Coca-Cola Christmas Advert Analysis

Coca-Cola has taken full advantage of the western world's fascination with Christmas. So much so that the image of Santa Claus was actually coined by Coca-Cola. Many people don't even feel like it's Christmas until they see the iconic Coca-Cola advert with the delivery lorries travelling through snow filled streets. 

Accompanying this image is Coca-Colas own Christmas theme tune that features the vocals of a choir. This is more effective than a solo singer as the western culture around Christmas time traditionally features groups of people singing Christmas carols together. The choir repeats the line “Holidays are coming.” This is deliberate as saying “Christmas is coming” would alienate the Coca-Cola consumers who do not celebrate Christmas. The repetition of this phrase is consistent throughout the advert. It is therefore very difficult not to be aware that the holidays are in fact “coming” when we’re being told it over and over for an entire minute. This repetitions also helps to build excitement that the holidays are coming.

In amongst the body of the choir there are smaller groups of singers (maybe 3 or four people) singing very cleverly written lyrics. These lyrics include "T'is the season" which is normally used in the Christmas song 'T'is the season to be jolly' and "watch out" as heard in the traditional Christmas song 'Santa Claus is coming to town. The latter song is again exploited as the singers sing "something is coming to town." If by this point it wasn't clear that Coca-Cola wasn't comparing themself with the arrival of Santa Claus then they persist by singing "something magic, in the night. Can you see it shining bright?"

On top of all of this, the company’s two part slogan “Always the real thing – Always Coca-Cola” is repeated in what sounds almost like subliminal messaging gone wrong, excluding the last and final rendition.

The sounds of this TV advertisement are very effectively designed to harness the emotion of Christmas, specifically through the perspective of a child. In amongst the music there are various glissandos of high frequencies to emphasis the visuals, for example, Christmas tree lights switching on. These glissandos have connotations of magic, as they are commonly used to portray the act of vanishing or appearing.

The combination of all of these elements creates a very effective piece of music for a Christmas themed advert.

Fictional Sponsorship

Today I spoke with a graphic design student who is designing a brand of soft drink for her honours project. We discussed the possibility of collaborating in a way that we can both benefit from our similar projects. I suggested that I could use her brand as the image for my project and in return she could use my sonic universe as the sound for her brand. 

As I mentioned in a previous update,  it is clear that Coca-Cola persistently associate their brand with many large world events. Examples of these events include the 2010 World Cup, the EURO 2012 cup, the 2012 Olympics and even Christmas and the image of Santa Claus himself.

Coca-Cola's sponsorships of these events inspired a fictional sponsorship for my own brand. I plan to design an advertising campaign that will exist as a fictional sponsorship of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth games. I think this is appropriate as the brand will be established in Scotland and will be culturally appropriate when promoting the games in Scotland.

Research Proposal Feedback

I received my grade for my recently submitted Research Proposal.
The work was graded as a B which I am happy with.
However, the specific feedback I received about the work made me realise something. I have been focusing on the psychological aspect of the sounds and how they affect the consumer. I really should be focusing on the cultural aspects and how they contribute towards effective sonic branding.
Therefore, I have decided to change the title of my project to 'Successful sonic branding and the cultural aspects that contribute towards it.'

Despite the title and aim of my project changing, the methodology and research methods will remain the same. This is a natural evolution of my progress thus far and I am confident it will be a satisfactory project.

Coca-Cola Case Study

I will be using two research techniques to execute my project. This first of these is a case study.

I have chosen to analyse the sonic branding aspect of Coca-Cola's popular 'Open Happiness' advertising campaign. Coca-Cola have a very successful history with regards to sonic branding however, this history is far to expansive to analyse in the time I have available. Therefore, the case study will focus on the more recent aspects of the brand's sonic branding. 

The case study will examine Coca-Cola's advertising during major world events such as the 2010 World Cup and the London 2012 Olympics. It will also analyse the 5 note sonic logo that Coca-Cola insist on including within their music. 

Here is an example of the type of advertisement the case study will be focusing on. This is Coca-Cola's advertising campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in which they acquired the music of a relatively unknown South African singer/songwriter by the name of K'naan. 

I will also plan on exhibiting some practice based research methods by creating and producing some sonic branding for a fictitious drink brand based in Scotland. The sounds created for this brand will be inspired by the results of the Coca-Cola case study. 

Furthering my Aim

After a 2 on 1 meeting with Peter O'Hare about the progress of my project, we agreed that some advances needed to be made on the project aim.
Prior to this meeting, my aim had been to determine the key components essential to effective sonic branding. Although this is still the main area of research for my project, I have decided to look further within this area to, not only determine what these key components are, but more importantly why these are the key components.

My research will now span across areas such as advertising, marketing, psychology and music theory.

Intel Inside's 5 note Sonic Logo Analysis

Intel Inside's world famous sonic logo was written in 1994 by Austrian born, L.A based, jingle writer Walter Werzowa.

