Media Literacy - Coke

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“Ding” rings from the soda machine and then followed by a “clunk” as the bottle of Coke dispenses itself into the tray to be picked up by the patron. Another person approaches the machine and buys a bottle of water. What attracts the person to buy soft drink products instead of consuming a glass of milk, or water from the water fountain? The answer lies within in the marketing department of drink companies. In the past 30 years, Coca Cola has dramatically changed their customer targeting techniques, now using sex appeal, target audience and catch phrases fixate their products on the public in today’s world. The utilization of sex appeal stands prevalent in figure one and figure two in their unique respective ways showing the signs of time can change in the media spotlight. Fowles (1982) described in his reading that sex appeal was a crucial necessity for attracting viewers in this current day of age (p. 276). Figure one illustrates a large group of women in red dresses. The color red, a commonly used color, remains used to assert a point. Classy, sexy, fast, become assets everyone desires. No Coca Cola related products appear even included in the ad. The ad, focused and cropped on a woman, appears to be what the reader (or at least men) thinks about. The psychology of the matter exists that the potential consumer finds a woman in the picture that the typical man deems attractive and visualizes, “Hmm, if I have a Coke product, I can have that woman”. The same idea continues to be shown in figure two, but in a less demeaning matter. Back in 1969, Coke uses Santa Clause, a figure appreciated by all. Coke barely made a stride for ample or any sex appeal at all, because Coke did not have the same fierce rival competitors as Coke does currently. Coke originally fixated on expanding the distribution of their product in a certain geographic area. Soft drink companies now

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