Coca-Cola analysis:
In this analysis, I will go through in detail as to how and why the components were used in the promotional video for the classic Christmas coca cola advert. This and another advert analysis will help me towards developing ideas for my own advert.
The advert was filmed in the late 90s and has become a cult classic for the Christmas season. The storyline of the advert is quite simple but with a massive effect. The following is a small synopsis of the advert: The ad shows a long line of trucks travelling through the night on their way to deliver coca cola to stores. Throughout the advert, characters are seen emerging from the side of the road in marvel of the trucks. The characters themselves are silent and are merely there to show happy emotions. Father Christmas is also featured animated on the sides or rear of the trucks which gives away the theme. In all, the advert is very conceptual in that it would be very unlikely to see those many trucks in one place as well as the Santa element. Also landmarks from all over the world are seen in one place to represent coca cola being a worldwide phenomenon.
The representation of the advert is clearly aimed at families as that is the top target market for the Christmas season. These characters being; brother and sister followed by 2 fathers and their sons in cars. What I found odd about this advert was that although there were 2 fathers, there were no adult women to fill the role of a mother. The main point of showing these people are to capture the happy emotions that are usually associated with Christmas. This makes the audience want to experience the same emotions and therefore buy the product. This target audience as mentioned above is for families who celebrate the Christian holiday (which is a huge market as the holiday is celebrated all over the world). This idea work as the feel of the advert is to deliver happiness and make you feel as if you are good enough to enjoy their product.
The brands image/logo is seen regularly in the advert on the trucks in bright lights to make a big statement about the company. For the editing of the video, the cuts go slow in a similar speed to that of the music used. In fact the only sound that can be heard is the background song with the Christmas theme of the lyrics being “Holidays are coming” etc. The camera shots used try to just capture the emotion in most shows such as 2S’s for the characters. WS/LS’s are used for the trucks and background images such as the light up bridge and landmarks from all over the world. The mise-en-scene of the advert is quite interesting. As mentioned before landmarks from all over the world are present which gives a sense of unification. As the trucks pass by the brother and sister, near by Christmas trees light up one by one as if magically turned on by the trucks. The same happens to a bridge that they cross and this all gives a feeling that coca cola is the right choice. The intertextuality for this ad is simply Christmas although the ‘Home Alone’ movies have the same Christmas 90s feeling which may have influenced its creation.
I think the ideology of this advert is that coca cola is the unofficial official Christmas soft drink. I think this is proven by how the ad is shown every year in the UK and has had wide acclaim. The genre is a mix of holiday/fantasy/family which is the three main ingredients for a Christmas advert. I think the ad in all is very successful as it is rare for an advert to be used for over ten years and the selling tactic (emotional selling points) draw in the audience to experience a truly unique journey.
Dr. Pepper analysis:
In this analysis, I will go through in detail as to how and why the components were used in the promotional video for a funny Dr. Pepper advert. This and another advert analysis will help me towards developing ideas for my own advert.
The advert was filmed in the late 90s and is perhaps one of the lesser known adverts from the brands collection. This could be that the length of the ad would cost a lot more to show here than in the states and a shortened version might not make as much sense. The storyline of the advert is quite simple with the camera following a couple’s every day life. The following is a short synopsis of the advert: The ad shows a man who is the main character of which is in love with two things. His girlfriend and Dr. Pepper. The scenes test his love for the girlfriend by doing things for her that most men would feel uncomfortable doing. As she reaches to share his Dr. Pepper, he jumps up in fury and runs out suggesting the product is too good for her. So I think it is fair to say the genre of this ad is simply humour.
The background characters are silent and are merely there to create real and awkward situations. Other males within the advert are represented as being typical males who would not do what our main character does. The background characters have been represented this way because it creates humour to the watcher. For example the owner of the store who out loud announces that a man is buying tampons is funny as it is against what the majority of males would do and it’s an awkward moment. The deliverance of humour in this advert for me comes from the reactions. In all, the advert is quite conceptual in that the greater chance is someone would not walk out on their lover for wanting to take a taste of their drink.
The target audience for this advert I would say is teenagers to young adults (16-28) due to the humour used as well as people in that age range understanding the awkwardness of the content. Also the age of the main characters in the ad are similar to the above estimated audience. Unlike the coca cola ad, this video has no background exclusions (e.g. religion) as it only targets love that can be shared by anyone. The advert would have been successful because as mentioned there are no exclusions as well as the subject creating an entertaining video which is more than most adverts which try to just spell out ‘buy me’.
The brands image/logo is seen regularly in the advert as the main character constantly has a Dr. Pepper drink as well as the logo and example of the product at the end. For the editing of the video, the cuts go slow in a similar speed to that of the music used. This is very similar to the coca cola ad as the only sound that can be heard is the background song which is Meat Loaf’s ‘I would do anything for love (but I won’t do that)’ which again relates to the subject and adds more humour to the conclusion. The camera shots used range from 2S/MCU/WS with some moving shots and crane shots that all show the couples emotion as well as adding a movie touch. The mise-en-scene of the advert has been mentioned above as adding wit. Something I noticed was that as the background music sparks into life, the choice has been made that Dr. Pepper wins the main characters love. This to me seems like the company’s ideology is saying ‘this is the right choice for you to make while shopping’ as well as claiming you’ll choose their product over your lover. The intertextuality could be from films like ‘American Pie’ where young adults have amusing love related themes and situations.
I think the ad in all is successful as anything that can make you laugh makes you think about the message. The selling tactic (wit and humour) draw in the audience’s attention which is key for any company that wants to make money. One thing that lets it down compared to the coca cola ad is that it won’t be remembered as much.
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