Semiotic Analysis Free Essay
Semiotic Analysis is a process wherein the signs and symbols in advertisements are taken into consideration to understand the language and the meaning it sends to the consumers. The message’s meaning could be influenced by several factors such as the organization of the advertisement, the design of the Coca Cola bottle, the text etched in the advertisement, and the overall impact and appeal of the advertisement.The analysis recognizes the strengths and the weaknesses of the poster of Coca Cola and its effects to the consumer market. This is a form of visual communication that connects the image of the product and the consumer. The ideas gathered in the person’s mind can bring about an increase in the sales and the lasting appeal of the product.Coca Cola advertisements range from commercials to posters are intended to target audiences of all ages, especially the youth because of its appeal (Haig, 229).
It is an Atlanta-based beverage introduced to the public in 1915 (Coke Logo: Design and History). The fizzing beverage is sold nationwide—in restaurants, bars, cafeterias, and groceries. The bottled and canned variations of Coca Cola are available worldwide and transcends beyond language, race, and gender. The identity of the soft drink is established with their logo containing a curvaceous glass bottle with a simple red and white branding (Haig, 229). The bottle logo is mounted in a seemingly bubbly red background with the brand name send to front written in script.
The logo of the product creates familiarity to the consumers based on its unique presentation. The shape of the bottle is not common to other cola beverages. Red is an eye-catching and outstanding color among the rest of the other soft drink logo. This familiarity to the product’s presentation creates comfort and trust in consuming Coca Cola. The special bond with the consumers is a marketing strategy for people to enjoy buying and drinking Coke everyday.The language of color is the first consideration in the analysis of the Coca Cola poster.
Color can evoke certain desired responses from the target market. It attracts the viewers of the poster or sign to be involved with the product consumption. The sign of Coca Cola has three colors: red, white, and black. Understanding how color affects consumerism is the first aspect of the analysis.The color red is a powerful color that dominated the poster grabs the attention of the media consumers (Zyman, 131).
After grabbing their attention, this leads for the consumers to act based on what appeals to their sense of sight. The color red stimulates thought and hooks the viewers’ attention for a period of time. The color red is a form of communication that stimulates the consumer to make speedy decisions in the product they choose to guzzle. Red also radiates confidence in the quality of the product, therefore telling the consumers to buy Coca Cola because it is the best among the other cola brands in the market. The red background has a denotation of love and warmth for its consumers, therefore drinking a bottle of Coke will provide pleasure and a sense of belongingness.
The strong red color also denotes that there are varied emotions and celebrations embodied in the bottle of Coke. When a consumer drinks the cola beverage, it is like a celebration of good life and joyous experiences based on the dominant color in the Coca Cola advertisement.On the other hand, the color black signifies a mysterious aura in the product. Therefore, to unveil the mystery of Coca Cola, a consumer must grab a bottle to taste. The sophisticated black makes the color red pop.
It is also in coordination with the shape of the bottle, which is “sexy.”Meanwhile, the color white in the Coca Cola text signifies perfection. It translates to the viewers that Coca Cola is satisfying. On the contrary, white also send the message that Coca Cola is clean, pure, and natural. This leads to more responsive consumers, thinking that Coca Cola is a good choice.
The color white can also act as a concealment of the long term consequences of drinking Coca Cola for a long period of time.The circular shape of the poster denotes that consumers share the same taste, and experience in every bottle of Coca Cola. It speaks to the consumers to continue drinking Coca Cola, based on the never-ending movement of a circular shape. It also suggests a laid back lifestyle of Coke, than a stiff and rigid way of life. This is in conjunction with the color red that means celebration.
Coke brings about a happy way of living rather than a monotonous life.The Spencerian script designed by Frank Robinson denotes of delivering a personal message to the consumers of Coca Cola. It is a business style of handwriting that delivers elegance and grace to the product (Cicale, 186). The brand typography also reaches out to the potential consumers of Coca Cola and touch a part of their lives, too. The elegance of the Spencerian script is more persuasive for young people to drink Coke rather than using a plain typography to attract potential consumers.
The poster of Coca Cola paints a larger picture of the possibilities in life. Coca Cola sets the audiences to see how life can be so good and refreshing with a sip of Coke. It shows that Coke drinkers are enjoying every minute of their life just by drinking the popular soft drink. This strategy is a form of persuading the consumers and media-exposed public to drink Coke and make it a part of the household. The good experiences tied up with Coke such as friendship, family bonding, and a sense of belonging makes the consumers drink the product.The benefits of the sign are on the side of the company.
More and more consumers are attracted to the logo; therefore power to manipulate the target market is on the hand of the company. They benefit from the business profit. Even if the consumers also benefit from the satisfying and the refreshing taste of Coca Cola, it also traps the consumers in the globalization of the cola drink brand even in the different regions of the world. It means that the cola product locally produced by a particular country is affected by the penetration of Coca Cola in their country. The market tends to shift towards the imported cola drink rather than patronizing their own cola drink.The effect of the poster is that the consumers only focus on the good side of drinking Coca Cola and having a joyous social life.
Another negative impact of the Coca Cola poster is that it became a generic name for all cola drinks. It became so popular that the consumers already neglected the ingredients of the product, the price, and the origin of the product. But on the other hand, the integrity of the manufacturing company became one of the authentications of a true cola experience that no brand can deliver to the consumers.The power lies in the advertising medium used by the company to deliver good results and to increase consumerism. The advertisement increases the awareness of the people of a particular product in the market. The competence is tested as soon as the product was drunk by the customers.
Then, its popularity rises and more customers will drink the product based on its reputation. Therefore, Coca Cola set the standards of a true cola drink worldwide (Ali, 189).References:Ali, Abbas. Globalization of Business: Practice and Theory. New York: Haworth Press, 2000.
Zyman, Sergio. The End of Advertising as We Know It. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002.Haig, Matt. Brand Royalty: How the Worlds Top 100 Brands Thrive & Survive.
London: Kogan Page, 2004.Coke Logo: Design and History. 13 June 2007. <http://www.dinesh.com/History_of_Logos/Miscellaneous_Logos_-_Design_and_History/Coke_Logo_-_Design_and_History/>
