Blog Post 3 - Seven Deadly Sins
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| Buzz in a Box - 2013 |
When taking a first glance at this advertisement we can see that it is from the Coca-Cola company, it is a picture of a Pepsi can with a Coca-Cola cape on it, it is set outside on a rock, and it says "Everybody wants to be a hero!" However, as we take a deeper look into this image we see that Pepsi released an advertisement against Coca-Cola with this exact same image, but the words on the ad said "We wish you a scary Halloween!" and this ad by Coca-Cola then came out as a reaction to Pepsi. This shows that there is a rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and Coca-Cola believes that they are the better of the two brands. In reference to the seven deadly sins, this shows Pride because Coca-Cola is confident that they are better than their rival, Pepsi.
The audience for this advertisement is soda drinkers because they want to get the message out that if they were to pick a brand to drink, they should pick Coca-Cola over Pepsi. This audience could be of any background because there is not one specific type of person who drinks soda. The level of cultural knowledge does not have to be great, they just need to understand that this advertisement is referencing to Halloween and that it is a day where people dress up as others, more specifically for this ad: as their hero.
In this advertisement the author has used image to convey their message through the use of the same image as a previously released ad by Pepsi. This allows for the message to be conveyed because it shows that they are using their enemy to become stronger and as a way to become more popular. Layout was used in a similar way as image was that they used the same formatting as the Pepsi ad to show that they could counteract Pepsi's claim to be better than Coca-Cola. Language was used in this ad to say that they were Pepsi's hero, to make them appear as the better of the two. Finally, color shows the theme of this ad through dark colors to give off a creepy tone to set the scene that this was created around the time of Halloween. Coca-Cola has used this advertisement and play on Pepsi's original advertisement to entertain their audience in a comical fashion but to also inform them that they truly believe that they are superior above Pepsi. Also, their use of copying the image but with a different message based off of the text allowed for Coca-Cola to gain a lot of attention due to their clever play on the original ad.
I didn't know that Pepsi and Coca-Cola had such a public rivalry, so reading your post was very interesting. I like how you describe the contrast in your first glance at this picture and then your further analysis. At first, I did not even notice there were two different company's names in this advertisement. But after looking further into the picture, and reading what you said it made more sense. Personally I think it's kind of unprofessional when company's have a public rivalry and put offensive advertisements in the public about their opposition. However, I do not think that these companies are doing so in an unprofessional manner because they are not overly harsh to each other. I think they are remaining civil by not using vulgar language and being excessively rude. Therefore I deem this competitive rivalry a healthy one:)
ReplyDeleteI agree with how you said the intended audience was a rather broad one, especially because there is such little text that needs to be translated. However, I also think it is intended for those who have seen the Pepsi ad so they understand this is the result of their rivalry. Had I not seen your post, I would have thought it was a generic ad with the theme of how drinking a Coke would make you a hero in other people's eyes. Instead, the context of being a response to a past ad gives an underlying message of revenge that makes it more interesting. Overall, I liked your post because it gave more insight on the Coke vs Pepsi debate that has been a continuous rivalry for the past few generations.
ReplyDeleteI really like your post and think it is interesting how the ad can be interpreted in two different ways based on context. If you don't know of the Pepsi ad it seems like just an attack on Pepsi for no apparent reason, but if you do know the ad then there is a sense of rivalry, not just one attacking the other. I agree the pride is a major deadly sin shown in this ad, but I think that wrath could be another. In order for Coca-Cola to retaliate they were probably mad or angered by Pepsi's post. Overall, I think it was very interesting and I also did not realize the strength of the Pepsi and Coca-Cola rivalry.
ReplyDeleteI liked your choice of an image and I agree with your interpretation of the use of stylistic features in the image. I think the cape especially shows the sin of pride because, as you said it, Coca-cola believes they have the better product. I also strongly agree with the comment above, which suggests wrath could be another sin. Since this advertisement was in response to a similar advertisement created by Pepsi and this was created in response and retaliation to that advertisement. Therefore, the sin of wrath is also very applicable. Overall, well done!
