While many global marketers are aiming Olympics-related campaigns at young consumers, the real core of TV watchers of London's Summer Olympics are expected to be older Gen X-ers and boomers. Those generations also struggle more than younger ones with obesity and other health issues.

All of that may be why Coca-Cola is using its Olympics sponsorship to do more than promote its new global "Move to the Beat" campaign, which is aimed at teens. Another new initiative by Coke is highlighting active lifestyles by centering on an "eight-pack" of athletes even though the first one revealed — Shawn Johnson — won't be competing in London following her recent surprise retirement from the sport.

In a challenging time in America for soft drink brands, led by New York City's proposed ban on large soft drinks, Coke is hoisting a healthy living banner into the London 2012 Olympics with a campaign which claims that — despite being dismissed as overcaloric sugar water by many health critics — the brand actually has an association with healthy lifestyles.Continue reading...

Following rumors last fall, Coca-Cola confirmed that it's producing a global TV series to woo teens with music in more than 30 countries during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

As a (lightly) branded entertainment extension of its global youth and music-oriented "Move to the Beat" Olympics marketing platform, Beat TV is being distributed in partnership with MTV Networks International, producing 10 episodes aimed at bringing youths some of the cultural flavor and excitement of the Games and its London setting. It's also not to be confused with "Move to the Beat TV," above, a web series Coca-Cola produced for European audiences as part of its Olympic marketing. (Coke's Move to the Beat campaign just picked up a bronze Cannes Lions award for mobile this week.)

While sponsored TV programming isn't new — look at NBC's recent Escape Routes series touting the Ford Escape crossover vehicle — Coke says Beat TV will run as a regular TV show (including channels with official rights to the Olympics and previous ad commitments from Coca-Cola); it won't feel like an infomercial for Coke's official Olympics sponsorship and the brand's presence won't be "overt"; and ad opportunities will be open to other brands.Continue reading...

The branding-refreshed Girl Scouts are expanding from the iconic cookie sales into candy bars, which will be sold at U.S. retailers from June through September. For many, it’s a match made in heaven.

"The idea of working with Girl Scouts clicked on so many levels," commented Cherry Joh, marketing manager at Nestlé Crunch, which came up with the idea of a limited-edition candy bar and pitched it to the Girl Scouts USA, who sold $760 million worth of cookies last year through increasing digital savvy as they celebrated their 100th anniversary in March.

To whet your appetite, here’s what’s cooking:Continue reading...

The tobacco industry spent $10 billion on marketing in 2008, according to the FTC, and a good part of the portion being spent in California was targeted at low-income and African-American youth, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

If you’re an African-American high schooler in the Golden State, you may have noticed the advertising for menthol cigarettes that aren’t far from the school. Researchers that are funded by the state of California found that such ads were more prominently displayed when they were in proximity to a school that served the African-American community, the Union-Tribune adds.Continue reading...

Car brands have become intent upon roping in reluctant consumers from the Millennial generation. That's why Ford has decided to set up shop, literally, in Silicon Valley, and why General Motors has turned to MTV for advice.

Today's twenty-somethings have looked like trouble for a while to America's automakers because they can't be counted on to swoon about cars they way their parents did — and often still do. Of course, the importance of digital connectivity to this generation has been well-established, and Ford has managed to capitalize on it with its trail-blazing Sync infotainment platform.Continue reading...

As the Girl Scouts celebrate their 100th anniversary today (they were founded by Juliette Gordon Low on March 12th, 1912) they’re still going strong, with 3.2 million girls and adult members worldwide, but they’re not your mother’s troop anymore. Badges can be earned today in cooking and knitting, as ever, but there's also forensics and technology skills. Just a few of the ways the Girl Scouts is celebrating its first 100 years:Continue reading...

A recent study of teen drinking patterns in Europe and the movies they watch, which was published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that the kids who watched more films with alcohol consumption were themselves more likely to both start drinking and abuse alcohol.

To which we say, DERRRR. But will the findings, with CNN the latest to make hay with them, be enough to change Hollywood's long love affair with hooch?Continue reading...

As announced last month, Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, today launched the Born This Way Foundation, "a movement to celebrate individuality and empower young people," in a kick-off event at Harvard University. The event was streamed live with guests including Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra.

While more programs and partnerships are yet to be announced, one piece revealed was on-campus for the announcement: the "Born to be Brave" bus (at top) which will take the foundation's message across the U.S., including serving as a tailgating-like focal point for fans at Gaga's shows and "to serve as a place where youth can go to feel connected and learn about civic engagement opportunities."Continue reading...