Monsters, Tigers and Bears, Oh My Campaigns

Animal imagery is a popular creative design element in many campaigns - just look at how many dogs starred in the commercials in between Super Bowl plays - and that trend doesn't show any sign of changing soon.

Advertising Age reports that Coca-Cola has plans to divert between $550 million and $650 million in its annual costs (reduced by increasing productivity) to marketing and brand development before 2016.

This year, the brand resurrected its polar bears to star in its Super Bowl ad, and also featured the animated animals on a Facebook-hosted website, CokePolarBowl.com, which had the bears reacting in "real time" to what was happening during the New York Giants-New England Patriots game. According to USA Today, Coca-Cola also posted funny tweets "written" by the bears and called on consumers to share their own photos during the game.

"The trick is to be everywhere consumers are," Pio Schunker, Coke North America head of integrated marketing platforms and content, told the newspaper.

In a separate article, Advertising Age noted that the beverage company's main rival, PepsiCo, has announced it will devote between $500 million and $600 million to brand advertisements this year - with another $100 million earmarked for in-store displays and similar initiatives.

Pepsi has trailed Coca-Cola in traditional and digital marketing spending, devoting just 3 percent of its revenue to advertising efforts in 2010, compared to Coke's 8 percent, the magazine notes.

Other campaigns have tried to incorporate animals, with varying success. Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich was recently sued by the co-writer of "Eye of the Tiger" for playing the song at his campaign events without permission.

BtoB magazine reports that Monster Worldwide has kicked off a new international campaign of its own. It will be working with a Formula One auto racing team for the multi-channel initiative, which will feature videos on YouTube, a microsite and other materials.