ReplyDeleteI really thought this was a good choice for the advertisement and was a good representation of the seven deadly sins. I also enjoyed your analysis of color and how that plays into the time of year of the advertisement. I found it interesting how you looked in depth into the rivalry between coke and Pepsi and how that played into the techniques used by the creator of the advertisement. I agree with Kaitlyn when she talked about how you have to know about the Pepsi vs. Coke rivalry in order to understand the impact of the ad.
ReplyDeleteChristina, I really, really liked your post. When I first began reading it, I was curious as to what the original picture looked like so I did some research. I came to read this article --> https://www.brandme.com.au/blog/2014/10/coke-vs-pepsi-a-scary-halloween-ad-campaign/. I thought it was interesting how Pepsi even misspelled "Coca-Cola." Overall, I loved your post. I think sometimes we don't realize the competition that forms between major companies, and even if it is subtle, it still exists. Not gonna lie, I thought it was genius and hilarious of you to analyze a Coca-Cola ad as a sin. However, you made sure to clearly explain it so it worked! Lastly, I enjoyed how you specified that the audience was mainly soda consumers (nice detail!). In reference to your comment that people need to know about Halloween, I want to say that this ad could also work internationally (maybe?). Countries such as Mexico and Austria celebrate a similar holiday. Mexico celebrating "Dia de Los Muertos" and Austria celebrating "Seleenwoche." Okay, I'll stop typing now hahaha. Go, Christina!!
ReplyDeleteNice blog post! I found your choice of advertisement very interesting. I also found it really cool how this same picture was used by both companies, but with different captions. Really helps to show the importance of context and how images could be manipulated in order to push a different message. I agree with your explanation of audience as soda drinkers from anywhere around the world. As as the detail of them having to know what Halloween is. This is a nice detail that is often forgotten because sometimes Americans could forget that not everyone may celebrate the same holidays as us, such as Halloween. Overall really great post! I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your advertisement choice! The background of it and the analysis of the different colors used in contrast was interesting. I liked your comparison of the two companies with regards to how they're presented in the advertisement, but you could've tied it to the 7 deadly sins more. I definitely agree that pride is the major sin presented, but how does it relate in an even deeper analysis? You have a really great analysis of the message and different aspects presented; however, how is pride used to their benefit with consumers?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool ad! I think it is really interesting how you mentioned the use of similar layout because I think that because they used the same picture and layout with only different slogans, people are more likely to remember the rivalry than be persuaded by either ad, especially if they saw both. I also think this was an interesting choice for the prompt because it does show Coca-Cola's pride in being unable to let the Pepsi advertisement slide and having to respond.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting analysis! I loved how you chose an advertisement that alludes to the Halloween season currently at hand. I am very interested in your claim that Coca Cola was portraying pride over Pepsi. I am curious to know if you saw Pepsi as portraying any of the seven deadly sins on the other side of the rivalry. I thought that your analysis of not only language, but imagery and color was well thought out and added to your overall claim.
ReplyDeleteI loved your analysis of this advertisement!
ReplyDeleteI had also analyzed these images for one of my FOAs last year and it was really cool to see your interpretation of them using the seven deadly sins as a lens. It was super interesting to see how you used the context of the ads' creation to show how pride was a deadly sin being presented through these advertisements. I wonder if Coca-Cola chose to demonstrate their pride in their brand as a marketing technique, almost to show that they are so confident they are a stronger product that they aren't afraid to be prideful?
Overall, I think you did a great job analyzing the advertisement, and it was super cool to see after analyzing them myself.
Some good points made, but watch out for assumptions/generalizations. It is helpful to do a "big 5" analysis first so you hit on all of the "surface-level" stuff and then think about the effect those 5 elements have on the text.
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