In titling this post, I was going to go with the inevitable pun of "Zero being The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Hero" but, unfortunately, The Wall Street Journal beat me to the punch. As consumers move away from soda and toward more healthful premium beverages (such as Vitamin Water, my personal favorite), Coke has had surprising success with Coke Zero, a zero-calorie version of Coke which apparently tastes less like poison than regular Diet Coke. According to Coca Cola Chairman and CEO E. Neville Isdell, the initial success of Zero makes it Coke's most successful new product launch in 20 years.

As a young consumer, I believe that Coke Zero's success is largely a function of slick marketing campaign. They've actually managed to make diet soda cool. The slick ad campaign, which included slick, GQ-esque ads, in addition to funny ads that invited readers to sign up for a class-action lawsuit suing Coke Zero for tasting too much like regular Coke.

As beverages from companies like Jones Soda gain in popularity and cache, the traditional soft drink companies will need to revitalize their images. Coke has done just that with Coke Zero and they will probably continue to experience success.