I found the “Open that Coca-Cola” advertisement on the company’s YouTube page. The video is marketing the Coca-Cola soda since all the participants are taking the product. It presents a scenario where individuals engaging in different activities like watching soccer, shopping in a store, and having dinner with family members become energized immediately after sipping the beverage (Coca-Cola, 2021). For example, a young man at a supermarket grabs a bottle from the refrigerator, drinks the soda, and starts dancing energetically.
His two other friends also purchase the same drink, and they walk away from the store to the street excitedly. In another incident, two young ladies are playing a video game in a room. After several seconds, they seem refreshed and extremely energized as they leave the game and start bopping to the music.
This advertisement targets athletes, students, singers, and other youths between the age of fourteen and twenty-five years. I know this because almost every character involved in this video belongs to that age group. Additionally, the ad includes activities that millennials are more likely to participate in their lives. For example, the three young men are dancing on the street while another lady and a gentleman are watching a skincare routine on a laptop with face masks on and in robes (Coca-Cola, 2021). Using activities members of the target audience appeals to them and makes it easier for Coca-Cola Company to influence their purchasing behavior. The happiness explosion makes the viewers believe that they will become cheerful by taking the beverage.
This advertisement’s principal claim is that Coca-Cola soda triggers pleasure and energy instantly. It also suggests that sipping the beverage brings people more happiness. All the young men and women on the video burst in joy and start dancing immediately after sipping from the bottle (Coca-Cola, 2021).
This claim is not credible because, realistically, the beverage can only begin to functioning after minutes or hours. Another reason why the claim might not be sincere is because a simple beverage cannot be the primary source of excitement in people’s lives. Coca-Cola Company can make the ad’s claim more credible by making the ad more authentic and realistic. For example, the character should feel happier and more energetic in the activities they are engaging instead of dancing because they have taken the drink. The company can make the claim less credible by using dull colors and less humor. It would be difficult to convince people that they will be happy if the ad used a dull background and designs.
The Coca-Cola advert uses various rhetoric techniques to sell the product to the target audience. Firstly, the creator uses ethos by including familiar models like family or friends’ meetings. This technique revives the concept of life values and makes the audience interested to purchase the product. It captures the attention of those who love to watch sports or play video games with their friends and have dinner together with their parents or siblings.
The commercial also implements pathos by convincing the consumers that taking the beverage will give them happiness and pleasure. The characters are smiling and dancing regardless of their setting or activities. The video reveals the loss aversion cognitive bias. It does not show the three men at the beginning of the video paying for the product. They leave the store attendant surprised as they walk out of the store dancing and drinking the soda. This scenario demonstrates that consumers can engage with the merchandise without monetary loss.
Reference
Coca-Cola. (2021). Open That Coca-Cola. Web.