Analysis of Ad Campaign - Coca-Cola - Case Study Example

Analysis of Ad Campaign

Advertising is a type of marketing used in the encouragement or persuading an audience to buy a product or service. Carrying out advertisements is usually to try to convince the audience to buy something by pleasing their needs or wants. Therefore, many organizations have engaged themselves in an advert campaign to enhance their sales and improve on their profit margin (Belch and Belch, 2003). These organizations have come up with various adverts here and there trying to target different age groups or gender. According to Faber et al. (2004) the companies usually come up with many advertisements which they advertise using various mediums be it newspapers, televisions, the internet or even magazines. These adverts vary from one organization to the other or may be seasonal to fit the product being advertised. The organization that is well known for wide range of advertisement is Coca-Cola Company, which will be considered in this paper. The company has been involved in the development of many advertisements to sell its products. This paper thus looks into advert campaign that has been carried out by the Coca-Cola Company. The paper compares four adverts which include: the penguin advert, the diet coke and zero coke advert, advert of two ladies drinking coke and the advert of a teenager passing a bottle of coke to his colleague. The paper major its analysis on the penguin adverts and then brings in the other adverts for comparison. From the adverts, the paper looks into the target groups; the services offered the occasion of advertisement, the advert positioning, and the reason for advertisement, perception, buying process and involvement levels. The paper also considers the market mix elements used in the advertisement.

The advert consisting of a penguin (Figure 1) targets all types of individual both young and old. Considering the advert Coca-cola is not only after the selling of the product but also tries to bring out the product to be refreshing and cold. This is done by the use of penguin which is not always found on the hot beach, relaxing in a shade drinking cold Coca Cola. The advert is trying to appeal the audience in many different ways. The advert tries appealing to the audience through its simplicity. There is no text or any fine printing on the image; however, there is there is a beach scene having the penguin, a man, and a Coke. The appeal makes the understanding of the advertisement clear and the message well passed to the audience (Anderson-Fye, 2004). Another factor that appeals the audience is the penguin itself. It is surprising that the penguin would be found on the tropical beach, but what we can see is that the penguin would move all the distance to the tropical beach to drink the Coke which it needed badly. This appeal to the individual that if anyone can travel all the way from to tropical beach from the South Pole, then there is a good reason for that. The reason for the penguin to move all the distance was to possess Coke. This is clear to the audience and tries to show them that Coke is worth buying. Taking a short trip to the market to get Coke now makes sense to the audience. Another appeal to the audience is the penguin drinking the Coke. A penguin as an animal is well known for living in the areas of cold temperatures, thus, being in the beach will see it yearning to cool off from the hot weather through the consumption of Coke. The way it cools off is through taking the Coke belonging to the man on the beach and drinking. This shows the audience that in hot weather, cold Coke will be good to cool down someone.

Figure 1: Advert on penguin drinking a cold Coke

Source: Google Pictures

The advert is different from other adverts regarding the targeted group. For instance, the advert of two women drinking Coke (Figure 2) is more appealing to women rather than men. The advert presents a situation where the ladies are trying to refresh themselves. These women may have decided to take Coke when on shopping, thus the identification is easier to women who are considered to have to shop as their main interest. The advert appeals to their roles in the society as housewives who have roles in anything concerning household. Furthermore, there is also an advert (Figure 3) which targets the teenagers. There is a boy trying to give his colleague a drink which shows some form of friendship and sharing which is most common in teenagers. The advertisement tries to help the teenager visualize in the same situation trying to share a Coke with his or her friend. Another advertisement, which is meant to the general population especially the adults, is the advert of the diet Coke and Coke Zero (Figure 4). These two products are of appeal to women and men respectively. Diet Coke is connected to fashion and healthy lifestyle (Anderson, 2004). Coke Zero appeals to the men's interest and desire as it is connected to long life and adventure.

