Benetton / Coca Cola Advertising Comparitive Essay, Research Paper
Coca Cola Poster
URL: http://www.digital365.co.uk/images/coke.jpg AnalysisThis
essay is an analysis of two advertising posters, one of being a modern piece of
media, the other being aimed at the previous generation. I will be reviewing
posters from Coca Cola and Benetton, the latter being the modern piece of media
in this comparison.????? Firstly, I think it is important to
highlight the background of the corporations. Coca Cola is a household brand
name that is the world’s biggest soft drink company. As well as the flagship
drink, forms of merchandise such as posters, clocks, stationery and are a
another way that the Coca Cola diversifies to increase profits. Coca Cola sells
in virtually every country around the world, and is one of the most recognised
brands in history. And then there is Benetton. An Italian Company specialising
in the clothing sector of the economy. Only a few years ago they expanded into
a merger with American store SEARS, which eventually fell through on the
account of protests against the controversial Death Row Campaign by Oliviero
Toscani. Toscani’s vision of advertising did not include any gimmicks such as
soft sell; his prime intent was to produce images that would shock anyone who
saw them. His image of ‘reality-advertising’ caused many of his posters to be
banned. The multi-racial theme was one of the big talking points, and the
fortunes of Benetton increased drastically.????? Brand recognition is important for both
companies. Coca Cola uses white text on a red background, with the font being
classical and the wording being quite bold. Using red symbolises love and
loyalty, something that the corporation obviously wants in order for people to
buy the product again and again. Benetton for their logo uses a dark green box,
with the words ‘THE UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON’ in white text inside. This is
the logo that is invariably placed in all of Toscani’s work. The look of the
logo is very modern and fashionable to reflect the style of the clothing they
sell. Green also represents ‘go’, which is not unlike a traffic light that
indicates that you respond to signals that the poster is showing. In the
handcuff poster, the logo is in the top-right corner, and in terms of narrative
flow, would be seen second after seeing the handcuffs and the linked hands. In
the coca cola poster, it would be seen first because it is a t the top and in
the centre.????? I will now look at the main picture and
the messages they send. Both posters use hands, although for completely
different reasons. The Coca Cola
the slogan beneath reading ‘Ours is Ice Cold’. This makes you want to drink a
Coke because when you read ice cold you think of the refreshment that the drink
brings. In the case of the Benetton poster, the images shows one white and one
Black Hand linked by handcuffs. The initial thought is that the white hand is
that of the police man, but the truth is that the black hand is a Policeman’s,
arresting a white man. It also symbolises how black and white are linked
together in reality: In theory they don’t want to hold hands, they are forced
to be joined together in one world. In the coca cola advert the hand is white
presumably to target the mainstream audience where the majority of people of
white. The Coke poster has a border round the outside, perhaps to separate it
from other brands and other advertising around it. The Benetton ad has no
border but it looks modern and stylish without one. Another point about the
Benetton poster is that the white hand looks to be making a fist, which could
suggest how white men stereotypically have anger against black people. The
Black Hand is not making a fist, and this could be a view of Toscani’s that
black people aren’t as violent as people think.????? Coca Cola’s style of marketing is similar
to Disney’s, because there is no violence and everything is happy and peaceful.
Their audience is also families because anyone can drink coca cola and is not
restricted to certain ages. The Benetton ads may only be understood by those
over 16 because the images that they send are to do with the reality of the
world and aren’t fictional and sugar-coated to look better. Toscani’s posters
tell the world like it is, not because of economical failure (with the
exception of war and Death Row), but because of nature. The best example would
be the multi-racial poster that he produced in the early eighties of babies of
different ethnic origins hugging. The iconography on show has a level of
emotion that the human understands, and will drive them into buying the
products. Maybe if Toscani had not Juxtapositioned the handcuff poster there
would have been a better understanding of the meaning that the poster was
supposed to bring. Juxtaposing the Coca Cola picture may have not made much
difference because it is self-explanatory that the person is a man and it best
to leave it a mystery that it is.????? The dimensions of the Benetton poster make
it landscape, and this works best with the eyes because it will be seen more.
The shape of the Coke poster means that you have look at it from a skewed
perspective to see it at its best.