Semiotic Analysis of DRINK CocaColas Advertisement

Yusnia Sakti Nur Laili

As a final contemplation, the use of Mythology in the advertisement can be associated to todays Marxism, that an advertisement-indirectly-can symbolize and can be used to show the bourgouise authority in this modern life. However, it needs a profound and further research to intertwined Marxism and Mythology in this advertisement.
2010. Literary Criticism

Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Universitas brawijaay Literary CriticismWeekly Assignment 085648682886 yusniasakti@yahoo.c om 2010. Literary Criticism

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Semiotic Analysis of DRINK Coca-Colas Advertisement

The lifestyle of todays people has some unique features which embody tendency in how they undergo their life, and it represents a culture of their living world. This lifestyle includes many aspects from what they do, what they wear, and up to the simplest thing such as what they eat and drink. What they eat and drink here is in form of food and beverage which they choose as their main consumption in their everyday life. In this modern era, people demand something that they can eat and drink served up in fast and automatic without decrease its value-since time is moneythats why we have fast-food, vending machine, microwave, thru-drive restaurant, Starbucks, Mc Donald, and the most exotic beverage such as soft drink. Why does this soft drink become exotic? Because its existenc e create something unique through its flavor, shape, appearance and its sensation. It is a totally breakthrough. Soft drink is a cold drink that does not contain alcohol, and the most popular soft drink was first created in 1886 by Dr. Pemberton in Atlanta ; it is well-known as Coca Cola. Nowadays, Coca Cola becomes the worlds soft drink; people can find it everywhere across the universe, from China to Russia and even America to Africa.
2010. Literary Criticism

There are many ways for Coca Cola to promote its product around the world, one of them by using advertisement. Then, this essay will examine the Coca Colas advertisement since it is one of effective medium mesmerizing us as consumers to buy, moreover according to Dyer (McFall, 2004, p. 9) Advertisements do not simply manipulate us, inoculate us or reduce us to the status of objects; they create structures of meaning which sell commodities not for themselves as useful objects but in terms of ourselves as social beings in our different social relationships. Products are given exchange-value: ads translate statements about objects into statements about types of consumer and human relationships. (Dyer, 1982: 116) And supported by the citation above, this essay will put the Coca Cola advertisement for semiotic analysis of Barthes Mythology because the visual appearance is impressive and controversial. The Coca Cola advertisement that is going to be discussed here is actually not the real commercial ad made by the company but it was taken by Sharad Haksar, CEO of 1pointsize and an award winning advertising photographer. The advert is portrayed a wide red wall which has a written white text: DRINK Coca-Cola; then in front of the red wall, there is a blue hand-pump unused followed by light green vessel, yellow vessel, dark faded green vessel, orange vessel, an unused black tire with a yellow jerrycan in its ring; a type of fabric (possibly a sari) colored of white and green; and the image also give an effect of tree shadow so that there are leaves and branches shadows on the red wall.

2010. Literary Criticism

Mr. Haksar put it in a large billboard in one of Chennai's (one of India's largest cities) busiest areas. As a result, he was threatened with a lawsuit by the Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited; a subsidiary of the Atlanta based Coca -Cola Company. How come? Thats why; this also develops into one of the point why Barthess Mythology is going to be applied in analyzing the advertisement in this essay. Mythology in Barthes, is not dealing with something supernatural, superstitions, or ancient myth but Barthes myth is a system of communication, that it is a message ; it is a mode of signification, a form. Furthermore, Myth is not defined by th e objects of its message, but by the way in which it utters this message (Barthes, 1972, p. 107). As a result, this essay borrows Barthes notion which was stated in one of his Mythologies that is the Myth Today to exa mine Mr Haksars Coca Cola advertisement.

The bourgeoisie as a joint -stock company

In the Myth Today, Barthes made an illustration to explain about the shifting pattern between Language and MYTH 1, he then stated that: It can be seen that in myth there are two semiological systems, one of which is staggered in relation to the other: a linguistic system, the languageand myth itself, which I shall call meta -language, because it is a second language, in which one speaks about the first (Barthes Mythologies p. 113).
1

That the sign in language or linguistic system becomes the signifier in MYTH

2010. Literary Criticism

Thus, this notion can be applied in one of the sub -chapters in The Myth Today that is The bourgeoisie as a joint -stock company, he declared that, , whatever the technical, economic, or even social changes which history brings us, our society is still a bourgeois society. as an economic fact, the bourgeoisie is named without any difficulty: capitalism is openly professed. (Barthes, 1972: 137). Therefore, mythology can act as a medium for the bourgeois society to legalize their authority as a capitalist. Next, this essay will also use Barthes terminologies of connotation and denotation to tie up bet ween Mr. Haksars advertisement and the Coca Cola Company as the representation of universal capitalism . From Mr. Haksars advert, there are some categorizes which can be made in explaining and understanding denotative and connotative meaning: a) the colors, and b) the object
a) The colors

