After a pitch involving a rumoured list of TBWA and the incumbent McCann, it’s thought DDB has managed to get a foot in the door with Coca-Cola after winning the Lift Plus account.
DDB’s managing director Justin Mowday pulled the no comment card. And we were unable to get hold of a spokesperson from Coca-Cola Oceania or Coca-Cola Amatil to confirm (Coca-Cola Oceania is the regional arm of the Coca-Cola company, whereas Coca-Cola Amatil is the company with the license to bottle and distribute brands like Coca-Cola, diet Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Powerade, Glacéau and Pump in its territories).
UPDATE: We received a response from Coca-Cola Oceania: “Following a competitive pitch, creative work for Lift Plus will now be undertaken by DDB. This does not impact our relationship with McCann, who will continue to do creative work for MOTHER and glacéau vitaminwater. As has always been the case, Coca-Cola Oceania will continue to work with a range of agencies.”
Coca-Cola also works with Ogilvy and, increasingly, Saatchi & Saatchi, which now handles the L&P, Pump, Baker Halls and Deep Spring brands, in New Zealand.
According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, Lift Plus, which was launched in 2001, holds a 20 percent value market share in New Zealand. The Frucor-owned V has dominated the local energy market for years and, according to its entry in the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards, it held 55 percent value market share in 2010 (New Zealand is the only country in the world where Red Bull isn’t the market leader and we have one of the highest levels of energy drink consumption in the world). But another of Coca-Cola’s energy drinks, Mother, is also on the prowl and looking for a slice of this still-growing sector of the drinks market.
Following on from the well-regarded ‘Sharpen Up‘ campaign from Publicis Mojo, Lift Plus launched a campaign last year that showed other, less appealing ways to wake up your buds. And it launched its new Lift Plus Extra Strength variety in mid-2011 with a campaign by McCann featuring duelling cans.
