SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Problem statement ........................................................................................................................................ 4
3. Globalization .................................................................................................................................................. 5
3.1 Americanization ....................................................................................................................................... 6
4. Culture ........................................................................................................................................................... 7
4.1 Generalization ..................................................................................................................................... 8
4.2 Stereotyping ........................................................................................................................................ 8
5. American Culture ........................................................................................................................................... 8
6. Danish Culture ............................................................................................................................................. 10
7. Business Profile - Coca Cola ......................................................................................................................... 12
7.1 Advertising ......................................................................................................................................... 13
7.2 Reasons to Believe ............................................................................................................................. 13
8. Method ........................................................................................................................................................ 14
8.1 Semiotics................................................................................................................................................ 14
8.1.1 Roland Barthes – Connotation and Denotation ................................................................................. 14
8.2 Hermeneutics ........................................................................................................................................ 16
8.3 Semiotics and Hermeneutics ................................................................................................................. 17
8.4 Empirical data – Coca Cola TV Commercials ......................................................................................... 18
8.5 Data Processing ..................................................................................................................................... 18
8.6 Delimitation ........................................................................................................................................... 19
8.7 Source Criticism ..................................................................................................................................... 20
9. Theory .......................................................................................................................................................... 21
9.1 Gillian Dyer ............................................................................................................................................ 21
9.1.1 Language......................................................................................................................................... 22
9.2 Geert Hofstede ...................................................................................................................................... 23
9.2.1 The ’Onion’ ..................................................................................................................................... 23
9.2.2 Dimensions of National Cultures .................................................................................................... 25
9.3 Standardization and Adaptation............................................................................................................ 27
9.4 Westernization ...................................................................................................................................... 28
10. Analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 30
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
10.1 Language.............................................................................................................................................. 30
10.2 Coca Cola American TV Commercial ................................................................................................... 31
10.2.1 Gillian Dyer ................................................................................................................................... 31
10.2.2 Hofstede ....................................................................................................................................... 34
10.2.3 Standardization, Adaptation and Westernization ........................................................................ 39
10.3 Coca Cola Danish TV-commercial ........................................................................................................ 41
10.3.1 Gillian Dyer ................................................................................................................................... 41
10.3.2 Geert Hofstede ............................................................................................................................. 43
10.3.3 Standardization, Adaptation and Westernization ........................................................................ 48
10.4 Coca Cola Global TV commercial ......................................................................................................... 50
10.4.1 Gillian Dyer ................................................................................................................................... 50
10.4.2 Hofstede ....................................................................................................................................... 52
10.4.3 Standardization, Adaptation and Westernization ........................................................................ 54
11. Discussion .................................................................................................................................................. 56
11.1 Scenes in The Commercials ................................................................................................................. 56
11.2 Cultural Values versus Coca Cola’s Own Values .................................................................................. 58
11.3 Be Global but Act Local? ...................................................................................................................... 61
12. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 63
13. Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 65
13. 1 Books .............................................................................................................................................. 65
13.2 Articles ............................................................................................................................................. 66
13. 3 Websites ......................................................................................................................................... 68
14. Appendix ........................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
14. 1 Hofstede’s National Dimensions – Appx. 1......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.2 Coca Cola - American TV Commercial – Appx. 2 ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.3 Coca Cola – American Transcription – Appx. 3 .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.4 Coca Cola – Danish TV Commercial – Appx. 4 ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.5 Coca Cola – Danish Transcription – Appx. 5 ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.6 Coca Cola – Global TV Commercial – Appx. 6 ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
14.7 Coca Cola – Global Transcription – Appx. 7 ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
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Side 2 af 69
SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
1. Introduction
Globalization has resulted in a world that has become more homogenized due to: ‘…the widening,
deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life, from
the cultural to the criminal, the financial to the spiritual’ (Held et al. 1999, 2). The homogenization of the
world’s population has primarily resulted from: ‘The increasing hegemony of particular central cultures
which bring all other cultures into their ambit through the diffusion of specific values, consumer goods and
lifestyles’ (Friedman 1994, 195). These central cultures generally originate from the US and the rest of the
countries in Western Europe and the hegemony thus relates to aspects such as Americanization and
Westernization. The two tendencies can be describes as: ‘The worldwide standardization of lifestyles’
(Latouche 1996, 3). It is argued that the American and Western lifestyles have a great influence on the rest
of the world and that this particular lifestyle ultimately becomes a homogenized global lifestyle.
This alleged homogenization of lifestyles has led to a marketing debate that revolves around the best way
to market across cultures. The two opposing approaches are called the adapted marketing approach and
the standardized marketing approach. As their names indicate, the first approach emphasizes that
businesses’ need to retain a cultural consideration in their marketing material and adapt the material to
address cultural differences (Mooij 2011; Usunier and Lee 2013). On the other hand, the standardized
approach emphasizes the possibility for businesses to standardize their marketing material and use the
same material across cultures (Fatt 1967; Levitt 1983). The different perspectives behind the two marketing
approaches acknowledge two different views on the importance of cultural considerations and ultimately
the existence of cultural differences.
The last perspective that renders a standardized marketing approach possible builds upon the spread of
global cultural goods and thus global brands. An example of a global brand is Coca Cola as it is possible to
find a Coca Cola in most countries worldwide (Tomlinson 1999, 83). This spread of global brands has let to
different tendencies that play on global brand names. An example of this is Coca-colonization which is
referred to as the increased replacement of local products with mass-produced global products with
Western origin in non-western countries (Howes 1996, 3).
The Coca Cola Company was established in the US in 1886 (The Coca-Cola Company 2014(1)). Coca Cola is a
brand that often emphasizes the social aspect of enjoying Coca Cola which is seen in the history of its
slogans (The Coca-Cola Company 2012(1)). Another example of the social aspect of its communication is
seen in its 2013 summer campaign ‘Share a Coke’ that: ‘…invited you to share a moment of happiness with
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
friends, family and loved ones’ (Coca Cola – GB 2014(2)). During the campaign, the Coca Cola logo was
swapped with names on small bottles, whereas the larger bottles featured the words ‘Friends’ and ‘Family’
as these were meant to be shared with loved ones (Coca Cola – GB 2014(2)). The campaign that will be the
focus in this project is called ‘Reasons to Believe’ and has been adapted to address cultural differences. This
indicates that Coca Cola is a global company that works locally in its many markets (The Coca-Cola
Company 2014(1)).
Taking the homogenization of cultural differences into consideration, one could wonder why Coca Cola as a
global brand and company spends time and money on the process of adapting its overall commercials and
thus creating many different versions that address cultural differences in the markets that Coca Cola
operates. This leads to the following problem statement:
2. Problem statement
Why does Coca Cola use an adapted marketing approach for its ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign when
cultural differences allegedly become less significant due to globalization?
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
3. Globalization
Globalization is a tendency with endless definitions, however, according to Anthony Giddens: ‘Globalization
can thus be defined as the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a
way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa’ (Giddens 1990,
64). Globalization can also be defined as: ‘…the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide
interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life, from the cultural to the criminal, the financial
to the spiritual’ (Held et al. 1999, 2), or as: ‘The rapidly developing and ever-densening network of
interconnections and interdependencies that characterize modern social life’ (Tomlinson 1999, 2). Though
the definitions differ, they all have something in common, they all describe the way in which the world is
shrinking and as a result thereof, how people all over the world become more interconnected and
interdependent.
Globalization can be divided into three dimensions, the first being material globalization which is the
movement of people, goods, information, and capital due to global transportation and communication
networks. The second dimension is spatio-temporal globalization which deals with the transformation of
time and space through cross-border networks that reduce transaction time, whereas the third dimension
is the cognitive globalization which deals with the transformation of awareness of how distant events and
local events increasingly influence each other (James and Tulloch 2010, 57-58).
Globalization concerns several aspects such as social, cultural, economic, technological, political and
environmental aspects which are evident in the three dimensions explained above (Tomlinson 1999, 13).
The material dimension can be seen as a social aspect, because it has become problem-free to travel across
the globe as well as to communicate with people all over the world through email, Skype etc. It can also be
seen as a cultural aspect due to the flow of cultural specific goods which influence the global consumer
culture. It also influences the economic aspect due to the flow of capital both between countries and
between global companies. The spatio-temporal dimension affects both social and economic aspects
because it influences the flow of information and capital, which has basically become possible due to the
technological development. The last dimension, the cognitive, concerns both the economic, political and
environmental aspects as distant events such as any disasters concerning pollution will affect the
environment, whereas natural disasters will affect the economy, because other countries need to donate
money in order to rebuild the affected areas. Last but not least, any distant political scandals or changes
will affect the rest of the world because of interconnectedness.
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
Globalization is believed to bring along a homogenization of the world’s population with it, especially due
to the flow of consumer goods that has a great influence on cultural consumption (Tomlinson 1999, 83). A
tendency that is connected to this homogenization is the Americanization in which the American culture
and goods influence the rest of the world. Americanization will be described in detail in the next section.
3.1 Americanization
The term ‘Americanization’ has been known for more than a century and the phenomenon came to Europe
in the 1850s. Since then there has been a lot of debate about it and its implication (Pells 1997, 7). According
to the Cambridge Online Dictionary to Americanize means: 'To become or make something typical of the US
or US culture’ (Cambridge University Press 2014). The Americanization thus means that American culture or
American habits become more and more embedded in other countries and cultures.
