The ads, created by Karmarama, claim ‘7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa'. One execution carries the line: ‘Sorry Starbucks, The People Have Voted'.
The £1.5m campaign runs across national press, online, regional outdoor and radio as well as in stores.
It is based on independent research by Tangible Branding, which carried out blind taste tests and found that seven out of ten coffee drinkers preferred Costa Coffee's cappuccinos to those of its leading competitors.
Costa appointed former Phones4U marketing director Jim Slater as its marketing director last November. He took over from David Hutchinson, who is now heading up the marketing team for the Chez Gerard restaurant chain.
Slater said that his main marketing objectives were to communicate the superiority of the company's product offering and increase customer loyalty.
The company is trialling a digital loyalty card in Scotland, on which consumers can earn rewards and store money.
Costa appears to be weathering the recession better than Starbucks. It reported a 2% increase in like-for-like sales and a 22% jump in sales for 2008, while Starbucks announced last month that it will close 300 stores worldwide following a 9% drop in sales in the last quarter.
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