We all have our favorites. The taglines we recite over and over again, those oh-so-familiar scenarios that become inside jokes and then those that we just have to share over our social networks. Advertising campaigns are designed to do all of those things and more, so Beverage World highlights some of the print, television, viral and social media beverage campaigns/ads of 2009 that had consumers talking.

In print, Simply Lemonade ranked No. 1 as the most effective non-alcohol ad according to Affinity LLC’s VISTA Print Effectiveness Rating Service, which measures the performance of ads in major business and consumer publications, according to Tom Robinson, managing director of the New York City-based company. The ad reads: “Perfect lemons need nothing but a good squeeze.” The simple and clean construction of the ad resonated so well with consumers that the brand’s Simply Orange and Simply Lemonade with Raspberry (which just launched last year) ads ranked second and third, respectively, on the same list.

Which brand ranked No. 1 in the beverage alcohol category? Well, this might not come as a surprise, but Corona Extra’s iconic broadcast campaign of white-sand beaches and clear blue seas translates just as well on paper, according to Affinity data. The ad features the familiar Corona bottle with lime wedge next to an unknown hand and three beach activity choices: A. parasailing; B. windsurfing; C. jet skiing; or D. none of the above.

On screen, Diet Coke came in at No. 1 on the Top 10 beverage ads for 2009 across carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, bottled water, juice, coffee, beer and spirits categories, according to Ace Metrix, Inc.’s ranking, a Los Angeles-based online television advertising analytics company that measures the overall effectiveness of an ad by measuring persuasion and watchability. The ad, “People Putting Coke Bottles in Recycling Bins,” had a 660 ACE (Advertising Creative Effectiveness) score out of 950.

“The Diet Coke ad scored high with consumers along several different measures,” explains Steve Goldman, co-founder and CEO of Ace Metrix. “Our data tells us that the ad was effective at grabbing consumer’s attention and that they found the creative ‘likable’ and the content informative. Coke was smart with this ad in that it tapped into the consumer thirst for environmental information, and the natural desire people have to ‘do the right thing.’”

Evian’s “Roller Babies” ad came in at No. 2 with an ACE score of 639.

In fact, the Evian Natural Spring Water “Live Young” campaign has been earning many accolades. According to Evian, the ad featuring babies on roller skates break dancing was ranked the No. 5 most viewed viral video on YouTube in 2009, it achieved Guinness World Record status as the most viewed online advertisement to date with, at the time, 94 million views and was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of its top ads of ’09.

Glenn Kessler, president and CEO of HCD Research, a marketing and communications research company based in Flemington, N.J., says the ad’s ability to entertain set it apart from the other TV ads among The Wall Street Journal’s picks—Doritos Crystal Ball and Hyundai Assurance Program. Sixty-seven percent of 316 viewers thought Evian’s spot was the most memorable of the three, according to data from MediaCurves, a media measurement website that provides a venue to view consumer perceptions of media events and advertisements.

“People felt it was the most memorable, most entertaining and using online dial testing, it had the highest interest curve of any of the ads, by far. It garnered attention from the first second of the ad to the last second,” Kessler says.

Lauren Kinelski, public relations manager for Evian, comments on the ad’s success: “In a climate filled with negativity; the Evian Roller Babies provided an upbeat, positive, live young message that has clearly been well-received by consumers worldwide.”

Online, PepsiCo’s DEWmocracy 2 for Mountain Dew is generating much buzz. The social media initiative launched in July 2009 and follows DEWmocracy 1, a program launched in 2007, which resulted in the development of Mountain Dew Voltage—created by fans of the soft drink. Since Voltage hit shelves in January 2009, case sales have topped 11 million, according to PepsiCo.

DEWmocracy 2 is a 12-month, seven-stage campaign to create another user-generated Mountain Dew beverage using a variety of tools including DEW Labs—a private online community composed of the brand’s most loyal fans—Twitter, USTREAM, a 12seconds.tv video contest and a dedicated YouTube channel. At press time, social media DEW-mocracy stats were: 726,803 Mountain Dew Facebook Fans; 19,010 Mountain Dew Twitter followers and 2,957 channel views on DEW Lab’s YouTube channel.

“Certainly to date, we’ve been able to create a very interesting social movement through this program,” says Brett O’Brien, director of marketing, Mountain Dew. “I don’t think there’s a better way to ensure successful innovation than to have that innovation co-created with the consumers that we are talking to.” And consumers are no doubt speaking about what’s on their mind.

From Beverage World March 15, 2010