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It is no secret that businesses spend a significant amount of money for advertisements in order to establish their brand and reach a wide number of consumers. In fact, a Super Bowl advertisement that runs for only 30 seconds costs an average of $5 million (Groden). This is how much a business would be willing to pay because they know how powerful advertisements can be when it comes to persuading consumers to support their products. The Coca-Cola Company is one of the businesses that pay high importance on advertisements. Just last year, this company launched its “Kissed By” campaign in celebration of its 100th anniversary. One of these ads clearly shows how Coca-Cola uses different elements to create awareness of the brand’s celebration and both the attention to details and the advertising strategy help in persuading the audience to support the product.
Part of the “Kissed By” campaign of Coca-Cola Company is a print advertisement featuring Marilyn Monroe. In the ad, Marilyn sits on the stairs while drinking a bottle of Coke. She wears a red gown that shows her legs, a pair of black stilettos, and glamorous jewelries. On the right side of the ad, the sponsor is clearly identified. There is a text together with the name of the brand (Coca-Cola) written on top of a bottle of coke.
In this ad, the images play an important role in creating awareness of the company’s celebration. First of all, Marilyn Monroe died in the year 1962 (“Marilyn”). Therefore, her image which shows how she drinks a bottle of coke suggests that Coca-Cola has been in the business for quite some time. It also suggests that it has been part of her famous life, too. On the other hand, an image of a bottle of coke can be seen on the lower right side of the ad. Right above the top of the bottle is the bottle cap that seems to have just popped. It resembles number “1” while the two circles which seem to signify bubbles resemble “00.” The resulting image is “100,” which is shown above the bottle of coke where the brand name, Coca-Cola, is written. Aside from Marilyn’s photo, this image also aims to let the audience know that the company is celebrating its 100 years in the business.
Furthermore, the ad uses a celebrity endorser as part of its advertising strategy in order to persuade its target audience to support Coca-Cola. Because Marilyn Monroe is considered as a celebrity icon, her image transcends different generations. Young adults and adolescents may not have seen her during the 1950’s, but most would probably know that she was a popular actress and model during her time. In fact, it has been recorded that Marilyn is among the top most popular deceased celebrities, and 96 percent of Q scores (measures popularity of different personalities) respondents know who she is (Newman). Because of her influence, other brands have taken advantage of her image to promote their line of products. These include Sexy Hair (hair product), Macy’s clothing line called Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Monroe Strawberry Vodka by Three Olives, Marilyn Monroe shoes by Will Rich (Newman). Clearly, her powerful image is used by Coca-Cola to influence the audience to support their product.
Moreover, the advertisers’ attention to details also helps in persuading the audience to support Coca-Cola. First, Marilyn’s gown is intentionally given the color red in order to align her to the brand’s color. The original image is in black and white where she sits beside Jane Russell, her co-star in the film entitled Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (“Marilyn ‘Kissed’”). Thus, it is not certain whether Marilyn was actually wearing a red gown during the time when the photo was taken. Second, there are other images where Marilyn is shown to be drinking a bottle of coke (“Marilyn ‘Kissed’”). However, the advertiser specifically chose the one where she wears eye-catching jewelries, shoes, and with her legs exposed - further emphasizing her sexy symbol. All these details help deliver the message that she is living a glamorous life, and Coca-Cola is part of this lifestyle. Lastly, the details of the text are also given proper attention. It is written from the perspective of Coca-Cola, implying that the company was able to get the opportunity to kiss an icon. This means that the company has become part of Marilyn’s life. Also, the text is written in all caps to be easily read, and the name Marilyn is written in a much larger font. This is to highlight the personality who carries the name of the brand. All of these details work together to get the attention and support of the audience. By giving attention to details, the advertiser is able to send the message that living a glamorous and famous life like Marilyn’s also means making Coca-Cola a part of it.
All in all, it is clear that the Coca-Cola created the specific ad for two purposes: to let the audience know that they are celebrating a milestone, their 100th anniversary, and to also persuade them to support their product. Although drinking a bottle of coke won’t really make a glamorous life, this seems to be Coca-Cola’s hidden message aside from creating awareness regarding their celebration. Because of the strategy of using a very popular personality, Marilyn Monroe, the ad seems to be effective in capturing the attention of the audience. Likewise, the advertiser’s attention to details, which helps create a simple, elegant, and attention-grabbing ad, also plays a key role in making sure that Coca-Cola achieves its target.
Works Cited
Groden, Claire. “This is How Much a 2016 Super Bowl Ad Costs.” Fortune. Fortune, 6 August 2015. Web. 9 March 2016.
“Marilyn Monroe.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, n.d.. Web. 9 March 2016.
“Marilyn ‘Kissed’ in Coca Cola Ad.” Everlasting-Star.net. Everlasting-Star.net, n.d.. Web. 9 March 2016.
Newman, Andrew Adam. “Marilyn Monroe’s Star Still Shines in Ad Campaigns.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 5 August 2013. Web. 9 March 2016.
