Diet Coke wants to make itself the nectar of the fashion gods and their many admirers.
The company is hiring Jean Paul Gaultier -- the famed designer responsible for Madonna's 1990 cone-shaped bra -- to be its creative director, a job that will include designing new bottles and working on retail and advertising concepts, Women's Wear Daily reports.
No, this doesn't mean another Coke debacle like the one last December, when the company pulled its holiday-themed white Coke cans from shelves after consumers confused them with Diet Coke.
In past designer collaborations, Coke has made bottles out of aluminum, with the designer's name as well as the "Diet Coke" logo featured prominently. Since 2003, Coke has been collaborating with designers like Matthew Williamson and Marni and Karl Lagerfeld, who Gaultier is replacing.
For a beverage whose major selling point is its lack of calories, it is fitting for Diet Coke to snag a fashion personality for its public face. Fashion makes dieting look sexy, convincing onlookers that cigarettes are fun while calories are passé. Diet Coke's current slogan? "Love it light."
Still, Coke isn't the only company to snag fashion-design personalities to help hawk its products. In one famous example, Tim Gunn, Project Runway's fashion designer-turned-household name, helped to sell a Tide anti-aging product in 2008.
Check out more photos of crazy soda cans:
