Diet Coke works the runway

The Coca-Cola Co.’s Diet Coke brand re-entered the fashion world by releasing its second limited-edition T-shirt in the beverage aisles of Target stores last month. The winning design came from Julianna Base, who created an original T-shirt design inspired by singer/songwriter Taylor Swift’s style and Diet Coke consumers, the company says. The T-shirt shows a sketch of a confident woman in a flaring red skirt leaning on a Diet Coke logo. Base’s design was chosen from hundreds of designs as part of the second season of the Diet Coke Young Designer Challenge. As a result, Base won $10,000 and a trip to meet Swift at her final U.S. Red Tour stop in Nashville, Tenn.

What’s your flavor?

Ben & Jerry’s created customized ice cream flavors for five different cities as part of its City Churned program. In Portland, Ore., citizens were polled in unique ways (see QR code) to select ingredients to formulate the city’s own Stay Weird Swirled ice cream. One of the ingredients, Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout, came from local brewery/distillery Rogue Ales & Spirits. Other ingredients in the treat include coffee, blueberries, fudge, graham crackers and shortbread in vanilla ice cream.

A barrel of art

 Tequila Herradura is taking its appreciation of the arts to a whole new level via its Herradura Barrel Art Collection. The company challenged 80 artists in eight U.S. cities to transform a Tequila Herradura barrel into a work of art. A jury-selected piece of work from each of the eight cities will be awarded $10,000 and an invitation to the final competition in early December where the finalists’ barrels will be auctioned off. Herradura will donate all proceeds from the barrel auction and an additional $70,000 to Creative Capital, an arts organization dedicated to supporting artists nationwide through funding, counsel and career development services. The creator of the winning Herradura Barrel Art piece will receive a $100,000 prize. The winning pieces of art will be showcased to the public at select venues in early 2014.  

A fresh spin

In celebration of the launch of its hot and iced tea K-Cups for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.’s Keurig brewing machines, Lipton Tea launched a K-Scope app on its Facebook page. To complement its “fresh spin” on tea consumption, Lipton Tea’s new app helps fans put a spin on their memories. The K-Scope app includes three templates — Refresh, Indulge and Soothe — that enable users to create and share kaleidoscope music videos using their Facebook photos. The app is available at facebook.com/liptonus and can be accessed via computers and select mobile devices.

Having a ball

In celebration of the launch of its new 100 percent juice blends in Hula, Coconut and Mango varieties, Pom Wonderful threw a “Yum in the Sun” pool party extravaganza in Las Vegas complete with record-setting activities. “Dancing with the Stars” celebrities Cheryl Burke and Carina Smirnoff helped Pom lead the fun with a beach ball bash that kept the ball in the air for 125 consecutive passes. This high-scoring game qualified the event for Guinness World Records history as the Longest Consecutive Airborne Inflatable Beach Ball Relay, according to the brand. “We wanted to achieve something no one has ever seen before, because we’re launching a product no one has ever seen before: delicious juice blends that mix the benefits of pomegranates with America’s favorite tropical flavors,” said Marc Seguin, Pom Wonderful’s vice president of marketing, in a statement. Pom juice blends are available nationwide for approximately $2.99 a bottle.

Beers and wedding bells

For couples interested in celebrating their love for both each other and craft beer, St. Arnold Brewing Co. set up a pop-up wedding chapel at their booth at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. From Oct. 10 to 12, a St. Arnold employee dressed as Saint Arnold of Metz, the patron saint of brewers, performed weddings and vow renewals at the festival. According to wedding experts, craft beer has been a leading trend in weddings this year with more couples selecting beers based on food pairings, setting up beer tasting stations, printing custom labels, or brewing their own beer for their special day. In fact, the recipe for Saint Arnold Icon Green — an Amarillo hefeweizen — was inspired by a brewer’s wedding gift for his sister and brother-in-law, the company says.

Digital dining

Tencom Intellectual Ventures released iFoodie, a free mobile phone application that gives restaurant patrons a technology-influenced restaurant experience. By using quick-response (QR) codes available in participating restaurants, the app connects users with an interactive menu. Plus, it can identify a patron’s table and allow him or her to order, alert a waiter, and even pay a bill. Overall, the app can help a restaurant reduce wait time, improve customer satisfaction, and create individual-centric menu experiences without a significant hardware investment, the company says.

The power of superstition

This NFL season, Bud Light is harnessing the power of fans’ lucky game-day rituals through its Superstitions Machine. Through a takeover of espn.com/nfl every Monday night of the season, fans can bestow luck on one of the two teams playing that night and watch their good vibes come to life through a live-stream video of the machine. Once a team tallies 500 votes, the machine will perform that week’s superstitious ritual. A different type of ritual will be featured each week. During week one, a giant metal fist “knocked on wood” by shattering wooden boards.