Coca Cola’s introduction to the world of UGC/Viral marketing advertising was a rocky one. In June of 2006, a pair of performance artists scored a bona fide hit with a video featuring a series of geysers they created by dropping Mentos in bottles of Diet Coke. They were not the first to discover the chemical reaction that comes from dropping the mints into the soft drink, but they took the stunt to another, rather spectacular level using music, choreography, and well-timed explosions. Originally posted on Eepybird.com, the video became a major hit on YouTube.

When the media started taking notice, the two brands had very different reactions. Mentos embraced the spirit of the video, and held a popular contest asking to see consumers’ best Mentos/ Diet Coke geyser videos.  Meanwhile, a Coke spokesperson dismissively told the Wall Street Journal that the “craziness with Mentos…doesn’t fi t with [our] brand personality.” Coke quickly came to understand consumer’s enthusiasm for the performance and embraced it by helping to drive viral distribution of the video and securing major media coverage on late night TV and elsewhere. In addition to generating high value/low cost media coverage, Coke was also able to identify a positive impact on sales.

As Brand week magazine later wrote, “For those looking to separate brands that understood the UGC movement from those who don’t, it was a watershed moment. Consumers were shaping the brand personality independently of Coke. This video really works and people’s were experimenting differently with the Diet Coke.