The first signs of Americanization were seen at the beginning of the 20th century and have made a deep
impression in Europe, especially after World War ll (Pells 1997, 8-9). America was often referred to as the
New World, and to many it was filled with opportunities they would not get in the Old World, Europe (Nye
2010, 15).
After World War ll, the American economical and technological superiority had a great influence on
European businesses, and they realized that if they were to be able to keep competing, they would
somehow have to adapt to the American way of doing business (Pells 1997, 192). The Americanization thus
became more widespread after the Second World War.
In the postwar period and onwards many young people in the European countries were also adapting to
American mass culture to a high degree by starting to wear the same clothes, listening to the same music,
and using the same language as they did in America (Pells 1997, 240). American TV series were shown in
Danish television, and the young Europeans adopted a lot of the American habits from them (Pells 1997,
240). Another reason why the American mass culture had gained acceptance, especially among the youth
of Europe, was the fact that more and more people became acquainted with the English language. In the
1990s, 83 percent of young Europeans studied the English language in school, and 70 percent of the 18-24
year olds spoke the language (Pells 1997, 241). American culture and the language had thus to some degree
been incorporated in the European countries.
On the other hand, people are not just talking about Americanization, but also Europeanization, meaning
that the European culture and consumer goods were also adopted by Americans. This was a phenomenon
especially taking place from the 1970s and onwards (Pells 1997, 279).
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
Even though the phenomena Americanization and Europeanization have only been known for
approximately one and a half century, the Europeanization already took place from the late 15th century
when Europeans invaded America and the original Native American cultures died out due to superiority of
the Europeans (Nye 2010, 12).
However, the clash of cultures can be headed in a bad direction that makes people oppose the new culture
they are introduced to. This is because the two cultures may be too different, which creates a greater
attachment towards their own culture, as the values in ones’ own culture become more obvious when they
are compared to another culture. For example, Richard Pells describes an episode with American students
coming to Europe to study abroad. Many of them got a whole new sight of themselves and the culture and
history of their country and got kind of protective towards it because the Europeans questioned it. In some
way they rediscovered their own culture and became more positive towards it than it had been the case at
home (Pells 1997, 150-151).
4. Culture
’A culture is any group of people that share a way of life’ (Kurylo 2013, 3). This is how Anastacia Kurylo
defines culture in her book Inter/Cultural Communication. Way of life includes the member’s language,
norms and values. These are the aspects of a culture that make up the member’s life (Kurylo 2013, 3).
Culture is more than gender, age and ethnicity which are the most visible significant categories you notice
when you meet new people. Therefore, it is important to look broadly at cultures because it allows you to
see subcultures you might otherwise have overlooked, such as subcultures based on religion, phases of life,
sexual orientation etc. (Kurylo 2013, 4).
You can have many identities depending on the surroundings, for example your language may be different
depending on whether you are talking to your parents or you are talking to your friends (Kurylo 2013, 4).
Therefore, your identities are shown through your communication (Kurylo 2013, 4). Kurylo defines
communication as: ‘The use of symbolic code to send messages and create meaning’ (Kurylo 2013, 4).
Symbol is another name for symbolic code, and symbols express meaning by using language and behavior.
Symbols are used to make interaction with other people easier. Imagine explaining love, freedom or justice
without using symbols, it would take much longer and be more difficult to express without symbols.
Symbols are used to express cultural experience with others, and culture can be expressed through symbols
(Kurylo 2013, 5). Therefore, people are able to discuss aspects of their own culture and to compare it with
other cultures (Kurylo 2013, 5).
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
4.1 Generalization
People use cultural symbols to generalize about other people’s way of life. You might assume that a person
wearing a cross is Christian and that this person has a strong belief in God and goes to church (Kurylo 2013,
6). Generalizations like this create assumptions regarding characteristics and behaviors that belong to a
percentage of the members of a certain cultural group. Generalizations can be used to write tourism books,
and at the same time help you to learn how to interact with people from another culture (Kurylo 2013, 67). This can also lead to stereotyping which depicts all people from one culture as homogeneous (Kurylo
2013, 6-7).
4.2 Stereotyping
As mentioned above, stereotyping is when you expect all people of one culture to be homogeneous (Kurylo
2013, 7). But people are unique individuals and every member of a culture does not necessarily share the
same way of life with the other members of that culture. Therefore, stereotyping can be problematic as it
can lead to inaccurate or false assumptions about people in a certain culture. These assumptions are called
prejudices. This is when you have a certain attitude towards specific people because they are members of a
subculture who are expected to have stereotypical behaviors that are associated with that subculture
(Kurylo 2013, 7).
5. American Culture
Christopher Columbus was the first man to discover the ‘New World’, America, in 1492. Many Europeans
had an idea that this New World was kind of a Utopia and a vast Garden of Eden (Nye 2010, 11). When the
Europeans came to America between the 16th and 18th centuries, they fought the Native Americans, took
over parts of the land and settled (Nye 2010, 22). A lot of the existing cultures of America died out because
of the surrender to the Europeans (Nye 2010, 12).
The US now consists of 50 states, whereas when the Europeans had settled, the country was divided up in
13 colonies or states (Nye 2010, 72-74). Today, there is an estimate of 320.5 million people living in the US,
and the number grows rapidly. Currently, the US is the third largest country in the world, only
outperformed by China and India (World Population Review 2014).
As distinct from Denmark, who has a monarchy, the US has a presidency, meaning that they have a
president instead of a king or a queen. The first president to rule the US was George Washington in 1789
(Nye 2010, 267).
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
Due to the invasion and mainly the European settlement of the US back in the days, the country is home to
lots of different nationalities today. The great immigration to the US through the years which is still present
is also a contributing factor to the multi-nationality that prevails in the country. In fact, nearly one million
immigrants come to the US every year (Nye 2010, 14). Due to the massive immigration, there is also a great
diversity within the cultures and religions of the US because people tend to keep parts of their original
culture alive when moving to another country. There are also different languages spoken in the US because
people tend to keep their original language as well. The US is thus a multi-cultural country with a
heterogeneous population (Nye 2010, 40- 41).
Though, in spite of the great national and cultural diversity within the US, when the terror attack took place
on September 11th 2001, the US population stood together with a feeling of one united national identity
(Nye 2010, 24). Another thing that unites the people of the US is sports such as baseball and football. When
watching a game aspects such as race, class and gender have no say, the people are united (Nye 2010, 228).
In the US there is an equality gap between women and men. For instance, women did not have the right to
vote until 1920 after a group of women had made up a Declaration of the Rights of Women in 1848 that
was an emanate of the Declaration of Independence (Nye 2010, 172-73). The women wanted to be of equal
ranking with the men. Also in the labor market there was, and still is, a gender inequality. Today, women
have entered leader positions but the majorities in these positions are still men, and men are still paid
much more than women. Women only earn about 60 percent of what men do (Nye 2010, 176). Women
have thus not won the fight for equality yet in spite of more than 60 years of fighting. Because of the
dominance of men in the labor market and in the leader positions, it is anticipated that most women are
still the bearing leader in the domestic scene.
In the labor market you also find inequality among races. For instance, the gap between Blacks and Whites
is particularly visible here. Black Americans are often the ones getting a lower pay, and they are also the
ones with the highest unemployment rate (Nye 2010, 170). Because of these facts, you might anticipate
that Blacks are often deselected for leader positions. This is most likely due to the slavery and bad
conditions for the Blacks in the past (Nye 2010, 170). However, today the US has a black president, so the
Blacks have gained greater equality to some extent.
The general US population is very individualistic, believing that everyone is the architect of his or her own
fortune (Nye 2010, 204-205). This means that the single individual has to take care of his or her own life.
Because of this individualistic view of life, the American tax rates are very different from for example the
Danish system. The Americans are not particularly fond of state aid programs, instead they see it as a
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
private matter, and therefore it is their own responsibility to pay for e.g. higher education, health care and
medical insurance (Nye 2010, 161). Though, they have some mandatory taxes to pay, and some of them are
regulated by the different states (Nye 2010, 161). The tax system thus copes with the American mentality
that you create your own luck, and you are the only one responsible for your own success in life.
As mentioned, the US is the third largest country in the world and it is often referred to as a superpower.
The US military is particularly strong and since the early 20th century; the US has been one of the great
powers of the world both due to its technological development and its military expansion (Nye 2010, 120121). Because of that many Americans have a great feeling of patriotism, and approximately 90 percent of
all Americans feel that they are very patriotic (Robbins 2013). Patriotism means being loyal to and believing
in the best in the country and in one's countrymen as well as it means believing in one’s country’s
superiority (Robbins 2013). This is presumably the reason why many Americans are so emotional towards
its military force, and this is another thing that may unite the heterogeneous people of the US.
6. Danish Culture
Denmark is geographically located in Northern Europe right above Germany and otherwise surrounded by
the remaining Scandinavian countries. Denmark is rather small and in the first quarter of 2014 the country’s
population was measured to approximately 5.6 million people (Danmarks Statistik 2014). This is practically
nothing compared to the 320.5 million Americans (World Population Review 2014). The Danish Monarchy
was originally an absolute monarchy until June 5th 1849 when the Danish Constitution was instituted and
thus Denmark became a constitutional monarchy (Jyllands-posten 2009). Today, the royal family is
financially supported by the Danish government in exchange for hosting official dinner parties and
inaugurating bridges and buildings. This also creates a social cohesion as the royal family creates a sense of
community that gathers all Danish citizens in solidarity and promotes the image of all Danes belonging to
one big family (Kirkebæk 2013, 10).
