The Daily Record revealed today

The Daily Record revealed today that product placement is apparently part of the Coca-Cola merchandising deal with Warner Bros.

The soft drinks giant has signed a three-year contract worth millions of pounds to ensure the young wizard will be drinking Coke on his first venture on to the cinema screen.

The deal had been thought to be in jeopardy because of image-conscious Coke’s concerns over recent bad publicity in the States for JK Rowling’s books. An Indiana professor had accused them of sexism and in the Bible Belt there was anger at the books’ perceived backing of witchcraft and occult practices.

But Atlanta-based Coca-Cola has jumped on the Potter bandwagon and secured product placement not only in the first Potter film but also a planned second one. A Warner Brothers insider said: “The deal is rumoured to be in excess of pounds 10million. For that, Coke will be the number one drink in the film – but it is unlikely they will be drinking it at his school ,Hogwarts.”