Coca-Cola: Effective Persuasion Through Emotion. Coca-Cola is a very central part of the American, and increasingly so, the international,

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1 Lea Gee-Tong Visual Rhetoric across the Globe Dr. Alyssa O Brien Assignment 1: The Rhetorical Analysis Essay October 10, 2009 Coca-Cola: Effective Persuasion Through Emotion Coca-Cola is a very central part of the American, and increasingly so, the international, community. This is both caused by and reflected in the very effective advertisement campaigns that the corporation runs to target certain audiences. Below, there are two advertisements, produced fifty years apart, which are juxtaposed to reveal strong differences. Upon closer look, however, there is a common thread running between the two images. The creators put together visuals that effectively resonated with the viewers in a very emotional way, tapping into cultural values, kid-friendly imagery and messaging. Through various imagery and rhetorical devices, these two advertisements illustrate Coca-Cola s consistent attempts throughout time to appeal to youthful audiences, in very emotionally intelligent, time relevant ways, and reflect how society and Coca-Cola consumers have changed dramatically over the past fifty years. The contrasting styles of the two advertisements illuminate a change in American culture and demonstrate the success of kairos. In 1950, Norman Rockwell painted the first advertisement, Santa Claus, in his typical classic, romantic style. The advertisement, Figure 1, depicts two idealized, Caucasian children, with red cheeks signaling their happiness and

2 Lea Gee-Tong 2 excitement, preparing Coca-Cola to give to Santa Claus. Because Normal Rockwell is a quintessential American artist and was quite popular during this era, this advertisement employs kairos; it was extremely intelligent marketing to have such a well-known artist create an advertisement for the company. Figure 1: Painted by Norman Rockwell in Figure 2: Distributed in 2008 and illustrating an extreme 1950 in a classic romantic style, this Santa change in style and character depiction from Figure 1, this Claus advertisement depicts happy, excited Polar Bear advertisement shows a group of smiling youth giving Coca-Cola to a jolly Santa Claus. polar bears eagerly drinking Coca-Cola. **Images removed for copyright purposes by the Envision editors** In the second advertisement (Figure 2), Polar Bears, produced in nearly 60 years later in 2008, the aesthetics and main subject of the advertisement have completely shifted. Rather than a Norman Rockwell painting, this advertisement contains animated animals, clearly designed on computers. This signals the change into the age of technology, which plays a huge role in our society today. Therefore, an advertisement in this style is very relevant in the lives of people all

3 Lea Gee-Tong 3 around the country and the world. Additionally, the change from Santa Claus and Caucasian children to polar bears as the main image on the advertisement illustrates the shift in demographics that Coca-Cola is targeting. While both are kid-friendly, the polar bear is a much more universal image, as Santa Claus and Caucasian children are mainly relevant and relatable in Western societies, such as the United States. Therefore, the shift in style and character signifies the more universal youth audience of Coca-Cola s advertisements and a more technologically tuned in world. While their time period and style differ, these two advertisements are both effective because they wisely rely on pathos, an emotional method of persuasion to convey their points, rather than on logos, a logical and rational method of persuasion. Figure 1 depicts two children preparing Coca-Cola for Santa Claus to drink, presumably on Christmas Eve. The advertisers employ pathos through the jubilant faces of both the children and of Santa Claus, whose emotions were sparked by the Coca-Cola. Figure 2 capitalizes on the friendly faces of the polar bears, as well as their smiling eyes of overwhelming positive emotion, in order to create a general feeling of euphoria. Through viewing the warm, joyful faces of these people, the viewer cannot help but be convinced that Coca-Cola is the spark that caused this elation. However, the Coca-Cola Company, which has access to an infinite number of resources, could choose to run any sort of advertisement campaign that they wanted to. Why rely almost solely on emotions? It