Another way, in which the Danish solidarity is depicted, is through the welfare state which is very influential
in many aspects of the Danish society, as it generates equality both financially and in terms of opportunities
such as education and health services (Rasmussen and Bank-Mikkelsen 2005, 19-20). In order to maintain a
well-functioning welfare state, it is necessary to have a progressive taxation. But why are Danes willing to
pay a large percentage of their income to the state in order for other people to receive social services? The
answer lies in the concept of nation building. The Danish state supports matters such as the national soccer
team, Danish film, music and theater, which creates a sense of solidarity and belonging as a Danish citizen.
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
This ultimately creates a we-feeling that results in wanting to pay for hospitalization for people they do not
know simply because the person is Danish (Kirkebæk 2013, 10-11). This we-feeling is also visible in the use
of the Danish flag which is commonly used by all Danes on a regular basis. Examples of this include having
the flag hanging in a flagpole in the garden on Sundays or when celebrating a birthday. Flags are also
present in the birthday cake or in the walkway leading to the house in which the birthday is held. The
Danish flag is thus often used in connection with different celebrations and can also be seen as a decoration
on the christmas tree or other decorations (Kirkebæk 2013, 19).
Denmark is a socially liberal country that values equality in all regards and women have been in leadership
positions for many years both in the public and private sector as well as in government (Cranfield 2000, 39).
It is also expected that men participate in all aspects of the household in terms of both raising children and
cleaning, basically Danish men have to live up to the traditional strong male ideal as well as the modern soft
ideal (Kirkebæk 2013, 58). When it comes to power distance, Danes are opposed to inequality which is
especially evident in the workplace where all employees are on first-name basis with superiors and the use
of second person singular pronoun is the most common in all communicative aspects even when
communicating with a stranger (Kirkebæk 2013, 29-31). The only use of the plural of politeness is when
addressing the royal family and might as well be completely abolished (Cranfield 2000, 73). When it comes
to equal rights for gay people, Denmark was the first country to allow civil unions for gay couples in 1989
and finally legalized gay marriage in 2012 (Fortin 2012).
The Danish population is oftentimes considered to be very homogenized as they in general have one
language, one religion and one common history. Next, several values that are seen as national values and
are thus rooted in the majority of Danes will be mentioned. One concept that is considered to be
fundamentally Danish, is the term ‘hygge’ which roughly translated means coziness but it is more of a
positive ambiance present in a social gathering (Cranfield 2000, 44). What is particularly important when
people gather to ‘hygge’ is to keep the gathering intimate to avoid it becoming impersonal and ruining the
casual atmosphere (Cranfield 2000, 72). ‘Hygge’ can be everything from getting a cup of coffee or a beer to
watching a movie or talking about Champions League – so the activity in itself is irrelevant but it is the
company that matters (Kirkebæk 2013, 39-40). Throughout the project, this positive ambiance will be
referred to as ‘hygge’ primarily in relation to the analysis of the Danish commercial.
In general, Danes are considered to be very down to earth and laid-back, which is seen in the positive
mentality that is ascribed to Danes. The relaxedness of Danes corresponds with the level of informality
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
among both friends and strangers. It is fascinating that the words ‘grine’ and ‘rar’ have the meaning
laughing and lovely in Denmark which emphasize the positive Danish approach to life whereas the words
have the negative meaning cry and strange in Norway (Cranfield 2000, 71). Danes are very humorous which
is seen in this short anecdote in which a guest arrived at a party that he was invited to join: “When I arrived
he looked very surprised, as if something was out of place and he asked me: ‘What are you doing here? You
are not on the guest list!’ Two seconds that seemed like hours went by. I just wanted to disappear from the
face of the earth…but then, with a broad smile on his face, my host added: ‘It’s just a joke, welcome to my
home!’”( Cranfield 2000, 27). This example is the essence of Danish humor and mentality which is evident
in all aspects of Danish culture, even in politics where a local politician once ran for election on the notion
of promising tailwind on all bikeways (Cranfield 2000, 54-55). Maybe this is why Danes are considered the
happiest people on earth (Kirkebæk 2013, 41).
One aspect of Danish culture that is quite unfortunate is the widespread nationalism that makes it difficult
for foreigners to become completely integrated in the Danish society and be thought of as Danes (Kirkebæk
2013, 13-15). The greatest implication of being accepted in the Danish society is the self-imposed visible
differences such as wearing a veil. This is something that most Danes are opposed to because it signals
diversity and lack of community (Kirkebæk 2013, 34). Therefore, in order to fully become a part of the
Danish society, it is important to share the Danish mentality and values.
7. Business Profile - Coca Cola
Coca Cola is a world famous American company that has existed since 1886. Coca Cola is aware of the fact
that the world is changing around us and ‘We must get ready for tomorrow today’ (The Coca-Cola Company
2014(1)). This is what Coca Cola’s 2020 Vision is all about, and it will create a long-term destination which
will give both Coca Cola and its partners an idea about where they are going (The Coca-Cola Company
2014(1)).
Coca Cola’s mission declares its purposes as a company. The mission is to refresh the world, to inspire
moments of optimism and happiness, to create value and to make a difference (The Coca-Cola Company
2014(1)). The vision describes what Coca Cola needs to reach in order to keep achieving sustainable, quality
growth (The Coca-Cola Company 2014(1)). The vision is to be a great workplace at which people are inspired
to do the best they can, to have a winning network, to be a responsible citizen, to maximize long-term
profit and to be a highly effective and fast-moving organization (The Coca-Cola Company 2014(1)).
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SIV English 2014
6th Semester
Aalborg University
Bachelor Project
May 28 2014
Cecilie Jensbye
Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
7.1 Advertising
Coca Cola has had many slogans through the years. The slogans, Coca Cola has used have reflected the time
period the slogans were made in. For example in 1906 in which the society in the United States was turning
away from alcoholic drinks and Coca Cola was a nice alternative, Coca Cola’s slogan was ‘The Great National
Temperance Beverage’ (The Coca-Cola Company 2012(1)). In 2003 the slogan was ‘Coca Cola… Real’.
According to Coca Cola, this slogan reflects genuine, authentic moments in life and the natural role Coca
Cola plays in them (The Coca-Cola Company 2012(1)).
On Coca Cola’s webpage it is possible to read about some of its slogans and to see a list of all the slogans
until the year 2009 in which Coca Cola changed its slogan to ‘Open Happiness’ (The Coca-Cola Company
2012(1)). Coca Cola also has a YouTube channel on which you can see some of the TV commercials that have
been sent around the globe for years (YouTube 2014(1)). All this gives a view of how big the brand really is
and what Coca Cola has done to make it a world famous brand.
7.2 Reasons to Believe
Coca Cola has made an advertising campaign ‘Reasons to Believe’. ‘And for every reason to doubt, there are
countless reasons to believe in a better tomorrow’ (Moye 2012). This is the message of Coca Cola’s
campaign, which highlights that despite all the bad things that are happening in the world like economic
uncertainty, natural disasters and so on, the good in today’s world outweighs it (Moye 2012). Coca Cola has
created many different videos in its ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign. Both commercials that have been
adapted to different countries but also commercials that are more standardized. It is two adapted and one
standardized commercial that will be analysed in order to gain knowledge about Coca Cola's marketing
strategy.
Coca Cola has created commercials to the Egypt market for Ramadan. In Greece, Italy and Spain the
commercial was adapted to the economic situation they were in and in the Philippines, Coca Cola created a
commercial to remind its consumers that there are plenty of reasons to be thankful.
The brand director for Coca Cola Lorna Sommerville says that ‘Reasons to Believe’ has been translated
across markets seamlessly because she believes that we are more alike than we are different in the world
(Moye 2012). She believes that because features that affect human truth are depicted in the commercials,
there are no boundaries for how far the idea can be taken (Moye 2012).
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Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
8. Method
The methodology will account for the theoretical and empirical choices we have made in the process of
answering our problem statement, as well as the scientific method used in this project.
8.1 Semiotics
This method will be used in a marketing perspective to help identify and define the usage of signs in
commercials.
Semiotics originates from ancient Greece and the word semiotics derives from the Greek word semeîon
(Jørgensen 1993, 15). Semiotics is the study of meaning-making through signs, where signs are to be
understood in a broad sense as this can both be written language, spoken language, pictures, gestures etc.,
thus everything is signifying something and has a meaning within a culture (Silverman 1983, 6). One of the
first scientists who worked with a semiotic framework was the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure
(Jørgensen 1993, 38). In his work with linguistics, Saussure defined semiotics as a science concerning signs
and how signs’ meanings are constructed. This was in a time in which semiotics was just thought of but not
fully developed into a science (Jøregensen 1995, 39).
According to Saussure, the sign is formed of two units, the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the
expression and the signified is the concept that it represents. The connection between signifier and
signified is arbitrary, and the sign is thus arbitrary (Silverman 1983, 6). For example, there are no further
reasons why a chair is defined as furniture but it is so because of the acceptance in the society of what is
meant when people talk about a chair. For example a chair’s signifier is stol in Danish. This also indicates
that the words get their meaning in contrast to other words, which makes it possible to distinguish words
from each other (Silverman 1983, 7). Saussure only worked with signifier and signified and the construction
of the meaning of signs. Roland Barthes took it one step further to the visual elements, such as for example
pictures and paintings.
