Coke, Cannes and free iTunes

I'd meant to comment on the latest Coca-Cola announcement, but have been preoccupied with traveling arrangements for Sunday's Conference "play-off" final between Exeter City FC and Morecombe at the new Wembley Stadium! I'll be posting photos, on Flickr, for those of you who are interested.

Coca-Cola, not content with Nintendo's Get Up and Play bling-bling, is running another Coke+iTunes promotion this summer for all of us lucky Europeans!

As part of the promotion, Coke and iTunes will give away songs from the iTunes Store in over 2 billion promotional packs of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero this summer. The on-pack promotion will also offer customers the chance to win free iPods and attend some of the 100-plus Coke and iTunes sponsored summer concerts across Europe. The promotion will be launched at the Cannes Film Festival with a special live performance from Faithless, who have recorded an exclusive track for Coke and iTunes and collaborated with designers Paranoid on a limited-edition, aluminium Coke bottle.

"Coca-Cola has a long and rich heritage in music, from memorable advertising tracks to grassroots support to big live events. In Summer 2006 we started an innovative new partnership with iTunes," said Chris R. Burggraeve, group marketing director for the European Union Group. "Coke+iTunes aims to reinvent the ways young people create, listen to, and experience music every day. Thanks to Coke+iTunes, European youth will enjoy this Summer 2007 the biggest pan European music experience ever. And what better way to build bridges among European cultures than through music?"

"iTunes is the world's most popular online music store selling 58 songs every second at a rate of 5 million tracks a day," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "We've already had great success working with Coca-Cola over the past year and this new pan-European initiative gives music fans across Europe the ability to download free music all summer long."

American readers you'll have to write Pepsi!

Drink Coke, Get Up and Play Wii

In a move that mirrors last summer's hugely successful iTunes/Coca-Cola Music campaign, Nintendo UK has teamed up with Coca-Cola (GB) to run a joint £2 million promotional campaign on Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Dr Pepper soft-drink cans and bottles. Promotional codes can be redeemed at Get Up and Play. Each entrant will also get a £5 money-off voucher to spend at GAME.co.uk… guaranteed!

TV and satellite advertisements will support the campaign, which represents Nintendo's first partnership with a major packaged goods brand. The promotion will also be bolstered by online and print advertising. The Japanese firm says it could lead to a long-term partnership between the two companies.

Kicking off this week, the promotion will offer weekly Nintendo Wii and DS prizes to consumers, with participation based on players entering a promotional code found on drinks products online or via a text message.

Ten 'ultimate Wii games rooms' will be given away every day, which include a Wii, Samsung LCD TV, mini fridge and a case of Sprite, Fanta and Dr. Pepper.

Trade marketing and promotions manager at Nintendo, Ben Taylor, said that the promotion was aimed at developing Nintendo’s position as current market leader in the next generation console war following a successful Wii launch period.

“Wii is already the must-have gadget of the year for people of all ages, this activity will re-enforce our message not just with with hardcore gamers but importantly will also reach everyone in the household including the mums and dads we also want to attract to our products.”

“It is a classic on-pack promotion,” Nintendo UK marketing director Dawn Paine told MCV. “There will be a website and a very heavy TV advertising campaign, which will run on terrestrial channels. There’s going to be over a million pounds of investment.”

Retailers will be creating feature and display to raise awareness of the promotion including Sainsbury’s who will have a separate pool of prizes and a separate 'text to win' number, meaning a purchase from Sainsbury’s will give consumers two codes for two separate prize draws and therefore a higher chance to win.