Super Bowl ad season is officially here.
Coca-Cola released its new ad campaign yesterday, and there were no polar bears in sight. Instead, the soft drink company launched "a 'gamified' campaign that invites viewers to choose the ending to its commercial," according to ABC news.
The ad, called 'The Mirage' features three sets of characters, the Cowboys, Showgirls, and Badlanders, competing in a dusty desert for one giant bottle of Coke.
Viewers will be able to vote for their favorite team, and whoever gets the most votes will determine which outcome airs on game day. Coca-Cola's marketing team hopes this new commercial will encourage more viewer interaction leading up to the Super Bowl.
"The holy grail would be able to meet somebody inside their own user experience," said Larry Woodard, head of the Graham Stanley Advertising agency in an interview with ABC News's Susanna Kim.
Related: Why did Taco Bell pull their Super Bowl 2013 commercial at the last minute?
This year, Coca-Cola will focus on social media marketing, integrating the campaign with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. According to ABC News, "Users can not only vote on CokeChase.com, but also tweet their votes with a hashtag."
Last year's Super Bowl campaign, which featured Coca-Cola's iconic friendly polar bears reacting live to the game and half-time show, attracted around 9 million viewers, said Pio Shunker, a senior Coca-Cola marketing official.
"Last year's social media playback was good, but it was limited," he told ABC News.
This year, Coca-Cola is hoping that this new choose-your-own-ending campaign will engage even more people, even after the Super Bowl is over.
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