As most of the world knows, the Pepsi-Cola versus Coca-Cola debate goes back almost a century. Around the world, people can get really passionate about their stance on the beverages and the company’s marketing teams are well aware of this. When you’re dealing with two powerhouses going after each other, there’s bound to be competition when it comes to vying for consumer’s money and attention. Due to this competition, both of the companies have created slogans and advertisements that have made enough of a cultural impact to act as their own cliches. Thus, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been using logos, pathos, and their historical standings to capitalize on their consumer’s thoughts and emotions. 

Think about if you were to ask someone if they preferred Pepsi or Coke. Any avid soda drinker would be quick to give you their contemplative answer regardless of which side they were on. But where did the cause for debate come from? During World War II, sugar was classified as a ration which led to several cola companies going out of business. Pepsi was nearly one of these companies while Coca-Cola was able to avoid this problem by supplying over five billion bottles of Coke to the war effort. Coke dominated the market at this time partially because most of its competitors were ceasing to exist and partially due to its new association with American nationalism. Pride in the country was at an all time high and citizens were more likely to buy Coke if it meant they were supporting “the boys in blue”. Coca-Cola’s marketing team appealed to the emotional responses of the American people, releasing several articles depicting army men drinking bottles of the product. Their profits continued to soar.

It got to the point where Pepsi’s owner at the time, Charles Guth, offered to sell his company to Coke’s owner, Asa Griggs Candler. Candler declined, believing the business was useless to him and was bound to wither away. Little did he know that that would be the worst decision in the company’s history. The anger Charles Guth felt when he was underestimated led to him producing a risky and controversial ad campaign that pulled Pepsi out of bankruptcy. He changed their slogan to “Twice as much for a nickel”. Simultaneously, the bottle size they were using to sell Pepsi increased from six to twelve ounces large. Although Coke appealed pathetically to consumers, it logically made more sense to choose the less expensive Pepsi. Especially when marketing to a post Great Depression America.

When reviewing more modern examples, I began to notice a pattern. Across the board, Coca-Cola’s marketing depends on pathetical responses from consumers; pushing the idea that drinking their beverage will lead to instant vindication or satisfaction. Pepsi’s marketing uses logos instead, emphasising the differences in the products and associating this diversity with the common interests of the time. Take the Pepsi taste test commercials from the eighties and Coke’s two most recent slogans “Open Happiness” and “Taste the Feeling” as examples.

The taste test commercials included footage of everyday people being asked to blindly taste from two different cups. One would be filled with Coke and the other with Pepsi. They would then be asked to choose which of the two beverages they preferred and the most popular answer was actually Pepsi, even without any video editing. Again, it logically made more sense to choose Pepsi. This also dissolved any newborn claims that Pepsi’s Cola and Coca-Cola were too similar for consumers to tell the difference. Pepsi had to be the absolute better choice.

Maybe you unconsciously associate drinking Coke with memories such as wholesome family dinners, patriotic Fourth of July barbecues, or even successful first dates. All of these positive interactions derived from the company’s advertisements have the goal of profiting off of capturing life’s pleasurable moments with Coke at the center. Their aforementioned slogans “Open Happiness” and “Taste the Feeling” capitalize on consumers’ feelings and implement the idea that drinking Coke will lead to instant happiness. For example, when I first heard Taste the Feeling, I assumed the feeling being referred to was joy or just general satisfaction. I must also mention that the feeling of happiness is vague enough that neutralness and/or a lack of sadness, could easily be mistaken for it. This leaves the creators of the product scotch-free regardless of the actual amount of enjoyment derived from it. All they’ve had to do is offer up guaranteed “happiness” in a bottle, and then wait to see the profits. 

With Coke being a one hundred twenty-nine-year-old company and Pepsi being a one hundred twenty-three year old brand respectively, it’s safe to say that this rivalry is bound to continue long after I’ve submitted this paper. Overtime, it becomes harder to separate which drink you actually like from the drink you’ve been convinced to like for ages. So, the next time you reach for either can, whether it be mostly red or mostly blue, think about if you actually prefer its taste, or if you’ve been conditioned to prefer it by the respective company’s marketers.

~ Civic Artifact Speech Outline ~

As most of the world knows, the Pepsi-Cola versus Coca-Cola debate goes back almost a century. 

Thus, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been using logos, pathos, and their historical standings to capitalize on their consumer’s emotions. 

World War II

Coke = American nationalism

Pepsi = “Twice as much for a nickel”

Pepsi’s owner at the time, Charles Guth, offered to sell his company to Coke’s owner, Asa Griggs Candler. 

It logically made more sense to choose the less expensive Pepsi. Especially when marketing to a post Great Depression America.

Coca-Cola’s marketing depends on pathetical responses from consumers. Pepsi’s marketing uses logos instead.

Play taste test commercial

Pepsi had to be the absolute better choice.

Coke = wholesome memories 

Assumptions based on previous advertising 

With Coke being a one hundred twenty-nine-year-old company and Pepsi being a one hundred twenty-three year old brand respectively, it’s safe to say that this rivalry is bound to continue long after I’ve submitted this paper. 