4 Lea Gee-Tong 4 can be said that creators consciously chose to do so, based in large part on the intended audience of these advertisements: children. Rather than make an argument with many statistics and pieces of data, the advertisement creators chose to use bright and sunny images, creating an overall positive and emotional feeling, which connects well with families and children. Their use of emotions is very strategic. The audience feels compelled to buy the product of Coca-Cola because in their minds, being happy and content is directly connected to the consumption of Coca-Cola. The satisfaction on the polar bears faces from the Coca-Cola, coupled with the image of polar bears as kind and huggable creatures, forms an advertisement playing directly to children s love of animals. The success in the pathos employed in these advertisements is largely due to ethos, or, in other words, the trustworthiness of the main characters in the visuals. Santa Claus, perhaps the single most important symbol of Christmas and the cheer of the holiday season, is extremely recognizable to all Americans, especially young children. Because Santa Claus is such a known and loved character, his presence in a Coca-Cola advertisement passes that reputation onto the product. Polar bears, on the other hand, while not as quintessentially American as Santa Claus, are universally seen as warm, fuzzy, approachable animals, and this reputation is translated to the advertisement, as well. The fact that there are sixteen polar bears, rather than a single one, depicted in this advertisement illustrates the fact that everyone is drinking Coca-Cola together in

5 Lea Gee-Tong 5 a very social manner. The ethos of the collective polar bear community confirms the notion that Coca-Cola is a widespread drink that is enjoyed by many. In addition to convincingly employing ethos and pathos, both advertisements also include two main strategies of argumentation: cause and effect and illustration. Both are examples of the cause and effect strategy of argumentation, as it is implied, and easily accepted, that the Coca- Cola was the direct cause of the smiles of the children, Santa, and polar bears. Both advertisements also serve as illustrations of the happy lifestyle that arises as the result of the consumption of Coca-Cola. This connection is vital, and made unquestionable through the lack of anything else in the picture that could cause the joy of the characters. Through using these rhetorical devices, in addition to the ones previously mentioned, these Coca-Cola advertisements are extremely effective in marketing their product to their audiences. Though the effectiveness of these advertisements is quite remarkable, it is quite important to recognize and remember the underlying deception that is taking place. What exactly is being sold to the children and family members viewing these advertisements? There is no way that any person, let alone a child, would guess that Coca-Cola products contained anything with negative effects, because the advertisement is overloaded with smiles and happiness. The advertisements do not hint of any potential health risks of overconsumption of Coca-Cola projects, which contain large amounts of sugar, caffeine, and other unnatural products. Instead, the

6 Lea Gee-Tong 6 overwhelming happiness from the advertisement, which definitely transforms the viewer s mood, is the resonating message. For people who have no awareness of the potential health risks of this product, these advertisements would not clue them in on them. For people who do have an awareness of these risks, these advertisements distract them from this knowledge. Instead, the advertisements put them in an emotional mindset of appreciation for the joy and relief one feels from drinking a refreshing Coca-Cola soda. For this reason, these advertisements are extremely effective in getting the viewer solely to connect with the visual in a sentimental and emotional way, connect these emotions to Coca-Cola, and go out and buy Coca-Cola for oneself or one s family. In our capitalistic society, in order for corporations to become successful, they must attract the masses and convince them to buy and invest in their products, regardless of their content. These advertisements illustrate that the Coca-Cola Company has been doing this for quite some time. Having an animal and Santa Claus as the face of a company in common advertisements fits very well with the corporation s attempts to influence children and families to drink a beverage that may otherwise be hard to sell to young people and their families. Through targeting people s emotions and using strategic characters, these advertisements communicate that Coca-Cola is so delicious and central in American culture that it can replace milk as the

7 Lea Gee-Tong 7 drink of choice for Santa Claus, and so widespread that even polar bears drink it. And therefore, any and all world citizens, can and must drink it, as well. Works Cited Alfano, Christine L., and Alyssa J. O'Brien. Envision : Writing and Research Arguments.2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, The Coca-Cola Company. Advertisement. Advertisements. Web. 9 Oct < The Coca-Cola Company. Advertisement. The Coca-Cola Company. Web. 10 Oct < "Coca-Cola Company Information: Behind The Coca-Cola Brand." Coca-Cola: The Coca-Cola Company. Web. 12 Oct <