Like most people, I assume you all have cracked open a Coca-Cola at some point in your life and taken a refreshing swig. However, I will also make the safe assumption that most of you, like myself, have not given thought to the fact that the Coca-Cola company uses sustainability as a means of gaining consumers. What do I mean by this? In a billboard advertisement by the Coca-Cola brand, displayed is what appears to be plants across a billboard, only leaving a cutout for a Coca-Cola bottle in the middle, and the billboard states that is absorbs air pollutants. According to number seven and thirteen of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, affordable and clean energy, along with climate action, are two of the most important sustainability goals in our society currently. Although the billboard advertisement could very well be telling the truth in stating that it is absorbing pollutants, the Coca-Cola company itself released 5.17 tons of air pollutants in 2022 alone. This small billboard is not enough to fix the damage the company has caused in the years it has been the top soft drink company in the United States and probably the whole world. Another aspect of this advertisement that could be viewed as morally incorrect is the psychological persuasion used by the Coca-Cola brand in their advertisement. To the naked eye of an individual passing this billboard who does not care or think to do the research I just did, they might see this billboard and think, “Wow, this company is doing their part to help the environment.” It is not often that you see a billboard advertisement like this, after all. However, this billboard also serves the purpose of subconsciously associating air pollution sustainability with the Coca-Cola brand, giving onlookers without the time to further their perception on the advertisement a false impression of the company and it’s morals. Overall, this advertisement can be viewed as controversial, and provides a lot of information to consider.
Natalia, I really enjoyed your analysis of this advertisement campaign, especially that you emphasized the somewhat manipulative tactics used by the company to promote an image of sustainability which is not actually shown by the company’s actions. Your introduction is a great way to make the topic relatable to everyone, I can definitely say that I have had many a Coca-Cola in my life. The structure of your pitch also works nicely, with the ideas flowing from the ads original message of anti-pollution, to the UN’s sustainability goals, and finally to the analysis of the ad as controversial and not accurate to the company’s proven behavior. I’m looking forward to hearing your pitch on the controversial nature of this ad.
I really enjoyed how engaged you are with your audience when expressing your elevator pitch proposal. You walk your audience through every step of your analysis and keep us involved. Your argument is very telling of the manipulation tactics companies use to convince their buyers that they are helping the environment. Without a doubt, I would have been convinced Coca-Cola was doing right by the environment without the other data you provided. Thank goodness we are a Pepsi school!
I liked your take on the billboard. I appreciated how you were able to look beyond the false eco-friendly claims of the company, which could have been analyzed just as easily, and instead chose to dive into ethics. I agree that the ad can trick people. At the end when you state “Thank goodness we are a Pepsi school,” it adds a good balance of personal voice.
Well done! 🙂
I found this analysis to be extremely interesting and eye-opening. If I had saw that bill board I would have fallen victim to the misinformation you mentioned in the post, so I really enjoyed reading. I also enjoyed how you did research into the company of Coca-cola to find their air pollutant statistics.
Class Presentation:
Natalia’s presentation was very good. I loved the way she used polls in the beginning to help prove her point. Her delivery was also very good and it was clear that she was prepared. It was also prevalent that she is very passionate about the topic and the artifact.
Class Presentation:
I liked how your speech was so well written. The way you researched and broke down the billboard was exciting. The way you started your address and the switch was terrific—It’s exciting and a great choice of topic.
I like how you started off by asking the audience a question because this really engaged and got the crowd thinking about your artifact even before starting your speech. Your delivery was really nice because you were confident and knowledgeable about your topic. This artifact was interesting to interpret so I liked your interpretations of it. You provided intriguing factual evidence and this is important because it gives your pitch more strength. Overall, great pitch.
class presentation
I really liked this elevator pitch. The organization was great because it started as pro-Coca-Cola and how your artifact shows the “benefits” Coca-Cola does for the environment. But then discussed the irony within the billboard Coca-Cola produced. It shows that you are looking for deeper meanings and ideas. Also another idea that you can add is other companies doing the same thing and lying about their environmental actions.
Class Presentation:
Natalia, I really enjoyed your way of connecting the persuasiveness of this civic artifact to how companies get away with being environmentally unfriendly. I think it was a class comment, but this just had a really good way of demonstrating “green-washing.” I think this was another comment said in class, but it’s also interesting to see how this is more of systemic problem, since WWF decided to embrace Coca-Cola’s lie of their company supporting environmental protection. Great job!