Diet Coke gets glam with Kim Basinger TV campaign

by Daniel Rogers,, Marketing 02-Apr-03, 08:30

LONDON - Coca-Cola GB has signed Hollywood actress Kim Basinger as part of a three-year plan to link Diet Coke with movies and glamour.

Basinger will appear in a Diet Coke TV commercial breaking next week to coincide with the brand's biggest ever on-pack promotion. It offers consumers the chance to win all-expenses paid trips to West End film premieres.

It is the first time the brand, whose most successful ad icon was the Diet Coke hunk, has used a celebrity in its ads. Basinger, 49, complains in the commercial that she had to accept bit parts to achieve the lifestyle of a star, rather than entering a competition.

Basinger's most recent success was in the Eminem film '8 Mile'. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 1998 hit 'LA Confidential'.

Diet Coke, the UK's second-biggest selling soft drink, grew sales volumes by 8% in 2002, according to ACNielsen.

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