Coca-Cola Name Eight US Athletes to Front Olympics Ad Campaign

The eight American athletes that will form basis the of soft drink giant Coca-Cola’s US advertising campaign for the London 2012 Olympics have been unveiled.

Gymnast Shawn Johnson returns to front her second Coca-Cola Olympic campaign, having featured in the run-up to Beijing in 2008 and will be joined by tennis player John Isner, wrestler Henry Cejudo and paralympic swimmer Jessica Long. Diver David Boudia, boxer Marlen Esparaza, soccer player Alex Morgan and hurdler David Oliver complete the list.

Coca-Cola has opted for an ‘eight pack’, rather than the traditional ‘six pack’ of athletes, with a focus on diversification of sports.

The first photo shoot of the ‘Eight Pack’ will take place in Boston later this week, with the pictures set to appear on Coca-Cola’s in-store materials and advertising in the lead-up to the games next year.

Coca-Cola director of Olympic Marketing Dina Gerson told Sports Business Journal: “There was an opportunity here to go with a statement and not go with the tried and true. We felt it was a great time to diversify our portfolio and give new depth and breadth to different sports than we may have partnered with in the past.”

The London 2012 Games become the third consecutive Olympics for which Coca-Cola has selected competing athletes to represent the brand, following on from campaigns for Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.