• by Les Luchter , June 7, 2023

Coca-Cola has teamed with Riot Games, the publisher and developer of League of Legends, to launch a limited-edition flavor, Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar, as well as in-game, digital and in-person tie-ins.

The release marks the seventh Coke iteration from the brand’s “global innovation platform” Coca-Cola Creations, which launched a year ago with Coca-Cola Starlight, featuring a QR code that brought consumers to a “private concert” by singer/songwriter Ava Max, and most recently saw the debut of Coca-ColaMove that featured “transformational” digital tie-ins with singer Rosalia.

As noted by CNN in February, Coca-Cola doesn’t share what any of the Creations flavors are “actually supposed to take like.” Instead, CNN noted, each beverage “is supposed to represent a mood or idea.”

In the case of Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar, the flavor “reinforces our shared mission [with Riot Games] to put fans and players at the forefront of everything we do,” said Oana Vlad, senior director, global strategy at The Coca-Cola Company, in a press release. The flavor carries an astonishing design, unlocks the taste of +XP [in-game experience points] for players on their journey and enhances their gameplay experience,” she continued

Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar’s packaging is said to fuse the two brands with a design in black and various shades of gold. It features the Coca-Cola Creations logo, a bespoke "Ultimate" crest and the “magical blue glow” of the game’s fictional Hextech technology. The iconic Coca-Colafont is said to be combined with inspiration from the game’s Nexus Crystals.

Cans and bottles of Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar contain a QR code which, when scanned by the drinker, go to the Coca-Cola Creations hub, where they can access such tools as an “Ultimate Emote Generator,” described as an Instagram filter that allows League of Legends players to share images of themselves in the style of the game’s emotes (emoticons). They can also order a Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar mini fridge by Cooluli.

League of Legendsplayers can also unlock limited-edition Ultimate emotes by completing specific tasks – like getting seven assists in a single game and winning a game in under 20 minutes -- through July 18.

Coca-Cola also promises real-life activations for the League of Legends community to taste Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar in cities like Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Mexico City.

For consumers not into “zero sugar,” a full-sugar version of Coca-Cola Ultimate is also available.

The campaign for Coca-Cola Ultimate Zero Sugar was developed by Forpeople, Havas, Virtue, WPP Open X/Ogilvy and EssenceMediacom, and directed by SixTwentySix’s Miles & AJ.