Kamran Malik

Professor Blankenship

English 2150

03/06/16

The Message Inspired By Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is timeless. The cans have penetrated various forms of media, they have been painted by popular artists such as Andy Warhol in his posters titled “Coca-Cola”, they have been the center of well known poems such as “Having a Coke With You” by Frank O’Hara, and the cans are seen in the hands of actors in television shows and movies across the globe. The brand in itself is a cultural artifact, but what is most significant is their commercials which can be deemed as cultural artifacts that are worthy of analysis because of the emotions they invoke and the way they are able to adapt to the social and historical environment. One commercial in particular, which was extremely popular and well received when it aired, stands out as doing just that, and came at a time when there was extreme change in the realm of politics, where there were changing attitudes about war and race relations, and the emergence of new social justice movements and a desire for peace and “harmony”. The 70’s were a time of turmoil for America, and the commercial came at a time when the world needed to be united. Coca-Cola’s commercial, “I’d like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony)” is filled with rhetorical elements, primarily the rhetorical appeal to values and the appeal to style through the use of the words “harmony”, “love”, and “world” used to conjure idea of unity over something that is very universal: a bottle of Coca-Cola.

The title, “I’d like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony) is significant as it summarizes the idea of the entire commercial which revolves around three central concepts: peace, unity, and harmony. The commercial starts off with a close up of a white American woman’s face and she is smiling as she sings the phrase, “I’d like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love.” Instantly after singing the phrase, the camera begins to zoom out, and the faces of “the world” are seen as different races and ethnicities stand beside each other. While there is still an overwhelmingly white western representation (there are certainly more idealized versions of what it means to be American which is light skinned and light haired), the audience begins to see more diversity. An African-American man is seen alongside a white woman, an Indian-American man is seen alongside what the audience assumes to be a Japanese – American woman because she is wearing a traditional kimono. Furthermore, the universal symbol among them all, the uniting factor, is that each one has a coke bottle in their hand. The universality of Coca-Cola is that it is enjoyed around the world, and a coke here tastes the same as a coke in El Salvador, as a coke in South Africa, or in Egypt. A Coca-Cola consumed by a rich elitist will have the same taste as a Coca-Cola that is consumed by a poor man. The group of young global citizens is singing the jingle that continues with the following phrases emphasized:

“I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony”

“I’d like to buy the world a coke and keep it company.”

“It’s the real thing, what the world wants today”

The significance of the title is that it encompasses all the emotions these phrases evoke into one simple title that gives the audience an idea of what the song will be about, but also emphasizes that Coca-Cola stands with this. While it is straightforward, titled after the most repeated phrase, it also goes beyond that and associates the product and the brand (through the use of the logo) with these idea of harmony and the belief that the product can be used to unite.

The audience is also the same group that is represented in the commercial and the diversity is used to persuade the viewers of the universality and empathy when it came to the war. In the commercial, the world is represented by a diverse group of only young adults, examining the video closely, I was unable to spot anyone middle aged or older. This is done purposely as youth/young adults are typically referred to, and seen as, the future. They are seen as the game changers, and in the 70’s they are the group which helped to make up the majority of Americans protesting and rallying against injustices, particularly unnecessary involvement in foreign wars. Furthermore, the diversity within the video helps the viewer (regardless of their race, sex, and ethnicity) come to the idea that the product is for them, because it is a product for all people. This video uses a rhetorical appeal of values to persuade this target group to buy Coca-Cola products by paralleling harmony and unity with the enjoyment of Coca-Cola in order to persuade the audience that Coca-Cola stands with them and that they share similar values. In the article, “What is Rhetoric?”, Miller defines rhetorical appeals to values as “what the audience values, what they will be receptive to, and how we can hope to speak to them on their terms. This appeal is termed the pathetic appeal, or pathos, but it can be more broadly concerned with values. Pathos is often thought of as an appeal to emotion, because emotion if often ground a rhetorician can share with the audience” (Miller, 42). This element of persuasion appeals to this demographic because at the time this commercial aired, America was at the height of political turmoil. American involvement in the Vietnam war, a war that was opposed by the majority of Americans, most of them being young adults, and the Cold War. In Laura Bolin Carroll’s article, “Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps towards Rhetorical analysis.” Caroll stated that it is important to look at the context of the message being conveyed and mentioned exigence – “the circumstance or condition that invites a response.” (Caroll, 49) Both wars not only led to divisiveness within the United states between those that supported the military efforts, but also divided the world. Regardless of what side you were on,  both populations wanted peace and unity, and the advertisers behind the commercial responded. The commercial played on their desires for both and appealed to their emotions. This means of persuasion proved highly effective because of how popular the commercial became among different groups. Popularity didn’t come at a surprise though, the advertisers skillfully put this together by playing on the issues that concerned Americans, then was able to relay the message, without choosing a side, that Coca-Cola wants peace and unity the same way the audience does, so why not share a Coca-Cola? It also conveyed the message that Coca-Cola is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere, and that it breaks through the barriers of political ideology, race, and social status by the inclusion of a diverse, multiethnic, multicultural cast.