Overtime, it becomes harder to separate which drink you actually like from the drink you’ve been convinced to like for ages…… 

As most of the world knows, the Pepsi-Cola versus Coca-Cola debate goes back almost a century. Around the world, people can be really passionate about their stance on the beverages and the company’s marketing teams are well aware of this. With Coke being a one hundred twenty-nine-year-old company and Pepsi being a one hundred twenty-three year old brand respectively, it’s safe to say that this rivalry is bound to continue long after I submit this post. When you’re dealing with two powerhouses going after each other, there’s bound to be competition when it comes to vying for consumer’s money and attention. Due to this competition, both of the companies have created slogans and advertisements that made enough of a cultural impact to act as their own commonplaces. For Coke, you may think of Santa Claus, the polar bears,  “Open happiness” and “Taste the feeling” . For Pepsi you may remember  the taste test commercials from the eighties and nineties as well as “Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi”,  “Live for now” and “That’s what I like”. Across the board one company marketing  implements the idea that drinking their beverage will lead to instant happiness. The other company pushes the difference in their product and associates this diversity with the interests of the youth. The similarity between the two marketing strategies is that they both aim to associate positive interactions and experiences with their products. Both Pepsi and Coca-Cola use their historical standings to capitalize on their consumers’ emotions.  Since Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have already been confirmed to give consumers joyous and diverse experiences for ages, consumers are led to make positive assumptions about purchasing the products. Overtime, it becomes harder to separate which drink you actually like from the drink you’ve been convinced to like for ages.

I was very impressed with Marina’s speech and her high level of professionalism. The introduction played into the thought processes of the audience members and made all of our gears start turning.  As I touched on earlier, the delivery came across as very professional and well-spoken. She took the somewhat weighty subject matter and kept the tone serious but still full of life and energy. Another aspect of the delivery that stood out was the eye contact she made with the audience. While she did look down at her note cards, her glances were quick and controlled. You could tell that this had been practiced beforehand. Furthermore, the smoothness of the speech made the presentation seem more relaxed which made sense considering the assignment was to give an elevator pitch.

I believe that one of her purposes for giving the speech was to get the audience to slow down and truly think about the way that we perceive ourselves. When expanding on this topic, I would consider looking even further into why people are likely to give themselves a harder time than they would give other people. Perhaps find other artifacts that prove, disprove, or just generally discuss this. Since there are several others in the class that covered a similar topic to this one, I would also think of some ways to differentiate the piece. Draw the audience in and don’t let them go until they’ve learned something new. Again, this was a solid speech and Marina is on the right path!

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.

Do you like Pepsi or Coke? I’m from Georgia, so you can probably guess what my answer is gonna be. Back home, and around the world, people can be really passionate about the beverage, and Coca-Cola’s marketing team is aware of this. The one hundred twenty-nine-year-old company has stuck around long enough for the brand’s name and slogans to act as their own commonplaces. Maybe you unconsciously associate drinking the beverage with commonplaces such as wholesome family dinners, patriotic Fourth of July barbecues, or even successful first dates. All of these positive interactions derived from the company’s advertisements have the goal of profiting off of capturing life’s pleasurable moments with Coke at the center. Their slogans “Open Happiness” and “Taste the Feeling” capitalize on consumers’ emotions and implement the idea that drinking Coke will lead to instant happiness. I must also mention, the feeling of happiness is vague enough that neutralness and/or a lack of sadness, could easily be mistaken for it. This leaves the product scotch-free regardless of the actual amount of enjoyment derived from it. All they’ve had to do is offer up guaranteed “happiness” in a bottle, and then wait to see the profits. For example, when I first heard Taste the Feeling, I assumed the feeling being referred to was joy or just general satisfaction. Since Coca-Cola has already been confirmed to give its consumers happiness for years, I was led to make that assumption. So, the next time you reach for a cold red can on a hot summer day, think about if you actually want it for its taste, or if you’ve been conditioned to think that those two entities go together. Thank you for your time.

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.

Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.

Coca-Cola has been a product for well over a century; long enough for the brand’s name and slogans to act as their own commonplaces. This goes especially for me considering I’m from Georgia, where we take our Coke’s very seriously. Many Americans associate drinking the beverage with commonplaces such as wholesome family dinners, patriotic Fourth of July barbecues, or even successful first dates. All of these are positive interactions and I believe the company’s advertisements have the goal of profiting off of capturing these moments with Coke at the center. 

Take their two recent slogans “Open Happiness” and “Taste the Feeling” as examples. Open Happiness is the more easily perceivable of the two as far as capitalizing on emotions. Marketers are aware that achieving happiness is a primary goal for most, so, by offering guaranteed happiness in a bottle, they’re bound to see increases in profits. Furthermore, the feeling of happiness is vague enough that neutralness and/or a lack of sadness could be mistaken for it. This eaves the product scotch-free regardless of the actual amount of enjoyment derived from it. 

The company has since changed its slogan to be even more ambiguous. When I first heard Taste the Feeling, I assumed the feeling being referred to was joy or just general satisfaction. Since Coca-Cola has already been confirmed to give their consumers happiness for years, I was led to make that assumption. This is presumably due to the effects of the previous advertisements. With Coca-Cola’s current standing as a treasured product and drinking experience, advertisements and slogans like this are sure to continue into the future.