Coca-Cola and the Evolution of Advertising - Research Paper Example

Coca-Cola and the Evolution of Advertising It’s said that the more things change the more they say the same. The truth of this claim is readily apparent in the evolution of Coca-Cola advertising. During its long history the company’s promotion strategy has evolved from appeals to Victorian images and verbal descriptions of its flavor to efforts to evoke positive emotions simply by displaying the brand logo. For all of the external change the underlying strategy has remind the same, however. Coke wants to be everyone’s soft drink of choice, and this is reflected in its ads. In 1886 Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton was searching for a way to treat his frequent headaches when he happened upon a mix of carbonated water and caramel flavoring that proved a hit with his customers. He began selling it for five cents a glass, and the new beverage quickly ascended to dizzying levels of popularity. Christened Coca-Cola by Pemberton’s accountant, the bookkeeper spelled out the product’s name in his distinctive script, which remains an integral part of the brand to this day. (heritage.coca-cola.com) Bought by local tycoon Asa Candler in 1886, the formula was bottled and marketed across the nation. Early ads featured ladies and children to an inordinate degree. The subjects were bright eyed and cherub cheeked, conservative images even for the time. The first “celebrity spokesperson” was a Boston actress named Hilda Clark. This is an early example of the use of famous persons as company spokespeople (http://www.dirjournal.com). Aside from their visual components, each ad also touted the merits of the drink. The word that appeared over and over was “refreshed.” The web site http://www.dirjournal.com has a display of Coke images over the years that show this. An ad from the 1890s feastures both a grown man and a young boy sipping the soft drink at a lunch counter. Beneath this are the words “It satisfies the thirsty and helps the weary.” A second one from the same era shows gaily dressed women at a restaurant table. On a sign behind them the message “Coca-Cola revives and sustains” is presented. Developing this theme, later advertisements urged drinkers to “shop refreshed,” “lunch refreshed,” and “drive refreshed.” Appeals to the drink’s invigorating power are likely references to its high caffeine content. This is known in marketing circles as “transformational appeal.” (Advertising appeal) The underlying message is that using the promoted product will effect positive change in the consumer. This same strategy in used today in commercials for makeup, skin care products, and home exercise equipment. In the late 1800s the pitch of choice for Coca-Cola is that it would transform weary, worn out people into ones bursting with vigor and pep. Also of interest is the type of persons portrayed in the advertisements. Gray seems to have moved away from using famous actresses and other prominent people early in the company’s marketing history. In their place he inserted what for the day were average looking, nondescriptly dressed anonymous faces of both genders and varying ages. In the 1920s the drinks’ marketers employed the phrase “thirst knows no season” to encourage consumers to drink a cold beverage in the winter months. By the end of that decade a new slogan emerged in the ads. Coke was now “the pause that refreshes.” Analysis of the ads from that time indicate that the company was trying to combine its traditional appeal to transformation with an appeal to sex, or at least physical beauty, evidenced by images of attractive ladies standing on the shore with a bottle of Coke in hand. (www.dirjournal.com) The 1950s saw a change in wording but a retention of the underlying appeal when the catch phrase “be really refreshed” began appearing in the ads. Beginning in the 1960s the company shifted gears, touting how the beverage made a good match with iconic favorites such as cheeseburgers. The new message was “things go better with Coke.” By the end of that decade a major shift occurred in the firm’s marketing strategy. To that point it had featured appeals to facts and rationality, one of the most common strategies in advertising. (Guide to Advertising Appeals) This expressed itself both in references to refreshment and in how it went well with popular foods. Going forward, however, ads for Coca-Cola became more geared towards the emotions, particularly towards nudging customers to linking the beverage in their minds with happiness and fun times. Why did this shift occur? It was likely due to changes in American society as well as the beverage market. By this point Coke was far from the only caffeinated soft drink. It could no longer rely on the tried and true pitch to giving its drinkers an energy boost. It was also not the only cola drink anymore, so it couldn’t lay claim to having a totally unique taste. The solution was to create an emotional bond with customers that would ensure their continued loyalty to the brand. Done properly, this approach can be tremendously successful. As one source puts it: Many companies focus on appealing to their customers’ logic, but the truth is that most buyers ultimately rely on emotion to make a decision. After all the research has been done, it’s the company that the customer feels an emotional connection with that wins the day. (smarterimagemedia.com) This found its most famous expression in the Coke holiday ads that appeared during the Christmas season of 1971. A chorus of attractive young people didn’t talk about zest or refreshment. They simply sang that they wanted to “teach the world to sing in perfect harmony” and that they would like to “boy the world a Coke and keep it company.” (http://www.marketingagencytalk.com) At the time chief rival Pepsi was issuing its famous “Pepsi challenge,” in which it had soft drink users taste both cola beverages and declare which one they preferred. The clear winner overall was Pepsi. Coke’s response to this campaign was not to address the taste issue at all, but to ask a different question: Which soda made people feel happy? The most recent Coca-Cola advertisements still follow this strategy. Recently a series of commercials began to air that picture a Coke delivery truck dispensing free gifts to passersby, including bottles of Coke, tee shirts, toys, and sunglasses. As the vehicle drives away at the end of the ad the camera pans out, focusing on the words “where will happiness strike next?” etched on top of the truck. In its long history, the Coca-Cola company has gone from appeals to its products’ actual merits to linking it with general feelings of happiness, love, and well being. In this sense it has changed. In another way it has remained the same, however. It still strives to be everyone’s soft drink. This differentiates it sharply from Pepsi, which has tried to set itself apart “the choice of a new generation.” Different pitches, same attempt at appealing to a universal market: this sums up Coke’s advertising philosophy nicely. It’s a fitting approach for a firm that has tried to maintain product consistency throughout the decades (other than the disastrous “New Coke” debacle in the 1980s). As with so many other things, the more Coca-Cola changes, the more it stays the same. Works Cited Appeals to Emotion. Web. Accessed July 28, 2011 Guide to Advertising Appeals. Web. Accessed July 28, 2011. Remembering buy the world a Coke, Web. Accessed July 26, 2011. Visual Tour of Coca-Cola Advertising. Web. Accessed July 25, 2011. Read More