New Vitaminwater10 Set To Debut Thursday With New Ad Campaign

Glaceau Expected To Spend $40-50M On New Ad Campaign To Introduce Vitaminwater10

Vitaminwater will debut its new low-calorie line called Vitaminwater10 tomorrow, and Glaceau "will spend an estimated [$40-50M] on a campaign to introduce" the product, according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES. The multimedia campaign "includes ads on television, in print, online, outdoors and in mass transit." There also will be "signs in stores, events and promotions like a one-day 'pop-up' gymnasium in Manhattan." The campaign for Vitaminwater "adopts the humorous tone in pitches for regular Vitaminwater." Posters in N.Y. subway cars "mimic transit ads for language courses, martial arts schools and dermatologists." Similar to the subway posters, TV commercials for Vitaminwater10 also "feature a make-believe business, Water Inc." The CEO of Water Inc. is "Mother Nature, who oversees an office staff of human and animal workers." Mother Nature in one ad says Vitaminwater10 is "cutting into our market share." Mother Nature's "worries are explained by the theme of the commercials: 'New Vitaminwater10. It's one-upped nature.'" Beverage Digest indicated that Vitaminwater is the "leading brand in the so-called enhanced-water segment of the beverage market," and Beverage Digest Editor & Publisher John Sicher said that sales of Vitaminwater "rose an estimated 37[%] last year from 2007." Elliott notes Vitaminwater10 "refers to the calories in each eight-ounce serving and compares with 50 calories in an eight-ounce serving of the regular varieties of Vitaminwater" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/1).

WATER WORLD: In S.F., Gwen Knapp notes "only the purple and white paper cups advertising Glaceau's VitaminWater were allowed" during the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments. Knapp Monday attended the NCAA women's basketball tournament West Regional in Berkeley, California, and writes, "On a dare from a friend, I decided to cover up the VitaminWater logo on my cup Monday night, to see if any of the staff had been trained to prioritize the trivial. A little while before tip-off, I taped white scratch paper around the cup. ... To its credit, the security detail at [the arena] seemed intent on checking my credential closely, making eye contact and being extremely polite. In other words, securing the safety of the arena rather than the sanctity of sponsorships" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/1).