The Future Of Advertising

Dyer (2009) defines the characteristic of communication as "its diversity - it ranges from the mass media and pop-culture, through language to individual and social behaviour". Advertisements influence our thoughts, feelings and lives. 

Controversial Advertising - Overstepping The Mark?

Controversial advertising - a controversial topic. When done for good, it's perfectly acceptable but sometimes it's done purely to make a scene. Take United Colors of Benetton  and in particular, the image above - this may cause offence to those still stuck in the dark ages but it certainly makes you sit up and pay attention, right?

Stereotypes In Advertising - Where Is The Line?

A little while back PepsiCo came under some fire in regards to an advert they released for Mountain Dew. This didn't make the rounds on social media as I expected it to. I only found out about it through my mother as evidently it did make some waves in Bermuda. 

Semiotics in Advertising

I will start with the definition of semiotics, though it is not actually a defined system. In simple terms, it is the analysis of meanings and signs within our culture. In the role of advertising, it is more specifically the analysis of meanings in advertisements. 

Beasley and Danesi describe the goal of semiotics in the study of advertising is to unmask the arrays of hidden meanings in the underlying level" (2002). 

Iain McRury defines semiotics as "the attempt to offer insights not just to what ads mean, but proposing how they mean" (2009). 


Umberto Eco (1976) views semiotics as a science in the traditional sense of the word for five reasons:

• it has an autonomous discipline 
• it has a set of standardised methodological tools 
• it has the capability of producing hypotheses
• it affords the possibility of making predictions
• its findings may lead to the modification of the actual state of the objective world.

In advertising, semiotics allow advertisers to identify the target market - it mostly plays on common references and cultural knowledge etc. 

Let's take a look at the latest advert from Flash celebrating their fifty years:

John Lewis Christmas Advert

Just like my Coca-Cola Christmas post a few posts ago, I am always astounded at the power of advertising in connection to Christmas. This time, it is all about John Lewis. As per every Christmas at this time of year there is a whole host of posts on Twitter and Facebook about the latest John Lewis Christmas advert! 

This year, it definitely didn't disappoint in terms of emotions. I cried re-watching it for this particular post. Actual tears. Over a snowman. Having said that, all the John Lewis adverts recently have made me well up - the "Never Knowingly Undersold" advert has me crying and clutching onto my boyfriend every time I see it. 

In case you're one of the few who haven't seen the new John Lewis Christmas campaign featuring the beautifully voiced Gabrielle Aplin as the singer I have posted the video below:

The Power and Branding of Coca-Cola

I have a confession. I, Phoebe, am truly, madly and deeply addicted to Coca-Cola. I don't care that it may not be the healthiest drink, it makes me feel complete. A little sad, I know. But I don't drink coffee, I rarely drink tea and I've never really been a fan of juice. 

I love Coke (I tried to stick to Coca-Cola so as not to be misconstrued with a certain illegal substance but screw it) to the point where I creepily feel a slither of pride when I see people drinking it. I love that it's sold everywhere and YES there absolutely is a major difference between the heavenly taste that is Coke and the rip-off that is Pepsi. 

A lot of people after a hard day of work look for a pint or glass of wine but me? I dream, literally dream of the sweet, sweet taste of fizzy cola. When I crave it I get an image of an ice cold glass of coke with a maraschino cherry, full of ice, dripping with condensation on a table between sun loungers by a pool in an exotic location. Intense. 

So now the level of my love for coke has been identified and I feel I can at least attempt the twelve steps (after I finish my bottle of course) I will get on with the point of this post. 

Holidays are Coming!

The latest Christmas coke advert has been released!! Hallelujah. Now it really feels like Christmas. That last sentence right there is what I want to discuss. I know I am not the only one that feels this way because every year everyone goes wild when the Coke ad makes its debut tweeting about how Christmas is officially here. 

Why do the Coke trucks and the infamous "Holidays are Coming" song inspire all of us to feel Coke = Christmas?

This is amazing branding. I mean, I know Coke are all about their Christmas cans and bottles and of course Coke have their very own Santa who is the most Santa-looking Santa I have ever seen.

I mean look at these bauble bottles!

But they've managed to create an annual campaign that just signifies the start of Christmas. My favourite part? They AT LEAST wait until November to air it. That particular pet hate of mine when it comes to retailers starting Christmas from August/September/October is another post for another time though. 

I don't really have an answer for this, it's not an issue to me and I'm shocked some sort of Jamie Oliver wannabe hasn't started some sort of petition against the significance Coke has to Christmas although I'm sure there will be some sort of campaign about how water should be the face of Christmas soon. I'll enjoy it while I can for the time being. 

I just thought I should share my views of how amazed and continually impressed I am with Coca-Cola's powerful branding. 

Now, where's that bottle of Coke of mine got to...?