8.1.1 Roland Barthes – Connotation and Denotation
Two important terms in Roland Barthes’ theory of semiotics are connotation and denotation (Silverman
1983, 25). Connotation is based on denotation where denotation is what you can identify without any
further thoughts, for example a description of a picture of a family eating dinner. The denotation would be
the people, the food and furniture that can be seen in the picture but nothing about who the people are or
why they are together (Silverman 1983, 238). Barthes focuses on second order signifying systems, which
are systems that are built on sign systems that already exist, this is what he refers to as connotation
(Silverman 1983, 26).
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Helle Mark
Jannie Schneider
As mentioned, this is a further development of Saussure’s semiotics which was based on signifier and
signified. Barthes’ development can be seen in the model underneath with connotation and denotation.
Figure 1, (Silverman 1983, 27)
As an example to Barthes definition, a photography that has been captured by the photographer only
creates meaning because of how it is taken and what the object is (Silverman 1983, 27). As seen in the
figure, the connotative sign is a composition of both parts of the denotative sign. This is also the meaning
or the meanings that have contributed to the connotative sign. The connotative sign is thus the associations
that the receiver gets through the denotative signs. For example, an American soldier who salutes the
American flag may generate the secondary meanings ‘patriotism’ and ‘militarism’.
To sum up, semiotics is about how signs’ meanings are constructed within a culture. Signs are understood
as everything that can be used in communication, both verbally and visually. Barthes uses the terms
signifier and signified, which Saussure defined, and the terms connotation and denotation, where
connotation is the secondary meaning, which is built upon the denotation. This is also an indication of that
the makers of for example commercials expect that the receivers understand the secondary meaning, the
connotation, of the signs they are using. It is very important that the receivers’ connotation of the
commercial is in accordance with the makers’ connotation of the commercial, otherwise there is a risk that
meaning will get lost in the interpretation of the commercial.
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8.2 Hermeneutics
The purpose of this project is to interpret and understand the chosen Coca Cola commercials. Therefore, it
is essential to acquire a thorough comprehension of the elements within the commercials in order to
determine the strategic marketing considerations behind the overall Coca Cola campaign ‘Reasons to
Believe’.
The term Hermeneutics originates from Greek terminology and means ‘to interpret’ (Pahuus 2012, 142). To
put it briefly, hermeneutics is a science of study based on interpretation and meaning and is thus well
suited for the purpose of this project (Pahuus 2012, 140). In the 1600s, hermeneutics was originally used to
describe methodical considerations in regards to texts, but in the 1800s, the philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey
broadened the use of hermeneutics to include all aspects of human activity and the products thereof
(Pahuus 2012, 142). This broadening of the scientific use has rendered it possible to use this science in
relation to this project as the central element in the commercials is human activity.
The hermeneutic science is for the most part distinguished as a circular character of interpretation, the socalled ‘hermeneutic circle’ or the more modern term ‘hermeneutic spiral’. The circular character is central
to the way in which people interpret aspects such as human activity, as the interpretation shifts between
an understanding of the individual parts and an understanding of the whole. Ultimately, when initiating an
interpretation of an activity, people have a pre-understanding of what the activity contains. However, when
the activity is investigated further, the interpretation changes and thus the overall understanding of the
activity changes (Pahuus 2012, 145-47). As for this project, we start out with a pre-understanding of which
marketing considerations Coca Cola has in regards to its campaign. However, as we work through the
commercials and further analyze them, our interpretation of the considerations behind the campaign may
change and hereby create a new pre-understanding.
This circular character is also present in terms of observing the activity or text in relation to a larger entity
such as the author or producer of a text. Here, people might have a pre-understanding in regards to two
books written by the same author, as there is a certain expectation of the main themes in the books
(Pahuus 2012, 147). In our project, we have a pre-understanding of what to expect of Coca Cola’s
commercials in terms of main themes and the values emphasized during the commercials. Again, the
interpretation may change all the while watching the first commercial and it then becomes the basis of a
new pre-understanding prior to watching the second commercial and so on. Ultimately, through these
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Jannie Schneider
circular characters, we should be able to get a greater interpretation of the commercials and the
considerations behind the making of the commercials.
An aspect that is relevant to consider in terms of hermeneutics and interpretation in general is the horizon
of understanding, which differs in terms of individual qualifications. A text or activity can thus be
interpreted in many different ways depending on the individual’s perspective on the matter (Pahuus 2012,
154-55). As for this project, our basis for interpreting the Coca Cola commercials is based on our individual
values and on our Danish heritage. Therefore, the interpretation and the results that we conclude hereof
are very subjective and might differ tremendously from the way in which a group of American students
might interpret the commercials. Therefore, there is no right interpretation of the commercials, and our
interpretation is thus one of many.
8.3 Semiotics and Hermeneutics
In this section, the enablement of the scientifically combination of semiotics and hermeneutics will be
described. Both semiotics and hermeneutics indicate that the world is created by human experience and
the phenomena that the world consists of are not given a specific meaning beforehand. The meaning is not
given until the moment when a human interaction with the phenomenon appears. Consequently, both
sciences are based on a subjective standpoint and the constant interpretation of things that surround us.
Ultimately, the two sciences share an ontological basis as they both reject the possibility of an objective
interpretation as the basis for understanding reality.
The two sciences do not only share an ontological perspective but also an epistemological perspective in
which semiotics share the hermeneutics approach to interpretation which is based on the distance that
exists between the interpreter and reality. Therefore, the way in which people interpret certain aspects
depend on their current knowledge regarding the specific subject. As mentioned earlier, this means that
two people can interpret a single aspect in two very different ways depending on their individual
knowledge.
Last but not least, the two sciences are very detail oriented as they both advocate that all aspects have a
deeper meaning than meets the eye. The difference between the two sciences is thus that hermeneutics is
based on a circular character of interpretation that shifts between an understanding of the individual parts
and an understanding of the whole, whereas semiotics is based on an understanding of the construction of
the overall meaning.
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8.4 Empirical data – Coca Cola TV Commercials
Three TV commercials from Coca Cola’s ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign have been chosen as the empirical
data to give an impression of how Coca Cola advertises and whether the company uses a standardized or
adapted marketing strategy when promoting its product, the soft drink Coke, in different countries. The
first commercial has been shown in Denmark, the second in the US and the third is a special digital version
that is more universal (YouTube 20141-2 ; YouTube 2013).
All three commercials have similar structures, in which different clips are shown simultaneously with a
matching text. First, a negative message is presented followed by a positive message putting the negative
aspect in perspective. For example, one of the negative messages illustrates people displaying hatred while
the counterpart message emphasizes that meanwhile 5.000 people are celebrating love. This is depicted by
a man throwing rocks against a car, and the celebration of love is pictured by a homosexual couple getting
married. All three commercials use the soundtrack ‘You’ve Got the Love’, which is sung by children in the
Danish version and the American version whereas Milly Pye, a British singer-songwriter, is singing in the
universal version (Holmes 2014).
The Danish and the American commercials are to some extent different but at the same time they do have
several clips in common that show universal happenings. Each of the two commercials illustrates cultural
specific clips which will be further illustrated in the analysis. In the Danish commercial, for instance, there
are clips picturing and describing aspects such as the bad rainy weather, and Danes being the happiest
people in the world (Appx.4, 11-12). In the American version, a clip of tanks emphasizing the American
military power is depicted (Appx.2, 3-4).
The last commercial, the universal one, illustrates more worldwide aspects such as volunteer work in Africa,
long days in the office, natural disasters, embarrassing tags and people embracing life (Appx.6). These clips
are more general in the sense that the elements in the commercial can happen all over the world and thus
appeal to most cultures and countries.
8.5 Data Processing
Semiotics and hermeneutics are our fundamental methodological choices. They both emphasize a
subjective view of reality, as both sciences believe that people constantly interpret and try to create
meaning of things around them. Therefore, this has been chosen as the underlying sciences in the process
of interpreting the meaning of the signs in Coca Cola’s commercials and thus be able to answer the
problem statement.
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Our empirical data which consists of three Coca Cola TV commercials and the theoretical processing of
these will be the basis of our analysis and discussion. The findings from the analysis and the discussion lead
to the answering of our problem statement. To identify the most important information within the
empirical data, this needs to be analyzed thoroughly. To do this, we have used Gillian Dyer’s theory about
the non-verbal communication to begin with, which we found highly relevant in order to bring out the
visual elements from the three commercials, as the theory emphasizes appearance, manner and activity in
commercials. Hereafter, the visual findings will be analyzed more in depth by the use of Hofstede’s ‘Onion’
theory and his theory regarding national cultural dimensions to shed light on the more cultural aspects of
the three commercials. Hofstede’s theories thus emphasize the findings of symbols, heroes, rituals and
values as well as the findings of power distance, femininity/masculinity and collectivism/individualism
within a certain culture. These elements will be further touched upon later on in this paper.
To investigate the possible standardized or adapted marketing features within the Coca Cola commercials,
we have used the theories of Mooij, Usunier and Lee and Fatt and Levitt, as they emphasize either an
adapted marketing strategy or a standardized marketing strategy. These theories have been used to come
closer to an understanding about which strategy Coca Cola uses throughout the commercials used in its
‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign. The last theory used is about Westernization. This theory has been used to
shed light on the more cultural aspects that could also follow the standardized or adapted approach that
will be found within the commercials. The theory about westernization emphasizes the more cultural
approach to globalization, and therefore it is important to include as globalization and westernization have
a great influence on which marketing strategy a company should choose.
