Designer Jean Paul Gaultier (of Madonna fame) is the new Creative Director at Coca Cola Light (also known as Diet Coke in the US). Gaultier created three sleek new bottles “dressed” in sailor stripes, tattoos and his iconic cone bra. The bottles were unveiled during a cabaret show at the legendary Parisian club Crazy Horse.

I love the consistent messaging of this campaign, from the bottle design to the launch event itself-sexy, quirky and maybe even a bit strange. Coca Cola is mixing their famous brand with art and fashion to do something new. Brands should take a cue from Coke on how to stay relevant, stay fresh, and reinvent yourself.

So, how responsible should brands be for our lifestyle choices?
Like many developed nations, the U.K. is in the grip of an obesity crisis. Until now the government has let people decide for themselves if deep fried cheese counts as one of their 5 a day fruit and vegetable options. But, now things are about to change as the government has committed to cutting 5 billion calories a day from the British diet. I’m not sure how many Mars bars that equates to, but it sounds like a lot!

But, instead of the usual healthy advertising campaigns and gentle warnings about expanding waistlines, the government has the world’s most powerful food and beverage brands directly in its sights.

Coca-Cola, Mars and Tesco, the second largest supermarket in the world (only Wal-Mart has larger profits) are three brands and retailers that have made pledges to reduce calories in their food as part of the food and beverage industry’s ‘Responsibility Deal’ with the United Kingdom government.

These measures will include Coca-Cola reducing the calories in some of its soft drinks brands by at least 30% by 2014 and Mars will cap the calories of their chocolate items to 250 calories per portion by the end of 2013.

Many other major food companies such as PepsiCo, Unilever and Kraft have also signed up to the programme, although McDonalds and KFC have resisted joining.

So, should brands be responsible for their customer’s lifestyles?
Could a similar initiative ever happen in the U.S?
How far will this effect the taste of these brands products, and possibly the perception of the brand in general? Does this mean that brands will be offering different tasting products in different countries?

We’ve all become used to brand messages sneaking in under the radar and appearing in more obscure and ambient ways, whether that is with the use of social media, sponsorship or pop up events. But, how about a brand that is so powerful that it can’t be restrained by it’s own advertising and has to literally smash its way into other brands adverts?

That is the premise of the new campaign for Old Spice, where adverts for Charmin and Bounce, are interrupted by the Old Spice guy. Of, course this is a clever piece of co-branding as they are all part of the P&G family. But, it’s a fun piece of pseudo-anarchy that grabs the attention of viewers.

What other brands could start to invade other brands environments? Could this be the beginning of a new brand trend?