The first note of the piece is a D flat and is designed to work as an attention grabber. The following 4 notes reflect the 4 syllables of the company name. (In-tel-In-Side)
All of the notes are played on a Marimba synthesiser which is a commonly associated with the corporate workforce. It has also been the choice of instrument used for years to alert PC users of various different options or restrictions.

The four notes played are as follows...

D flat - G flat - D flat - A flat

The use of these notes have a much deeper history than their use in the Intel Inside sonic logo.
The notes can be heard as either...

Soh / Doh \ Soh / Ray

or

Doh / Fah \ Doh / Soh

This sequence of relative pitches with this accentuation pattern

(weak - strong - weak - strongr & hold) has connotations within the historical mainstream of European culture.

This pattern, or slight variations of it, can be heard in a number of different historical pieces of music. 

Here is a few examples...

- 'La Marseillaise' The French National Anthem

- 'Rejoice Greatly' - The Messiah (1741) G.F Handel

- 'Wilhelmus' The Dutch National Anthem

Case Study - Intel Inside 1996 TV advert Analysis

This television advert was broadcast on channel 4 in 1996. Every aspect of it is designed to excite the consumer about the use of the Intel Pentium Processor chip within a computer system. Let's analyse how it does this.


Opening Scene - 
The initial visuals of the advert place the viewer within a very familiar looking modern day living room. The viewer has been apparently reading a book about Japanese art including some illustrations of dolphins. The advert begins to direct the book and the viewer gently towards the computer within the room.
The initial music during this opening scene consists of a young boys soprano solo vocal. This is a deliberate choice of music as it creates a feeling of innocence, wonderment and naivety within the viewer. This feeling is then reinforced when it is accompanied by a narrative that rhetorically asks the question "What let's you learn about the world in a new way?" The voice used in the narrative is that of an intelligent sounding English woman. The voice is warm with a trustworthy tone. The use of this voice-type cements the role of the viewer as a naive youngster listening to the words of a mother figure.

Inside the Computer
The viewer is transported, along with the book, from the familiar living room setting to an unfamiliar digitally animated environment. It is now that the viewer is completely reliant on the narrative mother figure for guidance and information in this unknown universe. The narrative mother figure then takes advantage of the viewers vulnerability by bluntly answering her own question. She directly informs the viewer without decoration that the answer is "The Intel Pentium Processor." The tone in which she says this insinuates that the answer is obvious. This confidence combined with the viewer's reliance on the narrative mother figure results in the viewer accepting this answer as an unquestionable truth.

Digital Transformation
Now inside the computer, the book the viewer was reading in reality is apparently absorbed by the Intel Pentium Processor chip and re-born as a digitally animated materialisation of the dolphins from the book. This is a visual representation of the power exercised by this advanced piece of technology. This transformation is of course reinforced sonically with a crescendo into a chord change. It is accompanied by a glissando of metal chimes which traditionally carries connotations of a magical transformation. The dolphins, now very much alive within the universe of the computer, begin to swim upwards and the viewer is invited to join them on their ascension. At this point the narration avoids the science behind the processor and proceeds to compliment the chip with vague statements that encourage the viewer to use their imagination. "With the sights and sounds that take you there. Wherever there happens to be?"

Why Dolphins?
Dolphins have very well known reputations. They are widely regarded as extremely intelligent animals with a brain that closely resembles that of a human being. More similar than that of a chimpanzee. This is a well known reputation which, not only reflects the intelligence behind the processor chip but also the 'intel' in the company name.
As well as this, the dolphin is also notorious for being an extremely friendly and loving animal which encourages the viewer that Intel care about their customers. Perhaps a different impression would be perceived if the dolphins were relaxed by sharks.

Closing Scene
The advert ends with an arial observation point of the internal circuitry of the computer. The dolphins continues their ascension past the viewer's point of view. Rather than follow the dolphins, the camera remains stationary. The viewers main focus is now the source of the dolphin's digital birth...THE PROCESSOR..!!! By dismissing the actions of the dolphins in favour of a static logo at this point, the viewer is reassured that the processor is a fascinating product. This is effective as the activities of dolphins are often the attraction of many spectators. Subconsciously the viewer believes that anything that over-rules the urge to focus on the dolphins MUST be important. In the midst of this subconscious realisation, the viewer is now viewing the brightly lit 'Intel Inside' logo amongst darkened circuitry which now vaguely resembles city at night. The viewer is encouraged to think of city life which often carries connotations of excitement. Las Vegas or New York City for example. This reinforces the excitement of such a product.
Sonically this is all comfortably finalised with a full orchestral crescendo and a classical perfect cadence. This implies that the viewer now knows everything they need to know about the product and nothing is left unsaid. In amongst the music we are also entitled to a short sound bite of the dolphins calls as the swim off. As well as completing the materialisation of the dolphins their calls are also a commonly used relaxation technique. The scene finally ends with the viewer apparently free falling towards the static logo down below. This is an appropriate direction as it now appears that the viewer's trust in the company throughout the advert has been rewarded. It appears the viewer has fallen and been caught by the company logo thus solidifying the bond between the consumer and the company.