This is a still from what is probably one of the best known commercials in the history of fizzy drinks. Everyone knows the Coca Cola lorries. This particular commercial is a Christmas one. It encompasses the true excitement of Christmas, and to a lot of people, marks the start of this particular festive season (when they ‘see it on the telly!’) It’s safe to say that Coca Cola have pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one.
The advert demands quite a wide target audience, however being an advert related to Christmas time, this does exclude some religions, and may not have the same effect on a person who does not celebrate Christmas. But a wide amount of people become excited around this particular time of year regardless of age or sex, and this advert is aimed at them. I wouldn’t say that this advert is aimed at any particular class, since Coca Cola is a widely bought product, (the company owns just over 40% of the soft-drink industry).
At Christmas time, people often spend a bit more than they can usually afford to make the whole experience that much more enjoyable. Lower class people such as D & E classes may usually buy cheaper brands of Cola, however seeing the advert might prompt them to buy the real stuff just for this once.
Thinking in terms of Young and Rubicam’s four consumers, I would imagine that this advert is aimed at all of them except the Reformers, who may refuse to buy Coca Cola simply because everyone else does, and they do not need to rely on big brands such as this to please them.
Because Coca Cola is such a widely known brand, the commercial doesn’t need to be too specific. Seeing a lorry all lit up with the Coca Cola logo on the side is enough, everyone who hasn’t been locked up with no form of communication for years knows exactly what is supposedly inside those lorries. This is why there is no need for this commercial to offer the consumers offers with bigger pack sizes and cheaper prices, because all it needs to do is remind the viewers about Coca Cola.
The tool for doing this is the logo. There are not many people with access to this advert who do not know what Coca Cola is or could not recognise it’s logo. They use the standard red and white colours for every time that logo appears, it is the same every time. There is even a certain shade of red which is used for every time the logo appears, with the unimaginatively yet to-the-point name of ’Coca Cola Red’. Using the same colours and logos is a vital thing for audience familiarity, it makes it quick and easy to identify, so when consumers are out shopping and they see that logo, they may (hopefully) see it and buy it.
These adverts are shown on the TV around Christmas time, often in the prime family viewing hours which are usually around 6.30pm - 9pm. They are often shown in between big, famous films with high viewing ratings, which is the ideal (and invariably most expensive) time to advertise on the TV.
Unlike a lot of adverts, this one does not have a voice over, simply a song. The different variations of this classic advert have slightly different songs, however they are all rather similar; a choir of vocals with a lead, Coca Cola is mentioned, and very Christmassy instruments are used. Again this is another illustration of how well known the brand is, they do not need to tell the audience how much it is, or where they can buy it, or even why they should buy it. It is simply a reminder.
A lot of people believe that Coca Cola formed the Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) image of today, and it has become a widely known myth. However it is false. They simply saw it as a great marketing campaign when realising that Santa himself wore the same colours as the Coca Cola logo, and so they took advantage.
The reason Coca Cola's logo is so successful is because it is identical on every advertising platform. (Coca Cola's logo has varied and been updated through the years but these have been minor changes, or simple changes to make the logo seem less dated.) It uses the same unique typeface each time and the same combination of red and white every time.
Coca Cola have had many different slogans over the years. One of the more recent and popular ones has been simply the word 'Enjoy'. Of course it's a very short and sweet logo, but it's simple, to the point, and easy to remember. It's saying 'buy Coca Cola and enjoy it'. However only including the 'enjoy' and the 'Coca Cola', because they are the key words in that message.
Another less well known Coca Cola slogan is 'Open Happiness'. It uses the same short, to-the-point description as 'Enjoy'. I believe that this slogan is particulary effective because it gives the consumer the thought of opening a bottle or can (more likely to be a bottle, because of the imagary on the advert) and accessing the cool, fresh taste of Coca Cola. Obviously for this to work, the consumer would have to either already have a liking for Coca Cola, or to not have tried it.
