Guinness - Spoken Word from Shilo on Vimeo.

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We attended the new Sprite Green launch event in Chicago last night, featuring a live performance by De La Soul.  If you don't remember the late 80's hip hop duo, check out the video below, captured by Carbon Rabbit's cameras.  Overall, Coke (who owns the Sprite brand) spent approximately $200,000 on the event (boom!), which was by invite only for select retailers, bars, and restaurants in the Chicago area and had free mixed drinks featuring Sprite Green.  The pictures above show some of the marketing signage, event patrons (thanks Nadime and Jenny), the look-alike waitresses (in green pants, of course), and the front man for De La Soul.  There were a few giveaways (including Bears tickets and a signed jersey), though sadly we lost our raffle tickets in the process of all those free drinks.  Coke's positioning for marketing Sprite Green (to this crowd at least) is as a mixer for cocktails.  To that end, everyone received a giveaway bag at the end of the night featuring a high-quality aluminum mixer, more aluminum-bottled Sprite Greens, and a USB drive.  Regarding taste of the new product, I think it's great.  I'm not a huge soda drinker, but tasted like the Sprite I remember.  So for fewer calories and a sweet aluminum bottle, I'd buy this over regular Sprite any day.  I'm also thinking about purchasing that mini fridge for the office (only $250).  We have order forms so if you're interested in purchasing at wholesale prices, give us a shout.  Official press release after the break.  Thanks for the invite Paul (lookin official in that green tie)! [easy-contact] Official Press Release Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) today announced the 2008 launch of the first sparkling naturally sweetened, reduced-calorie beverage in the U.S. made with TRUVIA™ natural sweetener. Sprite Green™, the new reduced-calorie Sprite line extension, is the first of what the Company expects will be many new, naturally sweetened, reduced, low and zero-calorie beverages sweetened with TRUVIA natural sweetener in the future. Developed jointly by Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company, TRUVIA natural sweetener is a great-tasting, zero-calorie natural sweetener using rebiana, which comes from the best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. Harvested at the peak of sweetness, stevia leaves are dried and steeped in water, much like tea. This extract is then further refined and purified. The finished product is the pure, natural sweetness of rebiana. Sprite Green is naturally sweetened with TRUVIA brand sweetener and has 50 calories per 8.5-ounce serving and 5% lemon juice. Sprite Green was created to appeal to active young adults and will be launched in two U.S. cities this month in distinctive 8.5-ounce aluminum bottles. Initial availability will be limited to teen and young adult-oriented locations and events with a broader rollout planned for early 2009. Sprite Green complements the Sprite brand’s leading lemon-lime and zero-calorie lemon-lime sparkling beverages. “The Sprite brand has a rich history of setting trends and breaking new ground in sparkling beverages, and we think consumers will be excited to try Sprite Green,” said Santiago Blanco, vice president, Sprite and Flavors, Coca-Cola North America. “Sprite Green with TRUVIA natural sweetener is a significant step for CCNA in our ongoing efforts to apply the latest breakthrough innovations to our expanding array of beverages.”

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A little-known (or well-known, depending on your circle of friends) artist, Shard Fairey's works have gone mainstream without you even knowing.  His rap sheet reads like an artistical how-to-not-be-a-starving-artist manual.  His start was with a sticker campaign while attending RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), that blossomed into the OBEY brand found in your local Nordstrom.  The Studio Number One design agency he founded with his wife produced the cover art for the Black Eyed Peas and the movie poster for Walk The Line, among others.  Likely his most famous work is the Hope poster that capitalized Barack Obama's campaign.  Interestingly, he didn't make any money from the guerilla marketing campaign, but reinvested it back into making more materials. However, the reason he's up on Carbon Rabbit is none of these, but for the Soviet-inspired and striking window displays and shopping bag art currently used for Saks Fifth Avenue marketing.

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