Coke looks to Apple's iPod for lessons

Coke is taking a page from Apple's lesson book. The world's largest soft drink company has taken time to study the message and advertising behind Apple's "Silhouettes" campaign before launching its own "Welcome to the Coke side of life" advertising blitz this weekend, according to Reuters. Coke representatives said that the company studied Apple's print and outdoor communication and also said that the message had a lot of "clarity," serving as a reminder about the product to consumers on the move, according to the report. "It is important with big brands that we evoke the feeling of what we are trying to say to people as opposed to telling people. You feel what the benefit of iPod is in the creative," said Esther Lee, Coke's chief creative officer.

Coke said that it was trying to do the same with its advertising. While some have reservations about the campaign, the report says that Coke is going a step further to grab consumers' attention with some "billboards hold just the image of the Coke bottle with the splash of color from the bottle spilling all over the facade of the building it is mounted on."

While Apple's Silhouettes campaign has drawn some praise from the industry -- including winning two Gold Effies -- recent iPod advertising has drawn fire from Lugz footwear, who has sent a cease-and-desist letter to both Apple and its advertising agency TBWAChiatDay over its latest television spot for the video iPod and says its prepared to fight for its rights.

Filed under: iPod