Although Coca-Cola sponsored the World Cup and its ad spend was five times greater than that of its nearest rival Pepsi, there was a marginal decline in investment by main brand Coca-Cola and a more significant dip by Diet Coke.

It was the less mainstream soft drinks brands that accounted for the biggest increases in ad spend last year. Vimto increased spend by nearly 20% and has promised further support for the brand in 2011, including new variant Cherry Vimto in its advertising for the first time.

Shloer ad spend was up more than 500% thanks to its Best Served Shared campaign, which stressed the relevance of Shloer for all social occasions. According to the brand, 14 million viewers saw the Shloer TV and press advertising campaign in 2010.

The campaign helped Shloer comfortably exceed its target of encouraging existing customers to buy one extra bottle each outside the key Christmas period.

Focus On Soft Drinks