presentation, executives noted that Coke cans once rode to space with the Challenger space shuttle (that happened in 1985; Pepsi also went) and a special Coke dispenser accompanied the Endeavor mission in 1996. Interest in space has surged of late, driven in part by tech and business icons such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson—all of whom have spent some of their fortunes on space-travel pursuits. “You’ve got this really interesting period of time with major people in the tech world who are chasing the commercialization of space. I do think young people do have a certain fascination about that,” said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest. “They are growing up in a time when they actually have a realistic chance of perhaps going into low-earth orbit, at least before they die.” Coke is also trying to link Starlight to augmented reality. The campaign includes an AR-powered, three-song concert starring pop star Ava Max. The brand is instructing consumers to go to a special website and to scan a Starlight can or bottle to unlock a show that includes her performing “Kings & Queens,” “Sweet But Psycho” and “EveryTime I Cry." It is all part of an “AR-holographic private concert using the can as an anti-gravity, translucent space station,” according to the brand. Virtue, an agency owned by Vice, is the lead creative shop on the campaign, with production company Tool also involved. The packaging design—which depicts a star field—was handled by Forpeople. No TV, less market research Coca-Cola Creations marks a departure from how Coca-Cola typically launches new products, which are usually developed with extensive market research and backed by TV-centric campaigns. (Previously launched Coke flavors, such as Orange-Vanilla, are developed in part by determining what does well on Coke’s touch-screen, self-serve Freestyle fountain drink machines, which allow for countless flavor concoctions.) The Starlight launch won’t include any TV at all. And the flavor concept was “less about looking at what are those very mass appeal flavors,” Oana Vlad, Coca-Cola Co.’s senior director of global brand strategy, said in an interview. “This is more about looking at culture first and what is resonating in culture and then tapping into that space to imagine flavors that are very unexpected and probably not as quite mass appeal but they have that novelty and experimentation,” she said. She declined to reveal the next offerings but suggested the brand will continue to tap into broader concepts of what is popular in culture today, rather than leaning into more literal flavor descriptions. The brief for Starlight amounted to answering the question “What could space taste like?” said Josh Schwarber, Coca-Cola’s digital design director. The program comes as Coca-Cola Co.’s sales continue to improve after sagging during the depths of the pandemic when fewer consumers bought beverages in so-called away-from-home channels, such as sports stadiums and restaurants. The company reported a 9% organic revenue increase in the fourth quarter, beating analyst expectations, but it must contend with rising inflation going forward.

Coke launches ‘space-flavored’ variety called Starlight

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