In 2001, the Coca-Cola...
Illustration
In 2001, the Coca-Cola company, known for warm-feeling commercials such as "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," and its Mean Joe Green ad where a young boy gives the champ a Coke and receives the athlete's jersey in return, badly misjudged the public with some new edgy TV spots.
One of the new commercials featured a family reunion where cranky wheelchair-bound grandmother gets really nasty upon learning there's no Coke available. Another shows two high-school-aged girls at their graduation nearly getting into a catfight over the absence of the beverage.
People didn't like the ads. Neither did the local Cola-Cola bottlers. Some consumers called the company to complain that the new spots didn't fit the image of the Coke people loved. They were too mean-spirited and did not engender the good feelings of the earlier commercials. Bill Ward, who teaches advertising at Michigan State University, commented, "At the end of those commercials, you are surprised and concerned about how mean these people are."
The complaints got the company's attention, and within a few weeks, the ads were pulled. But the damage was done. In terms of market share, it appeared the commercials had precisely the opposite effect as intended. In fact, the beverage giant had to spend a lot advertising dollars to buff up the Coke image tarnished by the offensive campaign.
Lots of companies have made similar mistakes in trying to position their products with the "spirit of the times." Perhaps they misunderstand that there is a basic hunger for goodness in the human situation that is more fundamental, enduring and widespread than passing, on-the-edge attitudes. We are eager to see the "light that has come." (Source: "How a Coke Campaign Fell Flat With Viewers," Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2001, B1.)
One of the new commercials featured a family reunion where cranky wheelchair-bound grandmother gets really nasty upon learning there's no Coke available. Another shows two high-school-aged girls at their graduation nearly getting into a catfight over the absence of the beverage.
People didn't like the ads. Neither did the local Cola-Cola bottlers. Some consumers called the company to complain that the new spots didn't fit the image of the Coke people loved. They were too mean-spirited and did not engender the good feelings of the earlier commercials. Bill Ward, who teaches advertising at Michigan State University, commented, "At the end of those commercials, you are surprised and concerned about how mean these people are."
The complaints got the company's attention, and within a few weeks, the ads were pulled. But the damage was done. In terms of market share, it appeared the commercials had precisely the opposite effect as intended. In fact, the beverage giant had to spend a lot advertising dollars to buff up the Coke image tarnished by the offensive campaign.
Lots of companies have made similar mistakes in trying to position their products with the "spirit of the times." Perhaps they misunderstand that there is a basic hunger for goodness in the human situation that is more fundamental, enduring and widespread than passing, on-the-edge attitudes. We are eager to see the "light that has come." (Source: "How a Coke Campaign Fell Flat With Viewers," Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2001, B1.)