The findings from the analyses of the three Coca Cola commercials are further touched upon in the
discussion. In these, the means, values and adapted or standardized strategy used throughout the three
commercials are discussed to reach an understanding of Coca Cola’s choice of marketing strategy within its
campaign ‘Reasons to Believe’.
8.6 Delimitation
In our project, we have decided to use three different commercials from Coca Cola’s campaign ‘Reasons to
Believe’ in order to illustrate its use of an adapted marketing strategy. The chosen commercials include
versions adapted to both Denmark and the US, as well as a universal version with no cultural specific
recipients. We chose the universal version in order to illustrate the possibility of using a standardized
commercial that could probably address a large geographical area and thus be seen in multiple countries.
The Danish commercial and the American commercial were chosen to illustrate the cultural specific
elements and thereby demonstrate examples of the adapted marketing strategy that Coca Cola claims to
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be using. The choice of these particular commercials originates from a certain degree of knowledge
regarding the specific cultures. Simultaneously, we chose two cultures that are similar in some areas which
opened the possibility of exploring the use of a standardized approach to marketing. On the other hand, we
could have chosen to use the US version in opposition to an Egyptian version in order to further explore the
adapted marketing strategy. However, we found it most beneficial to choose versions addressed towards
two western countries in order to open the debate regarding its current marketing strategy and whether or
not this is the most beneficial marketing strategy for a global brand such as Coca Cola.
As for Hofstede, we chose to focus exclusively on the first three of his five national dimensions of culture,
this being power distance, masculinity vs. femininity, and individualism vs. collectivism, as we did not find
the last two dimensions relevant in regards to our empirical data. This is because of the extensive social
aspect of the commercial to which the two last dimensions do not correspond. Simultaneously, the fifth
dimension, long vs. short term orientation, has been added to Hofstede’s dimensions at a later time upon
request from Michael Bond, who worked at the Chinese University in Hong Kong (Hofstede and Hofstede
2005, 29). Bond felt that Hofstede’s original theory was inadequate and the fourth dimension, uncertainty
avoidance, was irrelevant to the Chinese population which he based on a Chinese Values Survey
(McSweeney 2002, 106). Furthermore, the fifth dimension was partly based on replications of data from
Hofstede’s original data, including Denmark, and thus the Danish score is merely an estimate (Hofstede and
Hofstede 2005, 210-11). Therefore, it is possible to argue that uncertainty avoidance can be deemed
irrelevant for other national cultures as well, and that the short and long term orientation dimension is only
relevant in regards to the Chinese national culture.
Gillian Dyer’s theory is very comprehensive and thus we have singled out several aspects that we found
especially relevant for the purpose of our analysis. The chosen elements are described in detail in the
appertaining paragraph.
8.7 Source Criticism
Throughout this project, we have been critical of all our sources. Therefore we use primary sources
regarding all theories. We have thus taken into account the standpoints of the individual theorists as this is
essential in connection with their theoretical approaches and statements. The majority of the theorists
used in our project are functionalists which their approaches to their respective theoretical fields are
marked by.
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Take for example Mooij and Usunier and Lee, they are all advocates for the adapted marketing strategy and
all approach the subject from a functionalist standpoint which results in a more generalizing view on the
use of an adapted marketing strategy. This approach also has a tendency to produce stereotypes and these
theorists thus have a tendency to assume that if their theory is valid in one instance, then it is valid in all
instances. The same goes for Hofstede as he approaches culture from a functionalist perspective and his
theory on national cultures thus generate stereotypical generalizations regarding national culture.
Many theorists have different approaches to the same academic subjects and thus contradict each others’
theories. We found that the theorists that we have chosen and their approaches fit well with our empirical
data and the purpose of our project. Though, we are aware of that the functionalist approach behind the
theories is one of many approaches and we continually take this into account when we apply the theories
to our empirical data since there are multiple ways of understanding the theoretical framework.
9. Theory
Several theories have been chosen in order to analyze our empirical data. Firstly Gillian Dyer’s theory about
techniques and effects in the commercials will be used, as her theory about text will analyses the textual
elements in the commercial. Secondly Hofstede’s Onion and his national dimension theory have been
selected to analyze symbols, rituals, heroes and values in the commercials, together with the national
dimension. Lastly theories about standardized, adapted and westernized marketing have been chosen to
analyze which approach Coca Cola uses in its advertisement.
9.1 Gillian Dyer
To our analysis of the TV advertisements from Coca Cola, we have chosen to use Gillian Dyer’s theory to
analyze the verbal and non-verbal communication. As spectators, our attention is often immediately drawn
to the human aspect in an advertisement. Therefore, it is a clever technique to use a typical or stereotyped
customer in advertisements. This is also one of the most successful ways of gaining the consumers’
attention (Dyer 1995, 96). By using characteristic scenes, the adverts draw the customers’ attention and in
this way let him or her identify with what is said or done (Dyer 1995, 96). To understand the messages
advertisements ought to send, the culture can have an influence on people’s interpretation. So to fully
understand the meaning, you need to refer to a specific situation or context within a culture (Dyer 1995,
97). It is necessary to define what the principle non-verbal means to understand the meaning of ads in
which human subjects are used (Dyer 1995, 97). For example, to be able to understand the meaning of
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Coca Cola’s TV commercials in its ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign. Dyer divides these means into three areas
appearance, manner and activity (Dyer 1995, 97).
Appearance includes age, gender, national and racial, body, size and looks. The appearances of the human
subjects used in the commercials are important to how people identify themselves with the commercial
and how they view the product. Dyer argues that gender is often represented stereotypically in accordance
with the culture the ad appears in (Dyer 1995, 97). To give an example, she says: ‘Women are shown as very
feminine, as ‘sex objects’, as housewives, mothers, homemakers; and men in situations of authority and
dominance over women’ (Dyer 1995, 97-98).
Manner shows how the people in a commercial feel and behave. For example, this can be seen by looking
at facial expressions which are often in accordance with the emotions that the sender wants to show in
connection with the brand reputation (Dyer 1995, 99). It can also be about eye-contact that can show
different emotions, for example love. The pose of the people in the commercial can also correspond to
expression. Social positions and status can also be shown by the poses that the people in the commercial
can take (Dyer 1995, 100).
Activity is what the people in the commercial are doing (Dyer 1995, 101). For example, people who are
hugging each other can signify love and care. It can also be people holding hands which are often an
interaction between a man and a woman. The body movement is simply directed to the person’s act, for
example people who are partying or swimming.
9.1.1 Language
Gillian Dyer argues that 'the language of ads is sometimes more important than the visual aspect' (Dyer
1995, 139). Advertising language is used to attract our attention. Some choose to use different and
controversial language in unusual ways and others use simple and straightforward language (Dyer 1995,
139). Both ways have pros and cons. Some use the language to create new words and use words out of
context to gain attention. The language in commercials is often very informal and colloquial and addresses
the consumers directly. Words can also be used to create a feeling about what is being described (Dyer
1995, 140). Words are not only used to describe things but also to create feelings and ideas in the receivers’
minds, for example by describing things that the consumer can relate to (Dyer 1995, 140).
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Brand name is another important issue of language as it both communicates denotatively and
connotatively because of the meaning that often lies behind a good brand name (Dyer 1995, 141). The
brand name should do more than just identify the product; it should also create some other associations.
For example, Coca Cola is often associated with community and happiness (Dyer 1995, 141).
9.2 Geert Hofstede
Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher in the field of management and culture, defines culture as: ‘The
collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people
from others’ (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 4). He takes a functionalist approach to culture which is evident
in his cultural theories and particularly noticeable in the results of his study on cultural dimensions
(Askehave and Norlyk 2006, 10-11).
The functionalist approach provides an overall insight into cultural differences as it is based on patterns of
expected behavior. A country or nationality is viewed as belonging to one single culture and the members
are thus expected to be homogeneous with similar values, thoughts and behaviors. Consequently, national
patterns are basically predictive tendencies that oftentimes result in stereotyping with no consideration of
diversity. The functionalist approach is a practical approach that focuses on contrasts and results in
accessible findings that are very useful in a business context (Askehave and Norlyk 2006, 9-13). Due to its
superficial nature, this approach and thereby Hofstede’s research have been exposed to a lot of criticism.
The criticism concerns the dimensions of national culture and it will be elaborated concurrently with the
description of the theory.
Hofstede’s theories, the ‘Onion’ and the dimensions of national culture, have been chosen to illustrate the
cultural aspects in the Coca Cola advertisements because the functionalist approach is most commonly
used in the business world. Therefore, it is expected that Coca Cola has used the functionalist approach in
the construction of its advertisements. Hofstede’s two theories are further explained below.
9.2.1 The ’Onion’
The ‘Onion’ is a theory used to describe manifestations of culture at different levels of depth. The theory
resembles the layers of an onion, and how ingrained the different layers are when it comes to culture. It is
based on four different layers: symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Symbols represent the most superficial
layer whereas values are the deepest manifestations of culture. The first three layers are labeled as
practices and are visible both to insiders and outsiders but the importance and the cultural meaning behind
the practices are only known to insiders. Take for example the way in which Danes use the Danish flag, an
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outsider will be aware of the flag but unaware of what the flag represents. Here, a Dane will automatically
connect the flag with a celebration of some kind (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 6-8).
Figure 1: The ‘Onion’: Manifestations of culture at different levels of depth (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 7).
