And introducing NHL star Jordan Eberle as Kevin Wheeler…
The young Edmonton Oilers forward is–for now at least–the face of Coca-Cola Zero’s new “Moment Zero” advertising campaign. Developed by Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, the campaign showcases the moment that becomes the basis of an epochal story.
Eberle stars as Kevin Wheeler in a three-minute video that premiered Wednesday at Toronto’s Real Sports Café. According to Coca-Cola, Wheeler represents the unsung sports hero whose story becomes a legend among his friends.
The video opens on “Wheeler” being driven to a hockey game, only to realize that he’s forgotten his equipment at home, two hours away. His fateful “moment zero” comes with a phone call asking a neighbour to do him a favour by taking his equipment to a meeting spot one hour away.
Through a partnership with Bell Media, the video also features Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole (co-hosts of TSN’s nightly sports highlight show Sportscentre) as two police officers. A one-minute version of the spot also aired during TSN’s Thursday night telecast of the Stanley Cup playoff series between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks.
Diego Moratorio, senior brand manager for Coca-Cola Zero, said the platform has the potential to exist for “years to come.” Other prominent athletes will portray Wheeler in future iterations of the “Moment Zero” campaign timed to coincide with other major sporting events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, he said.
Moratorio said the campaign, aimed at a core demo of adults 18-24, is intended to amplify the Coca-Cola Zero brand promise of “action drives possibility.” “When you’re faced with a situation, you can either decide to take advantage of it or not,” he said. “The moment you decide to take action, that’s what we call ‘Moment Zero.’
“At the end of the day, the actions that you take are going to end up creating an epic story,” said Moratorio. “Those stories get told and retold and ultimately become a legend.”
The multi-faceted campaign also includes a social media component that kicked off with a Twitter campaign featuring tweets by @KevinWheels15. A 15-second teaser commercial around “Who is @KevinWheels15” began airing on TSN a week before Thursday’s official launch.
Moratorio said the campaign, which also includes PR from Environics Communications, social marketing from Elvis, experiential/event marketing by Mosaic, on-pack advertising by Perennial, shopper marketing by The Hive and in-store promotions by TWIST, is designed to enable consumers to flow seamlessly between the various components.
The marketing is built around a 70-20-10 approach, he said, meaning that 70% of the campaign is built around proven media vehicles, 20% goes through media and other ideas that the company believes might work and 10% through media that is untested and the company has no notion of how it will perform.