Figure 2: Advert on two ladies enjoying Coke

Source: Google Pictures

Figure 3: Advert on teenagers sharing a bottle of Coke

Source: Google Pictures

Figure 4: Advert on Diet Coke and Coke Zero

Source: Google Pictures

The advert on penguin tries to bring out an occasion when one is having leisure, as it can be seen that all the setting is from the beach. Beaches are usually meant for having fun where one goes for swimming especially during the hot seasons. Looking at the penguin, it is trying to give an extreme look of happiness as seen from its face, with a Coca-Cola in his hand. From this view, the company had not made a mistake, other than it was aiming at making the viewer feel like drinking Coca-Cola will bring an end to their issues, which is the same thing that had been done to the penguin. The Penguin has also exhibited a discrete body language which has led to some of the relaxation on the advert. The penguin sits in a manner that is very relaxed extending its legs out and having a grin on its face. The viewer can easily tell that the penguin is enjoying the drink. It is, therefore, clear for the reader that drinking Coke makes one relaxed. This makes Coke a good drink in occasions when one has come out from workouts or sports, as one feels worn out and needs some refreshments (Belch and Belch, 2003). Furthermore, considering the nutritional value of the product withiest high sugar levels, it possibly energizes the person who drinks it quickly, thus an inevitable crush. The other two adverts of the two teenagers and two ladies also exhibit some occasions of happiness. The two ladies from the advert are in a happy state, and the teenager in the advert given the Coke shows some smiling face. This tries to show as that Coke is good for occasions involving celebrations like weddings or birthdays (Běhounková, 2013). It brings individuals together to celebrate. However, the Coke can also be good for sad occasions. As can be seen from the advert of the two teenagers, the other teenager is trying to console his colleague by using a Coke. There are possibilities that the sitting teenager may not have been in a good situation, maybe feeling worn out, because the face of the teenager passing out the drink is not in a happy state at all, showing he might have sympathized with his colleague. The coke can thus be used to console children who are crying or maybe in the funerals or any other sad occasions (Pratiwi, 2015).

Furthermore, the penguin advert appeals to the viewer who comes to get more interested. First, the advert consists of many different colors which attract the readers' eye. There exist the shades of light blue within the advert, which can give the viewer a calming effect. The first glance will bring the setting of the advert to be on the beach, but, analyzing it further will see the beach not containing sand but full of ice covering the surface. This makes the reader think from two different perspectives. First, the man in the advert is searching for the cold refreshing Coke at the beach. Second, the advert reminds someone of the Arctic. Putting the two together, it brings out a view of one having a cold Coke on a hot summer day at the beach. Furthermore, the advert has also some form of sex appeal, which cannot go without being noticed. Sex appeal in an advert usually involves the use of emotion of desire (Blair, 2006). Considering the ad's background, there are women and men putting on bathing suits. This forms a very common law used in advertisement, "sex sells" (Blair, 2006). Huge companies like Coca-Cola are the genius and are aware of what appeals most to the audience. Furthermore, looking at the background, there is also a mother and a son, looking to jump board, what seems like a jet-ski. This reminds the reader of a good childhood moment or a positive bond with the mother, which forms another effective technique common in the advertisement used by Coca-Cola.

The general color given by the advert is light-blue Blue is a color that is liked by many people with its calming effect on the reader. Dark blue will somehow bring some feelings of sadness to the viewer, with the light blue bringing some happy day in the beach vibe shown by the advert. Looking at the man on the beach, with his bronze color skin, it can be viewed that the man has been on the beach the whole day and tried to search fro his refreshment. The advert is also persuasive by the use of authority or credibility. Looking at the advertisement from the top right corner, the image has a logo of the company. The logo is known to everyone globally in the recent society. The company has gained more trust and has been well known for its deliverance of consistent product that fulfills the expectations of the customer (Pratiwi, 2015). There is also a labeling on the bottle the penguin is holding. The existence of the two company's logos within the advert, ensure the knowledge of the logo to the audience and shows that the company dealing in the product is reliable and trustworthy. This persuades the audience to choose coke over some competitors' products. Comparing to the other adverts, the main color that can be seen by the audience is the red color. However, the company's logo can be seen on both advertisements. The red color usually implies fun, danger, romance or even adventure. In the two adverts red color implies fun. The decision on the colors to use in the adverts would attract the audience that is being targeted due to its bright appearance and attracts most individuals' attention (Deci and Ryan, 2006). As compared to the place of the advert position, the penguin advert on the beach, the two adverts may have been positioned in places where people socialize, as seen in the background of the advert of two teenagers with some people trying to have fun.

The stage consumer buying process targeted by the advert is the purchase decision stage. This stage usually allows the customer to explore the several options to see whether to purchase the product or not. It thus requires the company to give some form of security and keep on reminding the customers of the reason that made them want to purchase the product. This will call for the provision of information on why the company's brand is still the best (Teo and Yeong, 2003: Noel, 2009). Looking at the adverts, the company is trying to bring out Coke as the best form of refreshment. The penguin had traveled all the way looking for a cold coke; this can be seen in the two adverts also with the women and the teenagers drinking Coke for refreshment. The risk that may be seen on the advert is on penguin trying to bring out the sexual like the image. This may not be favorable to all seeing the other people in the background with swimming attires. The teenagers advert may also come with the risk of drinking from the same bottle, with the possibility of passing contagious diseases from one person to the other through the contact of the saliva. However, the risks are minimal. Both the adverts are trying to draw the attention of the audience to purchase the product and also try to fulfill the need which according to the Maslow's theory that human behavior is towards the satisfaction of some basic needs (Deci and Ryan, 200). The product from the advert is trying to fulfill the need for satisfaction and affiliation.

