The coke polar bears are an excellent representation of Romantics being used in society. The ads are especially clear on this when the polar bears shown are young bears. The Bears give a more simple sense to the enjoyment of coca-cola, and tend to make one feel more natural when they indulge.With young bears the sense of innocence is much more obvious. Many of the ads feature bears tromping around with each other and then getting a coke by the end, which makes them have a large smile on their face. They couldn't be bothered to care about anything else, which really plays to the Romantic emotions over reason kind of thoughts, since in reality wild animals can never truly let their guard down. Even referencing the idea of a fanciful wild animal getting some heavily manufactured drink is in itself a Romantic idea. There's no way a bear could reasonably get a coke for its enjoyment, but the suspension of disbelief must be done to make the ad have any power. It gives the viewer a warm and fuzzy kind of feeling to see a typically dangerous and ferocious beast reduced to a small, cuddly thing that seems like it'd make one of the coolest pets in the world.
The reasoning behind the romantic being used in this ad may not be so clear compared to it being clearly displayed though. From what I can tell people love to act on emotions over logic, and there is clearly no logic in this ad. People get to see that coke is connected to many different romantic ideas, from the playfulness of the innocent young bears, to the wild animals enjoying the soda. The connection is then made that the people who drink coke can then start living in a more romantic lifestyle because coke is connected to all these things. No one is going to think that they'll become a baby polar bear if they drink coke, but their life may take on similar qualities as the ones shown in the ad; which gives the viewer a sense of escape from reality, into a world that is guided by a completely different set of rules and allows them to be a different person. All of this, can come from simply buying a 12-pack of coke along with groceries, at least, that's what the message is supposed to be.
I feel that the romantics used in this ad are common aspects of many marketing concepts. It tries to show us the simple joy of Coca Cola and I fall for it almost every time! The polar bears rolling around in the snow always remind me of snow days in elementary school and I would have a hard time finding a memory with happier feelings attached. These commercials really accomplish what they set out to do.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great representation of the romantic concept. The Coke ads do a great job representing the idealized family, getting together for the holidays and enjoying coke while setting up the christmas tree, the Bears are a wonderful "catch-all" type of figure. Any race can identify with the polar bears because, well, they aren't human.
ReplyDeleteIt then creates the image that Coke cares about family values. It shows that they values the holidays and they value time spent together and since it is in the outdoors with an often rural setting depicted in their holiday commercials, it shows us getting away from it all. There are many baby-boomers that came from rural areas and I think the ad identifies with them because it shows us reverting to what really matters most in life, caring about our loved ones and family.