Marketing

Marketing

Sprite's slogans in the 1960s and 1970s ranged from "Taste Its Tingling Tartness," "Naturally Tart," and "It's a Natural!" these were all advertised to make people wonder about the taste of sprite.

A song known as "Sprite" or "Melon-ball Bounce" was originally composed by Raymond Scott for a Sprite radio commercial around 1963, that references the "ice-tart taste" of Sprite.

Sprite started its most memorable campaign in the late 1970s/early 1980s with the phrase "Great Lymon Taste makes it Sprite" (using the portmanteau word "lymon," combining the words "lemon" and "lime," to describe the flavor of the drink) which remained on the logo for many years. However, this was never the actual Sprite slogan and was advertised by Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell.
Three Sprite cans produced in mainland China (from left to right): Sprite Icy Mint, Sprite On Fire, and Sprite

By the 1980s Sprite began to have a big following among teenagers, so in 1987 marketing ads for the product were changed to cater to that demographic. "I Like the Sprite in You" was their first long running slogan. Many versions of the jingle were made during that time to fit various genres. The slogan was used until 1994.

In 1994, Sprite created a newer logo that stood out from their previous logos. The main coloring of the product's new logo was blue blending into green with silver "splashes," and subtle small white bubbles were on the background of the logo. The word "Sprite" had a blue backdrop shadow on the logo, and the words "Great Lymon Taste!" were removed from the logo. This was the official U.S. logo until 2007. During 1994, the slogan was also changed to "Obey Your Thirst" and was set to the urban crowd with a hip-hop theme song. One of the first lyrics for the new slogan were, "Never forget yourself 'cause first things first, grab a cold, cold can, and Obey your thirst."

Toward the late 1990s, most of Sprite's advertisements featured amateur and famous basketball players. The tagline for most of these ads was, "Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst."

In 1998, one infamous commercial poked fun at products with cartoon mascots. In the commercial, a mother serves up two glasses of a fictitious product called "Sun Fizz" for her kids. The kids are thrilled, saying that it's their favorite. Then the product's mascot, a sun character with blue eyes, a red bow tie, and a high-pitched Mickey Mouse-like voice, pops out saying that "there's a delicious ray of sunshine in every drop." The mother and her kids scream in horror and run while the sun character chases them around the house asking why they're running from him. After the mom trips and tells her kids to keep running, the viewer is left to wonder what will happen to her. Finally, the commercial's message is given: "Trust your gut, not some cartoon character."[2]

In the 1990s, one of Sprite's longest-running ad campaigns was "Grant Hill Drinks Sprite" (overlapping its "Obey Your Thirst" campaign), in which the well-liked basketball player's abilities, and Sprite's importance in giving him his abilities, were humorously exaggerated.[3][4]

Also in the 1990s, Sprite launched the short-lived but memorable "Jooky" ad campaign. The 30-second television spots poked fun at other soft drinks' perceived lack of authenticity, ridiculous loyalty programs and, in particular, the grandiose, bandwagon-driven style of advertising popular among other soft drink manufacturers, notably Pepsi. The tagline for these spots was "Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst."[5][6]

In 2000, Sprite commissioned graffiti artist Temper to design a limited edition can which saw the design on 100 million cans across Europe.
The Evolution of the Sprite bottle,(from left to right), The original 1960's starburst logo, the 2004 slanted Sprite logo, 2005's "S" logo, the new 2009 logo.

In 2004, Coke created Miles Thirst, a vinyl doll voiced by Reno Wilson, used in advertising to exploit the hip-hop market for soft drinks.[7]

In 2005, a new Sprite logo, consisting of two yellow and green "halves" forming an "S" lemon/lime design, began to make its debut on Sprite bottles and cans. The slogan was changed from its long running "Obey Your Thirst" to just "Obey." The advertisement themes received their first major change for this decade as well.

Sprite's ads at the time featured several fast subliminal scenes and messages that can be pointed out when played back in slow motion. As with most modern commercials, many of these videos can be seen online. The "Sublymonal" campaign was also used as part of the alternate reality game The Lost Experience.[8] This also resurrected the "lymon" word.

Sprite redesigned their label in April 2009, removing the aforementioned "S" logo after just two years. The new design, which features yet another new revision of the main Sprite logo, bears much resemblance to the 1994 revamp.

In the UK, it is recognized by its slogan "Get the Right Sprite," based on ads containing an alternate sprite, a green sickly goblin that causes irritation and trouble to those who acquire it accidentally.