Coke used the 250 most popular first names for teens and millennials. It also released some bottles with terms like 'Friends' and 'Family.' Parker Eshelman/The Wall Street Journal
How do you get Americans to drink soda again? Put their names on bottles and cans.
Coca-Cola Co. 's carbonated soft-drink sales in the U.S. have risen more than 2% after the world's most-famous beverage brand began labeling Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero this summer with names of individuals, from Aaron to Sarah to Zach.
The labels—which also included warm-and-fuzzy terms like "Friends,'' "BFF,'' and "Family''—were launched in the U.S. in June.
The idea was to get consumers to buy personalized bottles and cans not just for themselves but also for friends and family. The "Share a Coke'' campaign has been such a hit that, for at least a few months, it reversed a decadelong decline in U.S. Coke consumption. That has provided a welcome lift for the beverage giant, which is trying to combat concerns over obesity and artificial sweeteners by hiking its global advertising budget by $1 billion over the next three years, up from $3.3 billion in 2013.
The simple marketing campaign was always intended to be temporary, and the cans and bottles are now fading from store shelves as Coke switches back to its traditional labels. Evan Holod, Coke's senior brand manager, says the company was "pleased'' with the campaign and that it will give "serious consideration'' to bringing it back next year.
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One of the roving kiosks that let people print out a personalized 'Share a Coke' containers, this one set up at a New York Hilton in August during a concert.Getty Images
The campaign seems to have appealed to everybody, but especially young consumers. "To see your name on a big brand, it makes it personal," said Ricardo El Torro, who secured a can with his name on it. The 22-year-old clothing-store employee and his friends in Atlanta also recently played a version of "spin the bottle'' with the personalized Coke containers.
Bottles named Casey, Ethan and Brandon had bids of $2.99, $3.29 and $5.24, respectively, Thursday on eBay. And the owner of a Maltese named Crystal posted a photo on Instagram of the dog sitting next to its namesake bottle—one of more than 500,000 photos on the social-media site with the hashtag #shareacoke.
After falling 11 years in a row, Coke's U.S. soft-drink volumes rose 0.4% for the 12 weeks through August from the same period a year ago, according to Wells Fargo, which cited Nielsen store-scanner data. Sales rose 2.5% in dollar terms. Over the same time period, soda volume and dollar sales remained negative at rivals PepsiCoInc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
"A Coke can or bottle is the most iconic design in the world and the fact you can impact that with your name has a huge curiosity and wow factor,'' said Dean Crutchfield, an independent branding consultant.
Coke declined to share sales ahead of its earnings results next month.
"Share A Coke" was first launched in 2011 in Australia, after local executives and the ad agency Ogilvy brainstormed on ways to re-engage consumers in stores and online. Coke says consumption of its cola jumped 7% among young Australians during the inaugural campaign. The seasonal campaign has since spread to about 80 countries.
In the U.S., Coke took the 250 most popular first names for teens and millennials and slapped them on the front of 20-ounce bottles. The most-stocked names in stores were Chris, Jess and Alex.
In addition, the company printed out more than 1 million personalized 7.5-ounce cans across the U.S. this summer at roving kiosks where more than 100,000 names were available. The campaign's website also let visitors type names to make "virtual'' Coke bottles that they could share on social media; more than 6 million bottles have been created.
Alyssa Lescalleet says she and her husband Shane hunted for each other's name on bottles all summer in Lancaster, Ohio. Mr. Lescalleet, a landscaper, finally found a Diet Coke named Alyssa in Dayton and a Coke named Shane in Columbus last week during a work trip. Ms. Lescalleet is thinking of keeping them on a living-room shelf next to wedding pictures. "I'll keep them forever," said Ms. Lescalleet, 24, who works at a museum.