Coca-Cola’s Advertisement Campaign
Advertisements have increased considerably simultaneously with the development of the consumer society over the past few centuries. Companies now invest a large portion of their budget in marketing their products in hopes of increasing their sales and maintaining their competitive edge in the market against the myriad of other companies that offer similar products. For instance, in 2017, Coca-Cola invested about $4 billion into their marketing campaign, whereas their leading competitor, PepsiCo, spent around $2.4 billion. The amount of money spent in advertisement may be a contributing factor to the alliance and loyalty many people feel and talk about to a specific soda company, as discussed in my first field journal. The more money a company spends, the more the consumers see it and relate to the product and then buy it. The Coca-Cola Company used several strategies to make their product unique, available to the masses, and competitive. They designed a distinguishable bottle that was different than any other cola drink, maintained their price for about 70 years, kept the same formula after removing the cocaine, ensured a standardized quality in their retailers, and used objects that were not linked to the product directly, like clocks and calendars, to further advertise their drinks. Their product was consistent, different, and always around, even outside of the drink itself making it a favorite to many people. Coca-Cola has been around for many years and besides the product innovations, much of its success can be attributed to its extensive advertisement campaign.
The history of Coca-Cola’s advertisements tells the story of the company’s objective and what was important to their audience at the time of each advertisement’s release. The goal of marketing in general is to shape and appeal to the consumer’s desires to promote the consumption of the company’s product. Coca-Cola does a good job of engaging their audience in this way. For example, the common theme of their slogans and commercials is the promise of happiness and togetherness through the utilization of nature and certain desirable situations, like parties, dates, and family gatherings. Their advertisements suggest that if you drink a Coke you will be happier and more refreshed than you were before. I know that when I see a Coca-Cola ad of a group of friends hanging out with Cokes in their hand I long for a relaxing time like that and then a Coke! The Coca-Cola Company’s advertisements also prey on the desire for tradition. They incorporate the image of Coke into the American traditions so that it becomes a part of it. For instance, the Coca-Cola Company created recipes that use their cola as a marinade for an Easter ham, suggested their drink as a treat for Halloween, and claimed it a necessity for hosting parties for the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s day. These advertisements make it seem that in order to celebrate the holiday like a true American, then you need to have Coke products at each event.
Coca-Cola ads have reached further into our personal lives and become even more directly targeted to their consumer. As I have been doing research on the Coca-Cola Company, ads for their products have begun to appear in my social media feed (Fig. 1). This is example of a new mode of advertisement that many companies use today. I have also learned through my research that Coke has sponsored some movies in exchange for their appearance within the movie, known as product placement. For example, The Breakfast Club and Elf have appearances of the iconic coke can or bottle in the movie. These all represent the extent of Coca-Cola’s ad campaign. But the question is, how far will they go to maintain their presence in the market in a society that is slowly turning on sugary drinks because of the negative health consequences?
