Advertising Age, September 14, 1992, by Bradley Johnson
"What's next? A brew-haha? -- Taster's Choice couple gets a
third wheel in latest ad."
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Just when the relationship of the Taster's Choice couple 
seemed to be percolating, another man has arrived on the 
scene to stir things up.

The rival suitor appears in the fifth spot in Nestle 
Beverage's Co.'s commercial serial. It starts airing Sept. 
17.

The instant coffee couple, played by actors Tony Head and 
Sharon Maughan, met in late 1990 when she dropped by to 
borrow coffee. Later, she returned his coffee. Then they had 
coffee at a dinner party.

Last February, they sipped coffee at her place after their 
first date. The spot ended with a freeze frame of Ms. 
Maughan puckering her lips. "An implied kiss," said Matt 
Lester, senior VP-group creative director at Taster's Choice 
agency McCann-Erickson Worldwide, New York.

So romantic, so utterly blissful. So why let a new guy crash 
the party?

"Life is full of twists and turns," Mr. Lester said. "People 
aren't just sitting there waiting for another Disney tale."

Is this the kiss of death for Tony and Sharon? Grounds for a 
breakup?

"The real question is whether their relationship is strong 
enough to survive this," Mr. Lester said. "We hope it is."

The fifth spot will make its official debut Thursday on 
NBC's airing of *The Cosby Show*. The first unofficial 
airing is expected to be on a feature segment on ABC's *Good 
Morning America*, which in the past has devoted minutes of 
airtime to the unfolding romance of the unnamed coffee 
couple.

The couple will have a chance to kiss and make up in episode 
six, appearing early next year.

Nestle will keep the Taster's Choice serial going "as long 
as the public seems interested in the story," said Cathy 
Ives, Nestle's business director on instant coffees.

The concept originated with a campaign for Nestle Coffee in 
the U.K., where McCann's London office has produced 10 spots 
since 1987.



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