Coca-Cola sponsors fictional footballer in video game
Coca-Cola's newest ambassador will be a virtual athlete in the football video game Fifa 18, the first such partnership of its kind. Alex Hunter, the fictional protagonist of the game’s story mode, will endorse Coca-Cola Zero Sugar as the player follows him through his career. The advertising campaign references Coca-Cola’s 1979 “Mean Joe” TV spot, in which a player drinks a bottle of Coca-Cola after a match. The ad is due to play across social media channels and on Coca-Cola's 3D TImes Square installation.
Coca-Cola has snapped up an unusual ambassador in the protagonist from EA Sport’s football simulator video game, Fifa 18, marking the first time it has snapped up a virtual athlete to ply its wares.

Fifa 17 was the first title in the series to introduce narrative-driven mode, The Journey, in which players take up the guise of young football prodigy Alex Hunter and rise through the ranks of English football. The mode looked to encapsulate many aspects of modern football, including brand endorsements, as such, Hunter actually starred in the Adidas First Never Follows campaign, both in the game and in real life.