Exemplar Essay for Question 2

Exemplar Essay: Cross Media Topics Question 2 - learn this essay in preparation for the exam.

Q2. Compare the ways in which advertisers use different media to attract different audiences. In your answer refer in detail to two or more examples.

Analyse your examples
Explain how and why the different media were used
Compare how audiences were targeted

The Coca Cola Company has been particularly successful in its use of different media to promote its products. For its earliest advertisements, the Coca Cola Company was keen to establish the link between American society – its values and culture and the product’s brand image. This was achieved very effectively by including a passage from the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty: this ensured that Coca Cola’s main soft drink product was associated with the American way of life and therefore mainstream values. This technique has proved to very successful, appealing to both national and international consumers. In the two advertisements I will be analysing, the representation of American values and culture, is key to the persuasive appeal that encourages its young consumers to identify with and imitate the characters shown enjoying the product.

The first advertisement, a print based advert produced during the 1950s, presents a now familiar representation of 1950s America: a diner or possibly a drive-thru, with teenagers eating burgers and fries in the foreground and the background includes a jukebox and a waitress in 50s style full skirt. One of the key persuasive devices is the brand’s association with the American way of life through its iconic representation of 50s society. This technique appears to have been very successful in encouraging its broad target audience of male and female consumers, to identify with the brand image and therefore buy the product.

The mise en scene of this advertisement is effective in targeting the potential teenage consumers. The key image of the teenage couple – smiling and attractive – seems like an idealised version of the teenagers shown in shows like ‘Happy Days’ and in films like ‘Grease’. He is well groomed and is wearing a baseball jacket – a very American sport that appeals to the mainstream male audience. She is typically feminine and has her hair fashionably short – therefore appealing to the teenage girls keen to imitate her style. The couple are about to drink from trademark contour glasses, which are filled tantalisingly with Coke and ice cubes. The image of the product appears in the centre of the frame, which emphasises its importance in completing this scene. This image effectively encourages the targeted consumers to identify with and imitate the attractive, youthful characters, who clearly seem to be enjoying themselves. Combined with the background images: the jukebox; the inviting spacious interior of the diner; the attractive waitress. This advertisement therefore seems to encapsulate the youth and energy that the Coca Cola brand wishes to emphasise.

The layering effect of images and copy is very attractive and persuasive. Separately, the images appear attractive, however when viewed together, these elements have the combined effect of persuading the consumer by presenting an attractive and appealing lifestyle. The advertisement also includes graphics of 3 well-known trademarks: the cursive typography; the use of the colours red and white (although this is quite subtle); and the contour shape – in glass form. These trademarks reassure the targeted consumers of the brand’s reputation and reliability. This again helps to persuade the consumers to trust the brand and therefore buy the product. There are important similarities between the non-contemporary print advert and one of the company’s recent television advert ‘The Happiness Factory’. Like the print advert, the television advert also aims to emphasise the brand’s association with the American way of life, youth and popular culture.

The use of television advertising has enabled Coca Cola to reach mass audiences and as the soft drink is sold globally (available in over 200 countries) this is very important for establishing a global brand image. The combination of ‘slice of life’ format (in the opening and closing of the advertisement) and a CGI animated fantasy sequence, ensure that the advert is in keeping with contemporary styles in television advertising and film texts. The style of ‘The Happiness Factory’ appeals to young, media aware consumers, in addition to children. The slick production of this advert, attention to detail and the sequence of shots of the contour bottle, are very important to the young audience who expect visually interesting and entertaining adverts to convey the quality associated with the Coca Cola brand. Additionally, by drawing upon the current trend of CGI in action and fantasy films, Coca Cola is able to associate its product with trends present in youth culture, which again appeals to young consumers.

The main appeal of this advert is created by the animated ‘factory’ sequence. The futuristic setting coupled with a diverse range of creatures such as penguins and fantasy characters, all work together to produce an ice cold bottle of Coca Cola for the twenty-something male who has inserted a coin into the Coca Cola vending machine on a typical New York sidewalk. The fantasy CGI characters embody values associated with the American way of life and represent a microcosm of a perfect world in which everybody works together to achieve a goal. Thus the characters in this advert appeal to a mass audience of young people and children. The young male in the opening and closing of the advertisement is a model representation of American youth: he is casually dressed in an all American ‘college style’; he is rugged yet attractive with an air of cool about him. Importantly, he is clearly gratified by the classic American soft drink; that is also evident in the 1950s print advert.

The opening mid long shot of the advert establishes the setting and introduces the audience to the young male consumer. The accompanying diegetic sounds of traffic and horns beeping reinforce associations of a bustling ‘Big Apple’. The camera zooms in on the male as he inserts a coin into the red and white Coca Cola vending machine, thereby establishing the Coca Cola brand very early on. This is then followed by a close up of the coin entering the machine: the coin then begins its journey into the futuristic fantasy world of the vending machine which transforms into ‘The Happiness Factory’. A range of mid tracking shots reveal the start of the creation process with the contour bottle carried by helicopter styled characters. A low angle mid shot of the bottle follows, conveying the superiority of the product. The sequence continues with creatures and robots working homogeneously in a quest to produce perfection, whilst the soundtrack and squeaks and squeals of delight combine to suggest the creatures are happy at work. In addition, the melodic soundtrack is punctuated by jingling sounds, connoting the innocence and reassurances associated with lullabies and thereby is a subtle attempt to target children. The extreme long shot of a robotic arm that shoots out of the heavenly sky dispenses the Coca Cola into the bottle: the arm is symbolic of sci-fi conventions and may appeal to the male audience and therefore acts as a persuasive technique for this particular audience. Furry white creatures then transport the filled bottle into what resembles a winter wonderland: penguin styled creatures make snowmen that are then used to chill the Coca Cola. The sequence ends with the bottle sliding through a perfect hole to a fanfare attended by a stadium of creatures who celebrate the finished item with canon blasts, cheers, dancing and a Mexican wave. The bottle finally roles downwards into the vending shoot and is grabbed by the male consumer in a mid close up which brings the audience back to the reality of the side walk: at this point the jingle based soundtrack ends abruptly and is replaced by the earlier sounds of the street. The young man takes his first sip as he walks away from the machine but stops and looks back at the vending machine, clearly surprised and pleased at the quality of the Coca Cola. This shot is accompanied by the return of the melodic ‘Happiness’ soundtrack which replaces the city sounds, thereby suggesting that Coca Cola is magical, delicious and unique. A dissolve shot from the man cuts to an image of the iconic Coca Cola bottle in the trademark red and white colouring, complete with the diegetic sound of fizzing that emanates from the bottle, serves to finally persuade the consumer to buy Coca Cola and indulge in the pleasures of ‘the Coke side of life’.

The television advert then clearly has some advantages over the 1950s print advertisement: it is able to utilise a real life scenario along with an animated sequence to present the audience with an original, quirky narrative that entices, persuades and entertains the consumer. ‘The Happiness Factory’ also presents the audience with several key shots of the contour bottle and its tantalising contents. Along with the opening and closing shots of the Coca Cola vending machine, powerful messages are conveyed about Coca Cola as an international, successful brand that is lovingly created. The print advert on the other hand is two dimensional and is successful in sending positive messages about Coca Cola and American values. This simplistic advert clearly meets the needs of the 1950s audience. The television advert gratifies its audience by utilising current trends in TV and film, reinforcing Coca Cola’s reputation as a unique and reliable brand. In addition it conveys the values of working together and like the 1950s print advert it appeals to a young target audience.