Symbols represent elements that carry different meanings for different cultures such as words, gestures,
pictures, dress, hairstyles, flags, status symbols, and other objects. The Danish flag for example is not only
seen as a symbol of nationality but also a symbol of celebration. Symbols represent the most superficial
layer of culture because symbols are regularly replaced as well as copied by others (Hofstede and Hofstede
2005, 7).
Heroes represent persons who are considered role models in a culture due to highly cherished personality
traits, both physical and psychological. Heroes can both be real or imaginary and alive or dead (Hofstede
and Hofstede 2005, 7). For Europeans, Cristiano Ronaldo would be considered a hero due to his success in
the Spanish soccer league.
Rituals represent social activities that are seen as essential within a culture but seem rather redundant to
outsiders. This includes greetings, social and religious ceremonies, ways of doing business and the way
language is used in text and talk (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 8). Examples of this could be the way in
which different cultures greet each other whether it is a bow, a handshake or a kiss on each cheek or how a
wedding ceremony ends, it can both happen with breaking a glass followed by the traditional ‘Mazel tov’ or
with jumping the broom.
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Values represent fundamental feelings about what is considered positive and negative. These feelings
consist of evil vs. good, moral vs. immoral, ethical vs. unethical etc. An example would be whether a culture
finds eating pork forbidden or permitted. As values are the core of culture, these are acquired early on in
life and primarily through family (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 8-9).
9.2.2 Dimensions of National Cultures
In the 1970s, Hofstede developed four of his current five cultural dimensions, which represent basic
problem areas that are present worldwide and correspond with the different dimensions of culture and
thus national values as they influence societies, groups and individuals (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 2223).
Hofstede’s theory on national cultural dimensions has been heavily criticized due to the research method
used to gather the data and the validity of the results. His theory has been considered unrepresentative as
the number of questionnaires that the theory is based on is too low which makes it impossible to make any
conclusions concerning national culture (McSweeney 2002, 94-95). This was followed by a critique of the
narrowness within the respondents as they all worked for the same company and exclusively worked in
sales and marketing and therefore belonged to the middle class, which makes up a very limited segment of
the national population (McSweeney 2002, 95, 101).
As for the actual theory, Hofstede has been criticized for creating sophisticated stereotypes that are based
on theoretical concepts or dimensions and unlike traditional stereotypes avoid any use of negative
attributions. This type of stereotyping is most useful in the initial stages of understanding cultures as it is
based on an etic approach, providing an outside perspective by comparing cultures, and thus puts countries
into boxes of dimensions. This results in a superficial description ignoring cultural differences within a
culture (Osland and Bird 2000). This disregards the likeliness that a national culture posses values from
both of the paired dimensions in different contexts, for example both masculine and feminine values
(Osland and Bird 2000). The central sufficiency is the lack of consideration of context specific values which
applies both within the paired dimensions but also across dimensions (Osland and Bird 2000). Furthermore,
the theory deals with national culture which expects a population to be completely homogenous which is
impossible and therefore the national culture does not apply on an individual level. Last but not least,
national culture is seen as constant and free of contradiction or change which is problematic as the theory
is oftentimes seen as outdated since it was developed in the 1970s (McSweeney 2013). In our use of
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Hofstede’s theory on national culture, we will take the limitations into consideration during the analysis of
the cultural aspects of the Coca Cola commercials.
Power Distance
Hofstede defines power distance as: ‘The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and
organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally’ (Hofstede and
Hofstede 2005, 46). Here, institutions represent the family, the school and the community, whereas
organizations represent the workplace. As such, both institutions and organizations are related to society
(Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 46).
In countries with a small power distance, people do not generally tolerate inequality either in the
workplace, in the school or in the family. A typical situation in the workplace would be for the sales
assistant to be on first name basis with the chief executive and to be able to contribute with ideas in the
work process. Conversely, countries with a high power distance accept and value inequality and consider
respect extremely important which is evident in formal communication in the workplace. Respect is also
evident in the family as the children are expected to follow the parent’s orders (Hofstede and Hofstede
2005, 45-58). However, most countries are placed relatively close to the middle of the spectrum. Therefore,
they do not completely accept or completely reject inequality. To follow up on the criticism of the theory,
the acceptance of inequality is often context specific. Therefore, an individual may support equality in
society but still accept inequality in the relationship between himself and the CEO of the company he works
for (Osland and Bird 2000).
Individualism versus Collectivism
Hofstede defines individualism as: ‘Societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is
expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family’ (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 76).
On the other hand, he defines collectivist societies as: ‘Societies in which people from birth onward are
integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetimes continue to protect them in
exchange for unquestioned loyalty’ (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 76). In individualistic societies, the focus
is on ‘I’ and the immediate family, parents and siblings, in which the interest of the individual is put before
the interest of the group. On the opposite, collectivist societies focus on ‘we’ as family is seen to include
the extended family, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and the interest of the group is thus put before the
interest of the individual (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 76-103). This dimension is also context specific
according to the critics. This is for example seen in the US which, according to Hofstede, is a very
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individualistic country, but when it comes to donating to charity, Americans are more than willing to
donate both time and money which corresponds with collectivism (Osland and Bird 2000, 71).
Masculinity versus Femininity
Hofstede defines a society as masculine: ‘When emotional gender roles are clearly distinct: men are
supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success, whereas women are supposed to be more
modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life’ (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 120). On the contrary,
societies are defined as feminine: ‘When emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are
supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life’ (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 120).
Masculine societies are in line with the traditional distribution of gender roles in which men are supposed
to be concerned with financial achievements outside the home, whereas the female concern is within the
four walls of the home where she is expected to take care of cleaning, children etc. The more modern
distribution corresponds with feminine societies in which men take part in nurturance. This is evident in the
tendency of men taking maternity leave and women returning to work (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005, 11718).
9.3 Standardization and Adaptation
Globalization has contributed to make it easier for international companies to do business across borders.
However, it can be necessary for companies to use different strategies for individual markets as there for
instance are different cultures to take into consideration. In other words, the companies have to consider
whether to use a standardized or an adapted strategy for their international markets (Andersen 2011, 661).
There are several theorists who advocate either the standardized strategy or the adapted strategy.
Theorists that will be used in this case are Arthur C. Fatt and Theodore Levitt who both advocate the
standardized approach, whereas Marieke de Mooij and Usunier and Lee are all advocates of the adapted
approach.
According to Arthur C. Fatt, who is a top advertising executive and advocate of universal appeal, it is a
waste of time to change an advertising idea when it has been a success in one country (Fatt 1967). Marieke
de Mooij disagrees, because ‘There may be global products, but there are no global people. There may be
global brands, but there are no global motives for buying these brands’ (Mooij 2011, 17). Mooij does not
believe that it is possible to standardize advertisements, even though it has been a success in one market,
because there are no global consumers. Usunier and Lee agree with this and believe that companies should
adapt their communication to different countries (Usunier and Lee 2013, 220). This is among other things
because of different cultures. Mooij argues that it is important to know the culture in the country you are
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approaching to create a successful adapted approach (Mooij 2011, 3). Levitt on the other hand believes
that companies should see the world as one market. It is not necessary to do research for differences in
various markets because the world’s preferences become more and more alike. The world is becoming
more homogenized due to globalization and cultural differences are thus closing in (Levitt 1983, 1-2).
Standardization requires lower costs than adapted communication, as adaptation needs more research
(Levitt 1983, 1-2).
Mooij argues that communication cannot just be translated from one language to another. Meaning may
get lost in the translation, and therefore, it has to be adapted to the specific culture in a way that will make
sense to the consumers (Mooij 2011, 6). Arthur C. Fatt agrees with this to some extent. He argues that the
advertisement should be translated into every nation’s language and that the message of course must be
understandable, otherwise it is a waste of time if the consumer does not understand the meaning in the
advertisement (Fatt 1967).
9.4 Westernization
As mentioned, globalization can be defined as ’The intensification of worldwide social relations which link
distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and
vice versa’ (Giddens 1990, 64). Westernization then relates to the cultural aspect of globalization.
Westernization is a theory regarding the thought of a global culture that is primarily dominated by the
western cultural values which basically creates global uniformity (Tomlinson 1999, 80, 89). Latouche
describes westernization as: ‘The worldwide standardization of lifestyles’ (Latouche 1996, 3), whereas
Friedman describes it as: ‘The increasing hegemony of particular central cultures which bring all other
cultures into their ambit through the diffusion of specific values, consumer goods and lifestyles’ (Friedman
1994, 195).
So basically the way in which westernization influences the world is for example through the spread of
languages such as English which became the first lingua franca, a common second language between
different nationalities (Tomlinson 1999, 89; James and Tulloch 2010, 214). As English is a lingua franca, it is
more or less expected that people all over the world understand and are able to speak English, which
means that a large proportion of the global communication and especially media communication will be
conducted in English. Worst case scenario, this means that the languages spoken by a small minority of the
world’s population will eventually become extinct as they adapt to the western culture (James and Tulloch
2010, 210; Tomlinson 1999, 78). Other aspects that westernization has an influence on include clothes,
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food, music, movies, television and architectural forms (Tomlinson 1999, 83, 89). Take for example the
architectural revolution of the skyscraper which was initiated in the US with the successful construction of
the Singer Building in New York in 1908. Today, skyscrapers are present all over the world (Cooperstein
2013). In terms of music, the Danish-Norwegian group Aqua quickly became popular in the rest of Europe,
America, Australia and Japan which underpins the western influence on the rest of the world (Aqua 2014).