The main brand being offered from the adverts is coca cola. This product name is successful due to its simplicity and easy to remember and also alliterative. The Coke brand is a good type of refreshment, usually consumed by sportsmen. Another brand is the Diet Coke, which is sugar and calorie-free soft drink. This product is a healthier selection since it lacks sugars and calories. This makes the product of more benefit to the people with certain chronic conditions. Consuming this brand also reduces the chances of one being obese, having diabetes or cardiovascular issues. The brands are also good hydration source and most people their taste as compared to plain water (Běhounková, 2013). Coke Zero is also another brand, which is calorie and sugar-free. In addition to the benefits got from the diet Coke, It also contains caffeine which increases the alertness (Ivanovic, 2012).The pricing is not shown in the four adverts. This is because being a well known and trusted company; no one is not familiar with the pricing of different brands or sizes Coke. Furthermore, the existence of the different quantity of Cokes on sales at different prices will not make it easy to advertise the prices. The drinks are packed in the bottles ranging from 150ml to 2 liters for sale to the consumers. However, the advert does not give any information on the product distribution, but this product exists at any corner of the market and is well known to everyone (Blair et al, 2006). All the adverts are trying to inform the consumers about the benefits of the product and also to promote the awareness of the new products such as Diet Coke and Coke Zero. Furthermore, putting the company's logo ion the advert brings out the company as trying to encourage the consumer to like the company's product which is always trusted due to its consistency.

The above advertisements have achieved to persuade the audiences that Coke is the best product worth buying by portraying emotions of desire and happiness. However, there are some critiques that have arisen from the adverts. One is the racial discrimination. All the adverts that constitute of the whites and yet the blacks also forms a large population of the product consumers. It is thus recommended that the adverts should be developed with a mixture of both the black and the white races. Furthermore, the adverts are also more concentrated on the drinks enjoyment, leaving out its specific properties. It thus appeals more on the emotions rather than reason. The company should start engaging its adverts to show the reason Coke should be preferred to other drinks. The penguin advert is also criticized for its sexual exhibition. Individuals in the background are somehow half-naked, and this may drive some sexual feeling among the audience especially the teenagers. It is recommended for the use of such adverts to be more on the internet in the adults' sites and not to go public for children to view. The adverts have however come out to achieve their objectives of persuading the various audiences.

Reference List

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Běhounková, P., 2013. Major shifts in shaping Coca-Cola print advertisements (Doctoral dissertation, Masarykova univerzita, Filozofická fakulta).

Belch, G.E. and Belch, M.A., 2003. Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. The McGraw− Hill.

Blair, J.D., Stephenson, J.D., Hill, K.L. and Green, J.S., 2006. Ethics in advertising: sex sells, but should it?. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 9(1/2), p.109.

Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M., 2000. The" what" and" why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological inquiry, 11(4), pp.227-268.

Faber, R.J., Lee, M. and Nan, X., 2004. Advertising and the consumer information environment online. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(4), pp.447-466.

Google Pictures (Figure 1): Retrieved from:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Coca+Cola+Adverts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X

&ved=0ahUKEwjNiYr1qPzLAhWKApoKHfblCXAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1280&bih=913

#imgrc=A5gozQMONAkdUM%3A

Google Pictures (Figure 2): Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Coca+Cola+Adverts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNiYr1qPzLAhWKApoKHfblCXAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1280&bih=913#tbm=isch&q=Coca+Cola+Adverts+on+ladies+drinking+coke&imgrc=_EGqa5Mb1ZYRpM%3A

Google Pictures (Figure 3): Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Coca+Cola+Adverts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNiYr1qPzLAhWKApoKHfblCXAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1280&bih=913#imgrc=ovbrZpUxNH7p3M%3A

Google Pictures (Figure 4): Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/search?q=Coca+Cola+Adverts&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNiYr1qPzLAhWKApoKHfblCXAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1280&bih=913#tbm=isch&q=Coca+Cola+Adverts+on+diet+coke+and+coke+zero&imgrc=obE89oy1hSqV2M%3A

Ivanovic, M., 2012. Coca-Cola Zero: Taste The Possibilities.

Pratiwi, O.H., 2015. A Style Of The Coca-Cola Advertisements And Its Persuasive Effects Toward The Readers (Doctoral Dissertation, Sanata Dharma University).

Teo, T.S. and Yeong, Y.D., 2003. Assessing the consumer decision process in the digital marketplace. Omega, 31(5), pp.349-363.