The colors of the adverts are the obvious visual element to attract the consumer, and in term of color Pastoureau says that there are six basic colors of Western culture (white, red, black, green, yellow, blue), and then the five second rank colors (gray, brown, purple, pink, orange) (Pastoureau, 2008, p. 12). In the advert there are some colors such as blue, green, yellow, black, white but the dominant color is red, it signifies that red has a major key in defining Coca Colas identity or in other words

2010. Literary Criticism

the denotative meaning of the color red will automatically reminds us to the Coke. Moreover, according to Flaminggo International, r ed is a powerful signifier of danger , power, lust, passion and evil, then the color red depict the power of the company -which symbolize the authority of bourgeois society- in dominating the world indirectly. Overall, the whole colors which used in the advert do not stand alone but it is a unity to show the western culture.
b) The object

There are some objects that appear in the advert such as unused water pump, some vessels, tire, jerrycan, fabric (sari), and shadow. These have correlation between the color and the object. The unused water pump is colored blue, it represents water, is followed by four color vesselslight green, yellow, dark faded green, orange -, an unused black tire with a yellow jerrycan on its ring. Besides that, there are trees shadow, a written text on the wall DRINK Coca-Cola and a sari. Just from the objects in the advertisement, it implies the identity and the condition about the advertisement. The fabric or sari represents a certain identity such as nation, country, and culture -it is India. The unused blue pump followed by vessels, and jerrycan represent a condition that implies there is a searching of water source but unfortunately there is no water left since no water splash left in the dusty path. The color black, according to Pastoureau (2008: 22) represents earth, while in the advert the unused tire is colored black. This may creates an assumption that the earth is unused
2010. Literary Criticism

in term of no water is left or produced by the earth; there is not hing to be done with the earth although many people hope a lot from it, while the jerrycan also create assumption that this is a r epresntation of peoples hope in waiting for the earth to prodeuce or supply water. The idea of the unused earth also supported by the tree shadow; leaves and branches shadows on the red wall indicates a season full of sun lights, perhaps a long dry season. Last, a big written text DRINK Coca-Cola on the wide red wall acts as if Coca Cola can replace water. As if, it wants to say, You dont need to queue up to drink Coca Cola, its everywhere and better than water. In the advert, the vessels look like queue to the unused water pump; embody that people have been standing in line with their ve ssels to wait the water but they will get nothing. Or in other words, Coca Cola does not care with the surrounding condition which need water supply, the Coca Co las industry is much more important that the envirioment issue which affected by the cokes company through its factory in India 2. Through this advertisment, perhaps Mr Haksar wants to reveal that a big company, such as Coca Cola, tries to exploit the th ird worlds people

Based on information from India Resource Center: The Kerala (one of the states in India) state s cabinet-through the tribunal-will consider claims of compensation from the Coca-Cola company relating to "water and air pollution, loss of agricultural crops and animals, diseases affecting human beings in the surrounding area due to the excess drawal and pollution of groundwater and surface water by the Company," according to the report accepted by the state government. The tribunal will also consider claims related to "loss of wages and loss of educational opportunities."

2010. Literary Criticism

and environment for their own benefit without concerning the harmful and damaging effect to the surrounding.
Conclusion

By using Barthes Mithology, single object such as an advertisement can apply as a medium to send a message to the people by showing its real value. Mr Haksar has understood this and he has managed it smartly and stylishly by bringing a controversial advertisement which extent the environment issue of water loss in India caused by Coca Cola company. It reveals, the Coca Colas capitalism toward the developing country such as India indirectly. As a final contemplation, the use of Mythology in the advertisement can be associated to todays Marxism, that an advertisement -indirectly-can symbolize and can be used to show th e bourgouise authority in this modern life. However, it needs a profound and further research to intertwined Marxism and Mythology in this advertisement.

2010. Literary Criticism

References
Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies (25 ed.). (J. C. Ltd, Trans.) New York: The Noonday Press. Flaminggo International (2006). Commitment to Irony: A Semiotic Analysis of Diesel Advertising. [On-line]. Available: www.flamingo-international.com Hornby, A.S. (1995). Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (5 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press India Resource Center. (2010) Government Moves to Claim $48 Million Compensation from Coca-Cola. [On-line]. Available:http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2010/1037.html McFall, L. (2004). Advertising: A Cultural Economy. London: Sage. Pastoureau, M. (2008). Black: the history of a color. (J. Gladding, Trans.) New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

2010. Literary Criticism