This week Coca-Cola announced their new marketing shift. The ‘Taste of Feeling’ slogan guidelines its new strategy for a new reality. A market dictated by the millennials and its believes: hype, fun and of course, less soda! This new concept will replace the ‘Open Happiness’ that was ruling for the past 7 years in an effort to make people ditch some of the healthier choices that have been taking market share from the soda segment year after year.
I really liked the new shift. Having a Coke is a joyful experience. It’s comforting. It makes us forget about all the diet constraints that we have to remember every time we eat or drink something. It’s a call back to our infancy. It’s about the sound of the can being opened. It’s the frizz we hear when we pour it on a glass. It’s the bubbles jumping in our noses and popping in our tongues. It’s the rush we feel when we have the first sip that usually translate in tears in our eyes. Taste this feeling. Indulge yourself to a Coke once in a while. Why not?
‘Taste of Feeling’ also seems and sounds like ‘Taste of Filling’, so, fill it up with Coke buddy! That is the magic of really, really well written copy.
After this said and done, I would like to address what really blew my mind. The new line of ads for Coca-Cola is absolutely the ultimate collection of subliminal advertising. Yes, in 2016! I have been studying subliminal messaging for about 15 years now and I never saw something like that, specially released at the same time. The best examples from the 60s and 70s don’t even come close. It is incredibly sexual and strong.
It really amazes me how we can see such appeal decades after subliminal advertising became an issue in the industry and subject for a lot of study and debate. And also tell us that companies are willing to push whatever it takes to sell more. Even today.
Is this will become a factor? Do you think subliminal advertising are coming back? Do you think the soda industry is the new tobacco industry? There’s a lot of questions I still don’t know the answer, but I’m very curious to find out the answers.
If you don’t see (consciously) the subliminal sexual content Coca-Cola is explicating in this ads, I would love to discuss with you privately. Text me or send me an e-mail now.