Charles 'Chuck' Fruit

Charles "Chuck" Fruit died early yesterday of a heart attack, apparently during a swim, reports Advertising Age.

The 61-year-old career marketer served as CMO of Coca-Cola and VP of media and sports marketing at Anheuser-Busch.

Fruit joined Coca-Cola in 1991 as head of global media services. He became CMO in 2004, replacing Daniel Palumbo.

In 2005 Coca-Cola eliminated the CMO role. It was reinstated last year when Joe Tripodi was hired, Adweek writes.

Fruit is thought to be the mind behind a number of progressive ad efforts at both Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola. At Anheuser, he was among the earliest proponents of advertising on cable TV. For Coca-Cola, he orchestrated a product placement deal with American Idol, where judges drank Coke products on air. He also contributed to the iconic "Always Coca-Cola" campaign.

After his departure in 2005 Fruit continued working closely with Coca-Cola as senior advisor of marketing strategy and innovation.

CEO Neville Isdell and COO Muhtar Kent of Coca-Cola released a somber statement calling Chuck Fruit a global "media and sports marketing visionary."

"And in an industry often characterized by sharp elbows and pointed tongues, he was universally regarded as kind and thoughtful, as well as the consummate gentleman and professional," they wrote.