Bringing fritz-cola to Great Britain
About the Brand
fritz-kola, created by Lorenz Hampl and Mirco Wiegert, was born back in 2003 in Hamburg, the north of Germany.
The beverage’s principal unique selling points (USPs) are:
- Its high caffeine content (higher than other cola alternatives such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi Max).
- Its glass bottle packaging (sustainability).
- Its refreshing flavour (cola with a hint of lemon).
- Its focus on natural ingredients.
In a recent interview, founder of fritz-kola Mirco Wiegert spoke of the original thinking behind the marketing of the product: “We sell cola, which contains less sugar, with more caffeine, in glass portion bottles, to cafes, bars, clubs, restaurants…everywhere and any place where people have a good time. Mostly aimed at students” (OMR, 2021: para 8). Though twenty years have now passed since the product’s inception, some of these key tenets of the original vision of their marketing remain. The medium, however, has changed. By harnessing social media, the brand has been able to gain incredible visibility of their ads, many of which are also still out-of-home (OOH) ads. Add to the mix the brand’s use of Guerrilla advertising techniques which are “deliberately provocative and shocking” (Investopedia, 2020) and are disseminated in order to spread word about key social issues which the brand feels a responsibility to make noise about (OMR, 2021), it’s no wonder that fritz-kola is one of the most recognised soft-drink brands in Germany
Original Ads from the Brand
1. Back Translation: “Drink from glass”.
This ad’s core message is environmental. It aims to encourage solidarity (hence the raised fist) in the face of the ecological crisis and persuade consumers to opt for fritz-kola as an alternative to other, plastic-bottled drinks, which ultimately end up in landfill and take years to biodegrade.
2. Back Translation: This ad is a pun on the words “wach” – “awake” and “Waschbär” – “raccoon”.
At its core, this advertisement humourously showcases the drink’s high coffeine content, using the wordplay described above to incorporate “wach” into “Waschbär”. Using an animal in the ad also demonstrates the brand’s commitment to environmental issues.
3. Back Translation: “Wake up, man!”.
This ad from 2017 emphasises fritz-kola’s high caffeine content by showing three sleeping world-leaders, Trump, Putin, and Erdogan beneath the slogan “Wake up, man!”. By now an established brand, founder Micro Wiegert recently stated that “as an entrepreneur behind fritz-kola, the team and I are increasingly taking on more responsibility to work for a sustainable and democratic society.” (OMR, 2021: para 5). In this way, this ad demonstrates fritz-kola’s commitment to creating debate about some of the most pressing issues of our time and holding world leaders accountable.
The Brief
fritz-kola commissioned me to transcreate their German ads into British English for a student target audience. They requested me to make use of the marketing tactics present in their original German ads, such as wordplay, a casual tone, and humour while all the while emphasising at least one of the brand’s principal USPs. The two target audiences of my transcreations are:
- All students studying in Great Britain who are environmentally conscious, to highlight fritz-kola as a more environmentally friendly option that other soft-drink alternatives.
- British students specifically, especially those who consume caffeinated beverages in order to fuel their studies. The aim is to showcase the product’s high caffeine content and engage with consumers in a meaningful way.