When it comes to motion pictures, Hollywood is impossible to ignore as it is the world’s capital of movie
and television productions, and the majority of the productions are spread across the globe due to western
influences.
On the other hand, western cultural values and positions regarding human rights, personal liberty,
democracy, gender and sexuality, religion and other aspects have also had a great influence on the rest of
the world. Today, most countries are ruled by democracy and have strict rules concerning human rights to
improve living conditions (Tomlinson 1999, 89). The most visible aspect of westernization is though western
consumer culture which concerns the spread of global cultural goods and thus global brands. These global
brands especially concern food, beverages and clothes such as McDonalds, Coca Cola, Calvin Klein, Levis,
Nike etc. (Tomlinson 1999, 83). These brands have basically become the essence of western cultural
hegemony and consequently, synonyms to this tendency such as Coca-colonization have emerged
(Tomlinson 1999, 83). Coca-colonization is referred to as the increased replacement of local products with
mass-produced, global products with western origin in non-western countries (Howes 1996, 3). Howes
claims that this tendency will eventually destroy cultural diversity and that: ‘we will one day live in a world
in which everyone has access to and consumes the same things. No matter where you go in the world, there
will be a McDonald’s restaurant, Hollywood movies, Adidas running shoes, and an American Express Office’
(Howes 1996, 179).
This critique is followed up by Latouche, who believes that this standardization imposes a: ‘one-dimensional
conformist way of living and behaving on the ruins of abandoned culture’ (Latouche 1996, 3). This view is
also shared by Tomlinson as he describes westernization as ‘a tendency that ignores, obscures, and
represses the rich diversity of non-western cultures’ (Tomlinson 1999, 89). So what they mean is that the
westernization is so powerful that smaller cultures are being destroyed and forgotten.
Ultimately, westernization has both positive and negative influences on the non-western cultures as the
tendency can both help improve aspects of non-western cultures as well as ruin the authenticity of the
minority cultures. However, critics argue that the thought of a completely homogenized global culture is
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impossible, and yet the current flow of meanings, people and goods as well as a global network of social
relationships can broadly be considered a world culture (Tomlinson 1999, 71). Therefore, it is possible to
talk about a global culture that has been influenced in some degree from the west. In the future though, it
is predicted that the cultural domination of the west will decrease and thus result in a two-way street of
cultural influence (Tomlinson 1999, 96). This is for example seen with the Korean singer Psy, who became
famous worldwide with his song, ‘Gangnam Style’ (Benjamin 2012).
To sum up, westernization is a theory that sheds light on the way in which the global population is being
homogenized in a cultural sense due to the projecting of western values onto the rest of the world. This
theory will be used to analyze the current communication approach that Coca Cola uses and then to discuss
the best strategy for Coca Cola to utilize in its worldwide marketing.
10. Analysis
In this section, the three Coca Cola commercials will be analyzed. Firstly, Gillian Dyer’s verbal and nonverbal communication theory will be used to get a visual insight in the commercial. Afterwards, Geert
Hofstede’s theories the ‘Onion’ and the national cultural dimensions will be used to make a more in depth
analysis and shed light on the more cultural aspects of the commercials, as this is what Hofstede’s theories
are about. Thirdly, it will be analyzed in which way elements from the adapted and standardized marketing
strategies are utilized in the commercials. This will be analyzed in order to understand Coca Cola’s
marketing strategy used in the campaign ‘Reasons to Believe’. Lastly, the analyses will be linked with the
phenomenon Westernization, as westernization is the more cultural aspect of globalization, which has
caused considerations about whether to use an adapted or standardized marketing strategy when
promoting a product in a global world.
10.1 Language
Gillian Dyer argues that sometimes text in advertisement is more important than the visual elements. In the
Coca Cola commercials from the campaign ‘Reasons to Believe’ there is text on most clips. The concept is
the same in all three commercials. First, the text reads something bad and then gives a positive perspective
to the clip and the text showed just before. For example clips 15 and 17 in the global commercial read
‘When it seems no one cares’ and ‘there are 1000s of you who do’ (Appx.6; 15,17). The text in the global
commercial and in the American commercial is in English, whereas the language in the Danish commercial
is in Danish.
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There are not more than one to three lines of text in each clip in the commercials. As it is a TV commercial,
there is not much time to communicate and the text has to be direct and create meaning to the consumer
to affect the consumer in an effective way (Dyer 1995, 140). This could be a reason why Coca Cola has only
used a few lines in each clip. The text in clip 17 is also an example of Coca Cola addressing the consumer
directly by using the pronoun you. This is also seen in the Danish commercial in the text to clip 12 ‘er vi
stadig det lykkeligste land’ (Appx.4, 12). Here it is the pronoun we that is used to make the association
directly with the consumer. By using we Coca Cola associates itself directly with the consumers, whereas
the pronoun you is directed more to the consumer. This could be a deliberate action from Coca Cola as the
Danish text has been adapted to the Danish language and we may have a greater effect to the audience
that this commercial addresses.
The text is contributing to create meaning to the clips and the whole commercial. Without the text, it
would be difficult to determine what the commercials were about and why those particular clips had been
chosen. The text also makes it possible for the audience to associate oneself with what is shown and
written in the commercials, for example many people would know the feeling that you get when you get
off work after a long day to see the people you enjoy spending time with, as it is shown in clips 12 and 13 in
the global commercial, in clips 5 and 6 in the Danish Commercial and in clips 8 and 9 in the American
commercial (Appx; 2, 8-9; Appx.4, 5-6; Appx.6, 13-14). The clips in the Danish and American commercials
are portraying the same clips of three people sitting next to each other in a subway and because of the
text, we know it is a Monday morning. The next clip depicts people partying and the text tells us that it is
during the weekend. The text in the American commercial is in English and the text in the Danish
commercial has been translated into Danish (Appx.2, 4). Coca Cola is not mentioned until the end of the
commercials. Therefore, you do not know who has made the commercials or what product the
commercials are promoting until the very end.
10.2 Coca Cola American TV Commercial
10.2.1 Gillian Dyer
In the first clips of the American Coca Cola commercial, a bunch of children are running through a school
yard, after which they are singing the song ‘You’ve got the love’ on a stage while a man, who is most likely
their teacher, is playing guitar. There are both boys and girls in the choir. Several different races are also
represented as both African-American children, Caucasian children and Asian children are shown in the
commercial (Appx.2: 2, 13). The colors of the hair differ from bright to black, which also indicates the racial
diversity (Appx.2: 2, 13). All the children are wearing regular clothes such as pants, snickers and blouses or
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shirts (Appx.2, 7). This can indicate that the children are from the same social class, as there are no
considerable differences seen here. The children are pointed at the teacher and maintain eye contact with
him. They show a positive attitude as they are smiling and dancing by moving their bodies to the beat
(Appx.2, 7). The choir is shown several times in between the other clips (Appx.2; 2, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22).
The next clips show tanks and a soldier standing in a tank pointing with a gun (Appx.2, 3-4). You are only
able to see the soldier’s body position as it is filmed from a distance. The soldier stands in a moving tank,
pointing his gun towards something, which may indicate that he is at war and is driving towards a target
(Appx.2, 4).
Hereafter, the cake-baking clips are shown (Appx.2, 5-6). The first clip shows a woman wearing an apron
topping a cake with frosting (Appx.2, 5). The next clip resembles a 35-40 year old woman, who is carrying a
cake with candles out the door (Appx.2, 6). She has a big smile on her face, and is probably looking at the
person being celebrated. The cake with candles together with the woman’s neat-looking clothes and her
happy mood indicates a celebratory situation.
Afterwards you see three people, a young Caucasian woman, a young African-American man and a young
Caucasian man, who sit in a subway and either sleep or listen to music. The text for this clip is ‘For every
Monday morning’ (Appx.2, 8). It is a fitting text since it depicts three young people who sleep in a subway
probably on their way to school or work. The black man and the woman show a closed body language,
because they both have their arms crossed. The Caucasian man’s body language seems more open as his
hands are folded in his lap (Appx.2, 8).
The next clip depicts a group of young people partying. The majority of these young people are throwing
their hands in the air while they jump around dancing and having fun. They are smiling and look extremely
happy, and it seems they are familiar as they dance close to each other (Appx.2, 9).
Then you see a clip that shows a man who is first running and then jumping over a fence (Appx.2, 11). He
wears a hooded sweatshirt, and it seems like he is on the run. This assumption is made since the man looks
like he is panicking, as he, as mentioned, is running fast. It could indicate that he has committed a crime
and is now running from the law. This assumption is also given because of the fitting text that reads ‘for
every person running from the law’ (Appx.2, 11).
The counterpart for this clip depicts a lot of people wearing sumo wrestler outfits who participate in a race.
They are smiling and having fun, and it is hereby clear that they are supporting this cause together and they
share a sense of community (Appx.2, 12).
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The next clips show a referee who gives a red card and a group of soccer players who hug each other on the
field (Appx.2, 14-15). The soccer players are wearing sports clothes. There are both black and Caucasian
men depicted so this soccer team is racially diverse. They portray a very positive body language as they hug
each other and jump up and down while smiling (Appx.2, 15). The men in this clip are familiar as they are
on the same soccer team, and by hugging each other they show a positive team spirit.
