Coco-Cola Vintage Ad
Elizabeth Hamilton
Professor Smith
Devry University
March 28, 2014
Coco-Cola Vintage Ad Throughout its history Coco-Cola has always managed to use advertising as a powerful tool to create that special atmosphere in the minds of consumers that differentiates Coco-Cola from just some generic cola. In the past it was also extremely effective in advertising its product gaining a lot of market share and getting to the top of the market in terms of sales. The essay analyzes a vintage advertisement according to the rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos and notes that Coco-Cola effectively uses appeals to authority, logic and emotions to make Coke a lifestyle, not just a…show more content… In other words, if the ad featured a statement by a doctor that Coco-Cola is a healthful beverage against fatigue, then one could say about the use of ethos. Pathos or appeal to emotions is used to replace ethos, since the columns and mansion-like background is expected to add credibility to the ad, even though none of the claims made about Coco-Cola is supported by facts or research. To summarize, Coco-Cola has always been extremely creative in advertising and the vintage ad is a note-worthy example. As unlike the modern Coke ads that relies heavily on emotions (PATHOS), this ad relies heavily on appeals to logic (LOGOS) and only somewhat on emotions. By appearing as a medicinal drink, Coco-Cola marketed its beverage as a healthful and palatable drink for men and women to solve various problems, from being thirsty, to feeling despondent or mentally/physically exhausted. Since all these claims are naturally false, there was no research or reputable person to back up such claims (ETHOS). The ad used all the technological advances of its time to make the statement appear on the facade of a mansion-like structure with columns and embellishment. It thus attempts to link cola to nobility that lives in such mansions or to ancient Rome with millennial traditions. While modern Coco-Cola ads link Coke to lifestyle and happiness, stimulating
