Nike, Coke ring in the New Year with call to fitness ads

NEW YORK Nike and Coca-Cola are joining the bandwagon of the fitness advertisement surge which backs the most frequent New Year’s resolution—getting in shape.

Nike and Coca-Cola today announced a two-year deal, beginning Tuesday, with fitness network Exercise TV. The deal for undisclosed terms will place Coke’s Enviga green tea and brand images on some of the channel’s workout shows and create original Enviga programming. Enviga claims to help burn calories by speeding up metabolism with green tea extracts and caffeine.

Nike returns as a title sponsor for MTV’s New Year’s celebration and will kick off a fitness ad campaign around its “No Excuses” theme. “There’s no better way to deliver an inspiring message of health and fitness for the new year to the youth of America than through MTV,” said Nike spokesman Dean Stoyer.

Trend-watcher Marian Salzman at ad agency JWT stated that Coke and Nike are seizing a good opportunity to offer people a positive, action-oriented message as they try to move on from 2007’s credit crunch, housing slump, declining dollar and other woes.