Advertisement media selection and effectiveness in product differentiation

Advert Analysis

The Coca-Cola drink is a product of the global beverage maker, the Coca-Cola Company. For years, the Coca-Cola Company has come up with creative advertisements targeting various segments of the market. In this text, I will come up with an analysis of a Coca-Cola polar bear advertisement.

The Coca-Cola polar bear advertisement features a sun glass clad polar bear pictured holding a Coca-Cola soft drink. In my opinion, the setting of the advertisement is meant to communicate the benefits of the soft drink. In this case, the advert seeks to advance the assertion that a cold coke is a wonderful choice of refreshment. Further, I am convinced that this advert does well as far as differentiating Coca-Cola from other competing brands is concerned. However, the advert could have been better had it used a more direct approach to comparative advertising. Comparative advertising involves comparing products directly on the basis of product characteristics (Pride and Ferrell, 2010). In seeking to label Coca-Cola cool, the advert tells the consumer that as far as refreshments are concerned, no other brand can be considered a worthy competitor of Coca-Cola .

The advertisement in this case seems to target two critical segments of the market. These include the young generation and those on vacation. As Haig (2004) notes, "from its infancy, the Coca-Cola brand targeted young people…" In a bid to reach out to the young generation, this advertisement uses the catch phrase cool. The catchphrase cool is synonymous with the young generation. It can also be noted that to further appeal to the young generation, the polar bear holding the coke bottle has sunglasses on. This further enhances the appeal of the advert to the young generation comprising of individuals aged below 30 years. When it comes to the advent's appeal to those on vacation, the setting of the advert as well as the use of a polar bear brings about the view of a chilled drink. The advert would most definitely click with an individual on vacation; most particularly in a hot location. Basically, these two market segments targeted by the advert can be considered appropriate.

In my view, the advert as presently constituted has a universal appeal. However, minimal modifications would help the same reach out to more individuals apart from the ones in the segments identified above. For instance, a few human beings could be added in the picture to give the same a more humane feel. Here we could have the polar bear surrounded by a family unit. This would give the advertisement greater appeal across the board. The advertisement does not have any aspects which could in one way or the other trigger negative emotions towards the brand.

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