MAYBE - Andy Nairn, Executive planning director, Dare
The real issue is whether it's wise to create a lengthy hiatus in the first place.
In our always-on world, the answer is a resounding 'no', which Coke has clearly recognised.
Once the need for investment has been established, the key is to thoroughly interrogate the business challenge, rather than jump straight to the last idea that ran. Old assumptions must be questioned and new developments taken into account in the pursuit of what's right for now.
If this process suggests that the previous approach is still valid, then fine - as an industry, we're too guilty of ignoring existing assets in favour of the new. However, you still need to be ruthlessly honest with yourself: is this just one potential solution to the problem, or the very best one? And has so much time elapsed that there's no equity in the original?
Our Hovis and Tetley campaigns -much-quoted in this context - worked because they built on some of the most-valuable assets in advertising, but not everyone is so fortunate.
NO - Bart Michels, Managing director, Added Value
When you think about old ads being revived, there's an immediate feeling of anticipation, a nostalgic pulse, a quickening of the heartbeat as you wonder what will unfold before your eyes. An old favourite, a retro throwback to the simple old days, something to make you go 'wow, I remember that'. Something that makes you feel good about being old enough to remember it, and how much better everything inevitably was back then.
Reviving a campaign after a mere two years, however, can risk a different response: 'They couldn't be bothered to make a new one', 'they've run out of new ideas', or, worse, 'they don't value me highly enough to create something fresh, but still want my money'.
The Coke Zero ad is bold, hard-hitting and solves a tricky social situation for its male lead. However, given the relentless consumer desire for new, different, creative material - and, generally, for 'more' - it may be perceived more as a gap-filler until the next effort comes to rescue it from a sticky situation.
MAYBE - Scott Knox, Managing director, The MAA
Resurrecting a campaign should be done only if it is part of a strategy and there is a compelling reason to do it.
There has been a definite trend for nostalgic ads recently, but reactions from the public have been mixed. When the OXO family returned to our screens a few years ago, it felt even less relevant to modern life than when it was dropped last time.
Likewise, Yell's attempt to reinvigorate the JR Hartley ads shows that even well-loved classics don't always work the second time around. Just as remakes of classic films get a bad rap, perhaps some fondly remembered ads are just too hot to handle.
There are, however, some great examples of campaigns brought back to life, such as the new Bodyform campaign using the 'woah, Bodyform' song - the concept still works and is given a fresh lease of life via social media.
I don't think consumers will necessarily recognise Coke Zero's new ad as part of the earlier campaign, so it stands up on its own fairly well.
YES - Tom Knox, Joint chief executive, DLKW
Let's get real about how advertising is consumed. No one is going to see this as a 'resumption of a brand campaign' - it's entertainment from a famous fizzy-drink brand. By and large, people don't remember endlines or campaign architecture.
As far as I can make out, the whole 'impossible is possible/it's possible/impossible is nothing' endlines (they all seem to blur into one) are very much secondary to the core product message: great Coke taste, zero sugar - like it says on the tin.
The campaign idea that links the product truth to the fantasy that Coke Zero makes impossible things possible is sufficiently broad that you can go pretty much wherever you like with it creatively. I think it's a good, potentially long-term brand platform that will work globally.
This ad is better than the first, but I can't help feeling the Pepsi Max stuff is more fun.
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