The second appeal to rhetoric present in the commercial is the rhetorical appeals of style. This type of rhetoric is concerned with “metaphors, images, opposition, and hierarchies and that the language we use and the arrangement of our text affect its reception.” (Miller, 43) By deconstructing the commercials language, and linguistic arrangement, we are able to see a clear way that Coca-Cola gets their message across to persuade the audience to buy their product which is the main purpose of any media advertisement whether television, radio, or newspaper. The words chosen all invoke feelings of comfort and peace. The words repeated that conjure up these feelings and images of comfort are words such as “home”, “love”, and “harmony” all of which are repeated many times throughout the duration of the commercial, and such a tactic works seemingly in the same way that a lot of propaganda does through the use of repetition. An interesting choice of words, however, are the words that come after “I’d like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love. With apple trees, and honey bees, and snow white turtle doves.” (Coca-Cola Commercial, 1971) While the first two phrases just make the audience think of sunny days and just the overall feeling of joy and happiness, the last four words, “snow white turtle doves” are a direct, very straightforward symbolic representation of those ideas of love and peace. White turtle doves in particular are symbols of innocence, purity, peace, and pure love, and it is very evident that inclusion of the doves is nowhere near incidental, but it is purposeful and planned.  Other significant factors when it comes to the appeal of style, is in terms of the pattern that the message is conveyed through. If the order in which the phrases were sung was changed, the commercial would be less powerful and moving. As mentioned previously, the order helps parallel certain concepts together in order to persuade the viewer of Coca-Cola’s beliefs. The argument being made is that in the same way the cast wants to teach the world to sing in harmony, to get everyone to unite and be in harmony is to share a coke. In order for the message to be fully conveyed, that order was needed because the first phrase carries the most weight emotionally whereas the second phrase attaches the brand to those emotions. Furthermore, it is somewhat timeless in the approach because in looking at today’s standards it would be a way of bonding in the same way that going for drinks, or having a beer is, and the same concept of unification over drinks is used often in advertisement. The last phrase, “It’s the real thing, what the world wants today” helps reaffirm that Coca-Cola wants the same thing as the audience without affirming what that “real thing is”. It’s vague and it’s left up to the interpretation of the audience, although it can be argued that the commercial does shape reality and the way people think. Upon watching the commercial, the viewer is overwhelmed with feelings of calmness and bliss. The commercial leaves the viewer feeling good about their efforts and making the world a better place without directly stating what those efforts are because they will be varied among different people. The vagueness and the broad nature of the commercial helps it reach a larger and more diverse audience (aside from the initial target of audience of politically and socially conscious youth).

In Laura Bolin Carroll’s article, “Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps towards Rhetorical analysis.” Caroll stated that “Rhetoric, – the way we use languages and images to persuade – is what makes media work”. The Coca-Cola, “I’d like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony)” commercial is the perfect example of a commercial that is successful in persuading, or at the very least evoking the emotions that it sought to evoke, in essence, it works. This commercial achieved its goal by allowed the audience to sympathize with many different groups, particularly the youth whose opinions went unheard by the government as they protested passionately against the foreign wars that America was a part of. This commercial shows the perspective of the youth, whose future rests on developing peace amongst different multicultural and multiethnic individuals from around the world, and between different groups of Americans, and it plays on the differences between them well. The rhetorical elements in this commercial signify the way that they are effectively employed, and are significant in the way the appeal to values and style work together to create a persuasive commercial that embodies unity, diversity, and universality over a bottle of Coca-Cola.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Caroll, Laura “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis” Writing Spaces:                       Readings on Writing, Volume 1. 2010. Print

 

Coca-Cola.  “I Want To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)” 1971. Television                         Commercial.

 

Miller  “What is Rhetoric” Rhetorical Analysis As A Means to Foster Critically Engaged                               Learning. 2010. Print.