NEW YORK — Coke is trying to put some fizz back into its advertising — and sales — as it starts the new year with a big brand marketing bang.

After five failed ad campaigns in nearly as many years, Coca-Cola will start 2006 with the resolution to end its long run of sagging sales and losing ad campaigns.

"It's a great night for us to start the year off right," says Katie Bayne, senior vice president at Coca-Cola.

When CEO Neville Isdell took the helm in May 2004, he vowed a turnaround but that it would take 18 to 24 months.

Now, time is running out.

The countdown begins today, when the world's largest beverage maker rolls out 11 TV ads during "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" on ABC.

The ads are a prelude to a complete global campaign that aims to revive Coke's tarnished reputation as a marketing leader. When he was named CEO, Isdell said that Coke hadn't had a "great" ad campaign in 12 years.

Coke tapped Nike agency Wieden & Kennedy to create a "great" campaign. Wieden is handling the advertising in North America, which accounts for 30 percent of Coke's volume, as well as global advertising due in spring.

The campaign kickoff tonight includes lighthearted ads for Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and new flavor Black Cherry Vanilla Coke — each with its own brand message.

Beyond the Times Square New Year's Eve bash, Coke plans to be front and center at a series of big events in the United States through the year, Bayne says.

Coke is putting more ad dollars, for example, into the Academy Awards and NCAA basketball tournament. Coke increased its North American marketing spending by $125 million in 2005 and plans to boost spending again in 2006.

Coke sales have waned as consumers' tastes moved more to non-carbonated alternatives. Coke still derives about 85 percent of its profit from carbonated drinks.

Tonight, Coke products will appear on the show, and the landmark Coke billboard in Times Square will be promoted in the broadcast for the first time in the program's 34-year history.

The commercials are upbeat and feature music to fit the scenes or tone. In one, for example, the bluesy "I'm a Criminal" by Paul Reddick plays as a man sips Coke from the cup as he refills his fountain drink at a convenience store. The closing message: "Sip stealing" is not a felony in all 50 states.

Other ads feature witty text against a red screen. One tells viewers that if they miss the New Year's countdown while getting a Coke from the fridge, they'll have to kiss their bottle of Coke. Another plays "I Want to Buy the World a Coke" with the estimated cost of buying everyone a Coke: about $4.2 billion.

"We're getting back to the simplicity of why people love the brand," Bayne says. "They can really hear the wit and self-deprecation of the brand. It's a step in the right direction."