Coke, a GIANT corporation that sells teeth rotting, nutrition robbing, GMO sugar crap...

[MyUncle]

...does a commercial that is premeditated manipulation and they get praise? Come on people, this is an Atlanta based, US company that really is a primary contributor to global obesity and malnutrition.

They do a Super Bowl $6 million dollar + commercial that was a focus group tested creation from the masters of manipulation on Madison Ave.. So, they get a pass & praise because it was multilingual and had a possible gay couple in it?

I fell for it until I thought about it.

We are suckers of the corporate media tit. Enjoy the empty calories.

[liberal_at_heart]

1. time to start trashing threads like this. Yes we know all about their business practices.

Just because we recognize the positive message about multiculturalism in their commercial does not mean we are over looking their business practices.

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. That's what gets me. It wasn't a "positive message". It was a cynical marketing ploy.

And what the message says isn't what you think...

What the message SAYS is... The COCA-COLA Corporation loves you, no matter what language you speak.

[CFLDem]

19. And I love Coke back

No matter what form it's in!

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. I like the "hecho en Mexico" Coke, in the original style glass bottles, made with real sugar.

Even though I may only drink three or four a year.

Haven't had the other kind in years... would probably make my heart explode but was once a big fan!

[Scootaloo]

29. That, and the occasional foray with cherry or vanilla coke

I can't stand "standard" coke, it has too much of a thin, acid taste. Pepsi's my standard cola - but flavored pepsi is universally awful, like drinking a bottle of pancake syrup or something.

'course, I prefer Fentiman's Curiosity Cola for my cola needs... but a four-pack costs eight bucks at the store, and I just can't foot that anymore

[SummerSnow]

54. You hit the nail on the head.

This is what the right wing extremist are going to use to so call boycott Cocoa Cola. They wont admit that its because they are racist . So they will use their business practices or ingredients to boycott. Hypocrites are always exposed. Then I read some comments where the extremist are switching to Pepsi which I found funny cause soda is soda if you over indulge you will gain weight, doesn't matter what company makes it.All soda is high in sugar.

[LisaLynne]

2. I think people's reaction here to it is more about the reaction that the ...

idiot conservatives had to it, which was not related to the fact that Coke is a giant corporation that sells teeth rotting, nutrition robbing, GMO sugar crap. Instead, they reacted from their deep-seated racism to a commercial that dared to hint that maybe American isn't just made up of English speaking white people. That's why people are discussing it.

[MyUncle]

6. Sorry, but I disagree.

I said to my wife that the Budweiser "Puppy ad" was emotionally manipulative and that is why I did not like it. She said "They are all manipulative, it's ADVERTISING." OK, it's an ad, it is meant to appeal to young people to "connect" and get them to drink Coke. It is is being discussed, blogged about, flags raised for it like it was a Rosa Parks moment.

My point it that it is bullshit. Good, manipulative, highly paid, highly researched, highly vetted BULLSHIT, but BULLSHIT non the less.

And, many people bought the crap.

[Egnever]

10. LOL bought what crap?

Never ever drink coke not going to start now. Was still a good commercial.

What did I buy?

[Scootaloo]

27. Disagree all you like, but LisaLynne is correct

i haven't seen anyone running around cheering for coke's business practices, its environmental record, its marketing to the third world, or the health of the malted battery acid it calls a product.

Discussion is instead revolving around the xenophobic, panicmongering twits who heard Spanish spoken on their television and set their own underwear on fire over it. And increasingly, people like you who seemingly would rather we not talk about the insanity of right-wing dickwounds getting themselves in a fluff over the notion of multilingualism.

Yes, it's advertising. Yes, it's manipulation to sell a product. And frankly I wish more people on the left would start taking notes on how to advertise.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. I try and give credit where credit is due.

eom

[Egalitarian Thug]

42. Meaning what? That the Coca-Cola corporation is not an evil empire? Or that Coca-Cola products are

not pure poison sold to us at an exorbitant mark-up? Or is it that you want to credit them for being bright enough to push your button?

[Incitatus]

4. I like that it pissed off conservatives, but it doesn't improve my opinion of the company. nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

5. Like it or not, advertising reflects America

It is time that multiculturalism AND same sex families become a regular part of those ads.

[L0oniX]

49. Yes we must learn our behavior from commercials and they reflect who we are ...sad.

[Walk away]

7. You don't have to like Coke to like their commercial. nt

[MyUncle]

8. Brown, fizzy Kool Aid, go ahead, have another.

EOM

[frazzled]

9. I think the issue (in part) is ...

Here at DU one of the most popular things to do is ridicule the president's speeches or other verbal proclamations because "they're just words" or "he gives pretty speeches, so what."

So it seems rather funny that an ad that is "just words" and "pretty images" gets such praise and homage. It wasn't a particularly brave or even forward-thinking thing to do; it doesn't change anything: it was done to sell Coke to a dwindling market, and that's all.

I don't get it.

[Egnever]

12. WTF?

Wasn't particularly brave?