In all the Coca Cola logos and images above,
The 'Red Bull' tent at Download Festival
Coca Cola stage at the Calgary Stampede
If you compare the above Pepsi stage with the one below, it is clear to see that Pepsi have paid a lot less money and in return, been given a lot less advertising space. However, despite the size, it is just as clear, if not clearer, that Pepsi is sponsoring the above stage, because the advert is bold and obvious. In the below image, Pepsi have used their logo numerous times yet have only had the word ‘Pepsi’ written once, at the top. This is not exactly clear in the picture, but even so, it is rather high up, higher up than most people would be looking. And although many people may recognise the circular Pepsi logo, it is no where near as obvious as the picture above which cuts straight to the point with ’Pepsi’ written clearly and boldly in the space provided. This is a prime example of how advertising space can be used and misused.
A lot of fizzy drinks companies have teamed up with various music festivals around the world to help pay for a certain stage/event in return for prime advertising space. Festivals are perfect places for advertising drinks. Invariably they are held during the summer months so the weather is hot, and what more does a boiling hot festival goer need after they’ve sang their heart out to their favourite band? You guessed it. The only real competitor for soft drink brands at these type of events are the alcoholic drinks, but often a lot of young, underage people attend festivals, so there is still a large market.
Obviously, the target market for these types of promotions are festival goers. The average festival goer is around age 16-30 and so this would also be the age of the target audience. There is also an even spread of females and males at concerts, and since large brands of fizzy drink such as ‘Pepsi’ have no real masculine nor feminine approach in the image above, I would assume that the advertising is for both genders. These people would generally be described as ‘Experiencers’, the fact that they are attending an event such as a music festival suggests this. The LifeMatrix system would name these people as ‘Fun/Atics’, the description to this being ‘Aspirational, fun-seeking, active young people.’
When advertising on the framework of a stage, there is only a limited amount of space that can be used, and the distance consumers will be away from the stage also has to be taken into consideration. This means that companies have to choose carefully how they will use their space. Anything they do has to be a large size, else it wont be seen by the entire target audience, just the few who are close enough to the front to be able to see it. So this suggests that the content of the advert needs to be big, bold, and make a statement. It’s no good having lots and lots of small writing that no one can read, because it’s not going to make anyone want to buy the product. That is why the companies which advertise via sponsoring a stage often use their logo and/or the name of their product as the centrepiece of their advert. Sometimes with smaller adverts the name and/or logo is the only thing used, but with more advertising space, there is more room for other things, for example, the second image of the Pepsi stage has used artwork of festival goers down the sides, and their logo is repeated, leading up to the centre where the name and logo come together.
This, like the Coca Cola advert discussed previously, is the use of the recognition and familiarity techniques. The brand’s logo and name has to be recognisable because there is no room for any explanation about what the brand is, or how much it costs, or where to get it.
This, like the Coca Cola advert discussed previously, is the use of the recognition technique. The brand’s logo and name has to be recognisable because there is no room for any explanation about what the brand is, or how much it costs, or where to get it. A small brand which no one knows would not be able to use this type of advertising because people simply wouldn’t know what it was. The reason this sort of advertising is so suited to big brands like the ones above (Red Bull, Coca Cola, Pepsi) is because most, if not all of the people attending the festival know what they are and know their logo.
This isn't an advert specifically for Coca Cola, however it was the only magazine advert I could find advertising fizzy drinks. (A lot of alcoholic drinks and soft drinks such as J20, but no fizzy drinks)
I got this advert from a Morrisons magazine, it is part of their 'Magical Moments' range. It is aimed at whoever does the food shopping, which is usually an adult. It also offers a prize of going to Disney Land, so this suggests that it may be aimed specifically at parents.
They have used Bribery as a method of drawing the target audience in, consumers get free 'Disney Magical Moments Cards' and with these cards come a chance to win a trip to Disney Land.
The advert is very bright and sparkly and the circle draws the eyes in to look at the centre, the sparkles are also very bright and eye catching.
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