COCA-COLA BEGINS SUMMER BARQ'S CAMPAIGN
By Adnews Staff
Coca-Cola will break a new advertising campaign for Barq's root beer this month. Components of the "Barq's has Bite" campaign, created by Cossette Communication-Marketing, include print and transit advertising, television sponsorship and a cinema commercial. The North American campaign for Barq's was created by Wieden & Kennedy of Portland, OR. The creative features a character called Billy who interacts with people in the vicinity of his portable Barq's beverage cart. In the cinema ad a clown approaches Billy, who offers him a Barq's root beer. The print, transit and television components of the campaign make use of "Barqy," a toy-dog character with a Barq's-can head that appeared in a North American campaign for the brand in 1998. Print ads in teen-focused publications including Fuel, What and Teen Tribute depict Barqy playing pranks on his owner. The four executions also appear together on interior billboards in Canadian transit systems. The television material consists of various 60-second vignettes during which a teenager comments on a range of topics while watching television with Barqy. These will air on YTV. Three 15-second ads in which Barqy plays pranks on the teen will also run on YTV. Promotion on Teletoon involves an animated Barqy which appears before and after short cartoon clips. A separate set of three 15-second French-language spots have been created for Quebec. The "Barq's has Bite" campaign will run until October.