People are calling for a boycott of coke and you claim the commercial wasn't particularly brave?

What a pile o dookie!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

40. I get the feeling most of the same people who shit on the President....

....are the same people who trash Coke as a big multi-national corporate monster and pooh pooh the ad. So that critique doesn't hold much water (or Cola) for me.

[L0oniX]

47. Do you work for Coke too?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

55. Yeah, you've figured me out

Genius that you are.

[L0oniX]

48. Serious ...Coke trolling for capitalistic suckers. Let them worship the corps too.

[frazzled]

52. No, they have a real demographic they're after

and it has nothing to do with conservatives vs liberals, or even capitalistic suckers.

For some time we've known that Coke has been penetrating foreign markets, especially emerging and developing ones, where the company is getting more than 60% of its business. Let's be clear: Coke is not the beverage of choice anymore for health conscious middle and upper middle class Americans. For a domestic market, they're keen to speak to those who reflect their foreign successes: newer immigrants.

[L0oniX]

53. I know they are accused of having union organizers murdered.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Cute commercial

Fizzy drinks in this house...zero.

You could try that too.

Budweiser, really cute brand reinforcement, beers in this house...just as sodas, none.

Oh and to Witt, talk of boycott, focus group failed there.

[MyUncle]

13. I can't believe we are such SUCKERS!

This was an advertisement, created to manipulate emotions, loyalty and PURCHASING DECISIONS!!! The fact that people are attaching some sort of noble intentions to this ad is disturbingly naive.

Coke's, target is young people. So if you are creating a purchasing decision video, do you manipulate their emotions? HELL YES and quite well done.

[freshwest]

28. DU is a media driven site, not an issues driven site. If it were the latter, we would discuss those,

and not the defecated version dumped on the public by billionaire owned, conservative thinking media outlets.

At one time, we could have decent discussions based less on the crass commericalized content we now are fed in our desire to learn how to survive and thrive in the world.

The days are long gone or being able to get that quality of information, as all has been leveled to make the profit of the sponsor, not educate. But many have of us not come to realize that it is not longer the media they may have grown up with that they trusted.

They take every faux outrage and issue the media now sells, with the same belief that they heard of the assassination of MLK or the WTC attack.

We are media consumers, we do not analyze, we react, and our attention spans are short, just as commercial television has conditioned people to think in short time blocks.

We use social media (most of us, not I as this is the website I visit with interactive features now and don't watch TV, etc) that narrows communication to a few buzzwords that don't allow for reflection, but the imparting of memes that have been learned from television, movies, games and radio.

In my opinion, we are experts of nothing more than the tide of information that is floating by us in an increasingly fast moving stream, and most of it directed to the right. And the American people at large, but more intensefly with the conservatives, do not have a true culutural identity. So they look to media to find one. Or they look to a combination of church and media and retail culture to define who they are, if they are powerful, smart or attractive by whatever symbols are being put out at any given time and they don't know themselves anymore.

And I'm really getting tired so that is all I can say now.

[OilemFirchen]

15. "I fell for it until I thought about it."

You're SPECIAL!

[icymist]

16. Look at it like this: For Coke, that was 6 million dollars well spent.

The entire blogersphere is discussing Coke products and the only people claiming to only drink Pepsi, their competitor, for now on are the racists that hate America the Beautiful being sung in another language! Well played Coke, well played.

[MyUncle]

18. icymist, I agree with you. You are right.

I am trying to wake up the "messangee" and point out how they have been played. Coke's ad agency did a great job, but it was a "JOB". They sold, we bought, hook, line and sinker...

[flvegan]

17. Selective outrage with an Olympics avatar.

(facepalm)

[ForgoTheConsequence]

21. I noticed the irony also.

...

[MyUncle]

24. Fivegan, I've only had one icon on DU - the Olympic Rings...

...if you could come close to even beginning to guess why I have that icon and what means to me and my identity with DU, I'll give you for free, with shipping my entire CD collection of bootleg CDs of live concerts (FYI, heavy representation of String Cheese Incident, Grateful Dead, Jack Johnson and Umphreys McGee) go ahead and have a shot at it. If you don't like the music I'll donate the equivalent $ value to the charity of your choice.

Don't judge.

[Bluenorthwest]

44. Who knows what Coke means to another? The 'Olympic Rings' are a hotly protected tradmark

that was created in the 20's but gained popularity around the Berlin Games of 36. The Olympic Committee has litigated against many groups for using interlocked ring logos, including their suit against the Gay Olympics, now called the 'Gay Games'. The rings are the symbol of Sochi, an event I am personally boycotting due to the homophobia of the committee and the host country.
The Olympic logos are protected by some of the world's most restrictive legal protections. So yeah, to whine about an ad being an ad while touting a Product Logo is in fact ironic. And it is you who are judging others for liking a commercial, you are being a commercial, promoting the Games
About the London Games and Logos....
"Britain already has a range of legal protections for brands and copyright holders, but the Olympic Games demand their own rules. Since the Sydney Games in 2000, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has required bidding governments to commit to introducing bespoke legislation to offer a further layer of legal sanction.

