How Diet Coke’s Spontaneous Big Game Ad Came Together

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Returning to the Big Game after a 21-year hiatus was always the plan, but Diet Coke found its ad unexpectedly in an off-the-cuff outtake

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- “This is our Big Game ad.”

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180204005090/en/

Actress Hayley Magnus and film director Paul Feig on set of the new Diet Coke “Because I Can” campaign. (Photo: Business Wire)

That’s what our creative team and renowned film director Paul Feig said while on set in East Los Angeles this fall directing a six-second digital ad as part of the new Diet Coke “Because I Can” campaign. The campaign includes a fresh series of short films and social content, and because of one off-the-cuff outtake, the first Diet Coke Big Game ad in 21 years.

The moment happened when we were filming in a parking lot with Hayley Magnus, an up-and-coming comedic actress from Australia. She started doing her thing between takes — just as you see it in “Groove” — and that was all we needed to create the Big Game ad.

Big Game ads are not made overnight — or at random for that matter. Usually there are countless months of brainstorms, multiple concepts, storyboards, presentations, casting calls, site visits, shoots, edits, re-shoots, screen tests, post-production, more re-shoots. Months can go into making a 30-second ad. Ours took just one take. All Hayley needed was a beat and an ice-cold can of Diet Coke Twisted Mango.

That’s what Diet Coke means by “Because I Can.” The campaign is all about doing the things that make you happy, whether that’s having a Diet Coke or dressing in a three-piece suit every day (like Paul Feig) or capturing a deliciously awkward moment and using it on the biggest advertising stage in the country. In trying to show what “Because I Can” means, we ended up living it.

P.S. How awesome is Hayley?

More information is available here: www.coca-colacompany.com/DietCokeGroove

About The Coca-Cola CompanyThe Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world. For more information, visit our digital magazine Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, and follow The Coca-Cola Company on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.