Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is soaring in popularity. But with a business ambition to double sales by 2023, we needed to truly prove it was the ‘best Coke ever’.

To do this, we set out to convince young adults to try Coke Zero Sugar for themselves. Through a global trial activation, the goal was to get a younger Gen Z audience to recognize the taste appeal of the product and therefore want to try it for themselves.

We found that more than 40% of young adults admit to being a food & drink thief. Whether it’s in a sharehouse, workplace, or a friend’s house, they’re tempted to take something delicious when they see it. And after a little digging online, we noticed thousands of people on social media were complaining that their Coke Zero had been taken from the fridge.

This insight became the starting point for our global trial activation.

To set the tone of the global campaign, we illustrated and animated a cast of characters inspired by retro cartoons and vintage heist movie introduction sequences. These characters’ playful personalities come to life in a series of mini animated films, posters, social assets and other media around the world.

Each animated story depicts a humorous heist scenario taking place inside the average fridge.

The illustrated characters extended to WhatsApp stickers, Instagram filters, and a range of interactive experiences also allowed people to win a taste of the drink, including a retro 2D level-progression mobile game, and an AR scavenger hunt mobile experience for trial on college campuses. And the culminating ‘Security Can’; a decoy can of coke with a camera inside it to catch potential thieves red handed.

As a multi-year platform, “Best Coke Ever?” is a campaign that challenges the audience's preconceived notions about the sugar-free cola and puts taste at the center of the campaign. In its second year, we were tasked with supercharging the growth of the product with a fresh, universal insight that would feel less corporate and more edgy. That’s where we discovered the interesting tension of food/drink theft occurring in fridges everywhere.

“Best Coke Ever?” evolved into #TakeATaste; a playful campaign built around the idea that the taste is so delicious that people will go to great lengths to get their hands on it; even if that means stealing from loved ones.

The end to end consumer strategy involved meeting the audience where they were, in order to encourage trial. Including social media, augmented reality games on college campuses, and retail, every touchpoint gave the audience the chance to taste the product.

The Security Can was purposefully designed to look, feel and weigh like a regular can of Coke Zero while accommodating all of the internal electronics required to catch someone in the act.

The cans themselves were printed in 10 different languages and sent to more than 50 individuals across 20 different countries around the world. We recruited select influencers with large followings across multiple social platforms who were specifically complaining about their Coke Zero going being taken, then sent them a Security Can kit to catch the culprit.

During the first week alone, more than 10 talent partners created 19 pieces of content.

Within the first 72 hours, the content had earned more than 3 million views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

The launch witnessed an 88% above average engagement rate, a first for Coke Zero.

Each piece of content created from the Security Can launch had a 41% view rate, exceeding the industry benchmark by more than 108%.

Most importantly, a conversation around the tempting taste of Coke Zero was taking place online and around the world, with hundreds of comments demonstrating positive sentiment across all major social channels.