Positioning: Desperately Seeking Men With Extra Pounds To Shed

Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo have had a tough time getting guys to care about diet sodas. The new Coke Zero and the relaunched Pepsi One saw both beverage makers dress their products in black, banish the word diet and promise a low-calorie drink that tastes more like the real thing. But early returns for both brands have been disappointing.

Pepsi is now taking a page out of Miller Lite's playbook by making Diet Pepsi the centerpiece of its marketing effort during football season. "It worked well for them. We know it will work for us," said John Galloway, Pepsi vp-sports marketing and media. "Diet Pepsi has been a huge growth driver for Pepsi-Cola North America the last five years. In our opinion it's time the brand takes center stage."

Meanwhile, Coke Zero last week began running a new 15-second TV ad highlighting its "Real Coca-Cola taste, zero calories, no compromise." Its initial "Chilltop" ad, via Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami, did little to explain exactly what the product was, but is still airing.

"They botched the initial Coke Zero campaign," said Manny Goldman, a beverage consultant based in Hillsborough, Calif. "They didn't just come out and say 'this tastes like Coke, but

it's diet.' Pepsi botched it with Pepsi One, too. I think they can turn it around for Coke Zero because it's a good product. It will be an uphill fight. It might be too late for Pepsi One."

Coke Zero, which bowed in mid-June, owned a 0.8% share of supermarket sales by volume through July 10. It was originally expected to sell twice that number, per Morgan Stanley analyst Bill Pecoriello.

"We believe success will be achieved through sustained marketing over time," said Coke rep Scott Williamson, who noted that repeat purchases of Coke Zero are strong. The entry received $2.8 million in media during its June launch, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Men do seem willing, at least, to ditch the calories. Last month, when Brand Keys asked 580 male consumers watching their weight whether they'd consider drinking a diet soda, about half (47%) said they would. However, the New York-based brand consultancy found that only 8% were making their selection based on taste, an attribute that Coke Zero and Pepsi One have rallied around. "They brought [Coke Zero and Pepsi One] to market thinking there's a big marketing opportunity, but there's not," said Brand Keys president Robert Passikoff.

Pepsi One, which was reformulated with Splenda, may have already discovered that interest among men is limited. Despite receiving a hefty $12 million in media through the first half of this year, Pepsi One volume was down 0.7% for the period, per Beverage Digest, Bedford Hills, N.Y. The brand was backed by only $8,000 in media for all 2004, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

"The problem has been that not enough consumers have really understood these products' proposition," said Gary Hemphill, managing director at Beverage Marketing Corp., New York. "The other issue is there's so many options." Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Splenda, Coke Zero, C2, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi One make for a complicated retail environment.

Still, spending behind the core diet brands is skyrocketing. Diet Pepsi received $63 million in media through June compared to a total of $36 million in 2004. Diet Coke's $31 million budget for the first half is already $2 million more than it spent all of last year.

In the end, however, the biggest obstacle for the cola giants may be an alternative of their own making.

"Men don't tend to respond well to the diet story," said Hayes Roth, vp-worldwide marketing and business development at Landor, a New York brand consultancy. "The drink of choice for many is water. The pressure is mounting from the water business."