In 2006, accordingly, parliament passed the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act, which, together with the Olympic Symbol (Protection) Act of 1995, offers a special level of protection to the Games and their sponsors over and above that already promised by existing copyright or contract law. A breach of these acts will not only give rise to a civil grievance, but is a criminal offence.

"It is certainly very tough legislation," says Paul Jordan, a partner and marketing specialist at law firm Bristows, which is advising both official sponsors and non-sponsoring businesses on the new laws. "Every major brand in the world would give their eye teeth to have [a piece of legislation] like this. One can imagine something like a Google or a Microsoft would be delighted to have some very special recognition of their brand in the way that clearly the IOC has."
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-branding-police-sponsors


To 'misuse' the logo you promote is a criminal offense in some places. The ultimate protected brand. Your avatar.

[cherokeeprogressive]

20. The ad WAS NOT about diversity in the USA. The ad was NOT about E PLURIBUS UNUM.

The ad said, fucking EXPLICITLY...

"No matter what language you speak, The Coca-Cola Corporation loves you. Buy Coke!"

Hook. Line. And... sinker. Both teams ate it up.

[dionysus]

25. i liked the commercial, but still prefer the taste of pepsi (yes i knows soda is bad for you)

so what's the point?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

41. When I drink a soda, I make it Throwback Pepsi

I'll take the real sugar please.

[RufusTFirefly]

23. Smoke, mirrors and misdirection

Large corporations love customers with money. They don't care what color they are, what language they speak, or what sexual orientation they are. Money is money.
But they hate workers who actually ask to be paid what they deserve.
And some of them won't hesitate to kill people if it gets in the way of their profit motive, especially when it's in a country that most Americans couldn't even find on a map.

Besides, the city of San Francisco is pushing for a new soda tax.

Awwwww. Why would anyone tax a company that makes us feel so warm and fuzzy?

[Vashta Nerada]

26. I agree.

People will fall for anything.

[NuclearDem]

34. Unfair business practices, union busting, and stealing water supplies helped too.

[A HERETIC I AM]

31. It's fucking soda pop, for crying out fucking loud.

Sheesh.

Did you find fault with them when they did this, too?

Or was that before your time?

[otohara]

46. America 1971

was different than America 2014 - Si?

Not the angry hateful America of today.

[DeSwiss]

32. Excellent observation!

I was wondering if anyone would make it. Thank you.

- You've restored my faith in humanity for at least the rest of the week.

K&R

[Dawgs]

33. Dumbest thing I've read today. And, I've read quite a bit. n/t

[Blue_Adept]

35. The message I like comes from someone I don't like.

Therefore I shall crap all over it and anyone else that likes it.

Yeesh.

Another example of why we can't have nice things.

[steve2470]

36. Coke the corporation is evil in some ways but....

I think we can all applaud the inclusiveness of the spot.

Two separate thoughts. Yes, we leftists would be delighted if they sold a nutritious product with ethical business practices. I'll take the inclusive message and leave the evilness to be dealt with separately.

Oh, and I'm not buying any Coke products because of the ad. I see ads for many products all the time, which I have no intent on buying.

http://www.endevil.com/blacklist.html#Coca-Cola

http://killercoke.org/contribute.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Coca-Cola

[JJChambers]

37. Stop

People are saying the commercial was great, not that coca cola is the epitome of ethical businesses. The commercial was great and so is coca cola, classic. But the company sucks. So I drink less coke than I used to.

[CBGLuthier]

38. They just wanted some of the same buzz General Mills got with the Cheerios ad

Next year they will have an ad featuring Toby Keith and a parade of shit kickers. They have no scruples or they would go out of business. Their products are poison. Never fell for it for a second.

[randome]

39. I mostly agree with you but...

...it's also another sign of the times that corporations are using their cynical marketing ploys in favor of Progressive principles. There is a silver lining, you just have to hunt for it.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[Le Taz Hot]

43. As has been pointed out, DOZENS of times right here on DU,

people can like the ad and not like the product. Really, it isn't a difficult concept.

[Bluenorthwest]

45. For you, for your rings....

"Olympic organizers have reportedly brought in an army of 300 “enforcement officers” to make sure that shops and advertisers across the country do not illegally associating themselves with the Olympic Games, and irk official sponsors like Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald’s and BP.

These uniformed officers, dressed in purple caps and shirts, will make sure that British shops, food stores and eateries don’t exploit a list of key words in their advertising, including “Gold,” “sponsors,” “2012? and “London,” according to The Independent newspaper. If they see a business flouting the rules by associating themselves too closely with the Olympics, the boys in purple can issue a fine of up to £20,000."
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/07/19/the-army-and-brand-police-swoop-on-london-olympics/

[brooklynite]

50. Please describe your 100% vegan organic diet secured solely from worker's cooperatives...

...or stop being holier than thou.

[L0oniX]

51. Coke kills.

[clarice]

57. Never over look the prime motivator..

in any advertisement. money money money money.....MONEY!