A drink and a snack often go hand in hand, yet Subway India has rarely promoted beverages alongside its iconic subs. Considering the effort that goes into customizing a perfect sub, a refreshing drink seems like a natural companion. Enter Coke Zero, which, in a new 30-second ad, encourages pairing its sugar-free cola with Subway’s new Hot & Cheesy Signature subs.
However, there’s a twist—the ad only spotlights these specific subs, which come with pre-selected ingredients, offering customers just one choice: the bread. The Hot & Cheesy Signature lineup features three vegetarian and four non-vegetarian options, all larger than typical offerings and made with real mozzarella cheese.
This isn’t Subway’s first venture into limited-choice menus. Last year, the chain introduced ‘Hotsellers’ in a campaign featuring chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. The key difference now is that the Hot & Cheesy Signature subs are 1.5 times larger, making this a more substantial offering.
Interestingly, the ad features two young women ordering the sub, but an influencer’s social media account prompts them to also order the Coke Zero—a clear indication that this pairing targets late millennials and Gen Z, whose influences are often social media stars rather than actors or athletes. Positioning Coke Zero over regular Coke as the companion for a Subway sandwich feels intentional, given Gen Z’s preference for healthier options over overtly sugary drinks.
Coke Zero, or Coca-Cola Zero Sugar (the revamped version), “tastes like a Coke, but with zero sugar and zero calories,” according to the company’s website. In 2023, the company released its first ad in India , featuring young actor Tiger Shroff savouring the beverage in a remixed version of Lata Mangeshkar’s iconic song Hothon Pe Bas.
The Gen Z cohort (people born between 1997 and 2012) is an important target group for marketers. According to a recent report from Snap and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on How Gen Z is Shaping the New India, it is the largest generational cohort in India, comprising 377 million people, and is responsible for 43% of the country’s overall consumption spending, a figure expected to rise to 46% by 2030. More importantly, Gen Z drives $30 to $35 billion of India’s overall spending in the Eating Out and Ordering In category, which totals $70 to $75 billion.
Pairing a beverage with a food item is not a new trick from advertisers. Over the last two decades, several college canteens and dhabas in India have featured red posters suggesting that a Coke is the perfect companion for samosas, fried rice (the red schezwan kind), and even a plate of biryani.
More recently, Coca-Cola-owned Thums Up ran an ad featuring Shah Rukh Khan ordering a Thums Up, dismissing the server’s suggestion of a “soft drink” to wash down the biryani he’d just eaten. The ad also doubled as a promotion for the actor’s return to the big screen in Pathaan after a four-year break.
Around the same time in Canada, Coke, through the WPP-owned ad agency VML, paired an ice-cold Coke with famous dishes in an outdoor campaign called Magic Duos in Toronto. On the other hand, Pepsi this year released a campaign that used the ‘Ok’ in Coke to remind users not to pair their favourite dishes with a drink that only tastes ‘Ok’.
In India, Coke has partnerships with four major multinational fast-food brands. The famous Coke Float is available at McDonald’s, while Coca-Cola drinks are served at Burger King, Wendy’s, and Subway, among others. PepsiCo, the rival, has partnerships with Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, and Domino’s.
Interestingly, Subway in the United States has decided to switch from serving Coke to PepsiCo’s drinks starting in 2025. The sandwich chain has signed a 10-year deal with PepsiCo and will serve beverages like Mountain Dew, Gatorade, and Aquafina, according to a CBS News report from March.