After the sports séance, you see a clip containing a violent and hateful situation. This clip depicts four
young men, probably middle-eastern, two of them wearing bright clothes and the other two wearing black
clothes. They vandalize a car as they kick it and throw something against it (Appx.2, 17). They hereby show
a rather aggressive and negative conduct, and their actions are very hateful.
Clip 18 depicts a wedding ceremony, where a gay couple is getting married. Behind them their families
stand and celebrate them. There are both children, young people and old people and they are either
wearing dresses or tuxedos. They all smile and look very happy, which is a typical mood for a celebration.
The married couple looks into each others’ eyes, while they hold hands and look very happy and in love.
The families that stand behind the couple have jolly eye contact with the camera as if they know they are
being filmed (Appx.2, 18).
Hereafter you see a clip from a graduation ceremony where one of the graduates falls down the stairs. The
graduates wear the traditional American black graduate gowns and caps. There are both Caucasian and
African-American people portrayed in this ceremony (Appx.2, 20).
The counterpart clip for the previously mentioned is a clip showing a Caucasian man high-fiving his cat
(Appx.2, 21). The clip illustrates a funny and joyful situation in which a man interacts with his pet and laugh
at the situation.
Clip 23 shows two Caucasian teenage girls arguing. You both get the impression of this from the text that
fits the clip ‘for everyone who doesn’t get along’ and from their body language and gesticulations that are
rather aggressive. The girls are pointed against each other and they are both yelling. The girl standing up
expresses frustration by lowering her arms in a fast and kind of despondent movement (Appx.2, 23).
The last clip illustrates a group of young Caucasian people going for a walk outside. The girl is drinking a
Coke (Appx.2, 24). You get the impression that this is a group of friends who share a happy moment
because they are smiling and having fun, and they make eye contact and jostle each other friendly.
To sum up, throughout the commercial both children, teenagers, adults and older people are shown, and
different genders, races and nationalities are also depicted. This shows a commercial of diversity which is
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also a main characteristic of the US population. The people in the commercial are most likely portraying
people from the middle class, and the commercial thus speaks out to the broader population of the US.
10.2.2 Hofstede
Symbols
Throughout the commercial, there are several different symbols shown. The choir of children is for instance
a symbol of cultural diversity and the acceptance hereof (Appx.2, 7). The cake with candles on top is
another symbol depicted in the commercial. The signifier is the cake, and the connotation can both be
celebration, enjoyment and sense of community (Appx.2, 6). Clip 9 is a symbol of a sense of community and
companionship. As mentioned, the group of young people is out having a fun night together and in a way
they are celebrating the sense of community (Appx.2, 9).
The 11th clip shows a person running from the law, which is a symbol of wrongful behavior. It could also
symbolize a lack of conscience because when you commit a crime, you act as if you do not care about
breaking the law. If you commit a crime it may also symbolize a cry for attention and acceptance (Appx.2,
11).
The next symbol found is in the clip of the race which also symbolizes a joint community. The people are in
the race together and they raise awareness to a serious issue. The text reads ‘there are 100s running for a
cure’, and the people are running in sumo wrestler suits as mentioned earlier. This thus indicates that they
are running for a cure against obesity (Appx.2, 12). This clip also symbolizes benevolence as the people
show concern for obese people and by participating in the race show that they are willing to try and help
addressing this particular issue. The sumo wrestler suit is the signifier, the signified is a costume, and the
obesity issue is the connotation. Another connotation to the sumo wrestler suit is in this case happiness
and joint community because the situation illustrates these feelings.
The clip with the referee who gives a red card suggests a situation of someone who does something wrong
because the red card is a symbol of an improper action. The red card is thus signifier, and the connotation is
wrongdoing. A connotation to the referee could be power as the referee is depicted powerful towards the
players in the sense that he is able to eliminate them from the game by using this signifier, the red card
(Appx.2, 14).
As mentioned, clip 15 depicts soccer players hugging each other and cheering. This clip symbolizes unity,
happiness and victory (Appx.2, 15). The clip depicting the hateful situation with four young Middle Eastern
men vandalizing a car is first and foremost a symbol of a criminal action. It could also symbolize a group of
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socially un-adapted immigrants who have a hard time fitting into the new country and its rules and norms
(Appx.2, 17).
The wedding ceremony both symbolizes love and freedom. The fact that it is a gay couple getting married is
a symbol of freedom and that you have the right to choose your own sexuality. The ceremony is also a
symbol of love and happiness because when you get married you celebrate eternal love and a lifetime of
happiness (Appx.2, 18).
Clip 20 illustrates the graduation ceremony as previously mentioned. The graduation attire the graduates
are wearing is a general symbol of the graduation of a higher education (Sullivan 1997). The gown and hat
are thus signifiers (Appx.2, 20). The attire symbolizes a great accomplishment and future success, and it
could also symbolize the highly American value that one is the architect of his own future because the
young people have chosen to complete a higher education and now have the opportunity to get the
desired job. These characteristics are thus connotations.
The two teenage girls arguing is a clear symbol of the hormonal outbursts that are a well-known
characteristic for teenagers in general (Appx.2, 23).
The group of young people sharing a happy moment symbolizes a sense of community and friendship. The
girl in the clip is drinking a Coke and the Coke is a signifier. The connotation is gratification because by
drinking it on a hot summer day you may feel very refreshed and chilled. Another connotation could be
happiness and friendship as Coca Cola is often associated with these feelings that also illustrate some of
Coca Cola’s values (Appx.2, 24; Coca Cola - GB 2014(2)).
Heroes
As mentioned in paragraph 5 about American culture, most Americans feel patriotic and pay tribute to the
military (Robbins 2013). Because of this great patriotism the soldiers symbolize heroes to the American
people. Still, the soldiers are not only heroes, they are also symbols of heroic actions and of patriots willing
to sacrifice their lives for their country. The tank is a symbol of heroism and patriotism as well as a symbol
of the American superiority. The tank is signifier and patriotism, heroism and superiority are connotations.
As previously mentioned, in American culture athletes are often portrayed as heroes and role models as it
is seen in clip 15 (Appx.2, 15). This status of sportspeople as role models is also depicted in clip 23, in which
a poster of a supposed basketball star is put up on the wall in the teenage room (Appx.2, 23). The runners
participating in the race for a cure, most likely a cure against obesity, could also be portrayed as some kind
of heroes or role models since they lead the way in doing something to address obesity (Appx.2, 12).
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Rituals
Within the onion model, rituals should also be taken into consideration. This can e.g. be greetings and
social and religious ceremonies. As mentioned above, clip 6 depicts a woman carrying out a cake with
candles which possibly symbolizes the celebration of a birthday party. (Appx. 2, 6) This thus illustrates a
social ceremony where people are supposedly gathered to celebrate the birthday boy or girl. This social
celebration of birthdays is a ritual in most countries (Luling 2013).
The young people who party on a Saturday night as the text reads illustrates another social celebration. The
group of friends is most likely celebrating that the week is finally over and they now have the weekend off
to spend time together. The Saturday night party may as well be portrayed as a ritual as many young
people like to go out and party with their friends (Appx.2, 9; McShane 2012).
Clip 15 that portrays the soccer team hugging each other is also a sign of a social celebration (Appx.2, 15).
As mentioned in section 5 regarding American culture, sports can bring people together. When people are
in a stadium watching e.g. a soccer game, they are not only watching the game, they are also paying a
tribute to their favorite team. It may well be a ritual going to a game with your friends or family and share a
happy moment of unity around the favorite team (Nye 2010, 228). However, in this commercial a soccer
team is depicted, and that is not the sport you would normally associate with America, soccer is more
popular in European countries, as it originated in England (FIFA 2014). It would for instance have made
more sense to portray a baseball match or a football match as these sports are more American (Nye 2010,
228-229).
The wedding ceremony illustrated in clip 18 is a social ceremony, in which two people are celebrating a
future life together, as the extended family is a part of the celebration (Appx.2, 18). It can also be a religious
ceremony at least if you have a church wedding. The church may be a symbol of the unification with God
and the divine and thereby, getting married in a church is a religious ritual.
Clip 20 portrays a typical American social celebration of students who graduate (Appx.2, 20). It is a ritual
within the American culture to celebrate that you have finished a higher education and are now ready to
begin your adult life on your own. Within this celebration it is thus a ritual that you wear the traditional
academic gown and cap (Sullivan 1997).
Values
Values are shown in all of the contradictory clips in the commercial. There are both clips that indicate evil
and wrong actions such as the clip illustrating the young Middle Eastern men vandalizing a car (Appx.2, 17).
This clip also illustrates unethical behavior because it is highly unethical to ruin other people’s personal
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property. Another wrongful and unethical action underlies the need for the referee to hand out a red card
(Appx.2, 14). The man who runs from the law also depicts an unethical action as it is illegal to break the law.
By committing a crime you break the law set up by the government and thus show unethical behavior
(Appx.2, 11). These examples also display immorality. On the other hand, good, moral and ethical values
are also illustrated throughout the commercial, for example all the clips featuring social celebrations
indicate positive situations, which are most likely highly valued by the people participating. The people
running for a cure attest a great moral and ethical act as they are doing something to help others in need
(Appx.2, 12). The choir of children depicted throughout the commercial also indicates an ethical value due
to the fact that the equality among races and different nationalities is cherished (Appx.2, 7). This value is
also shown in the clip with the soccer game and in the clip with the young people sitting in a subway
(Appx.2; 15, 8).
As mentioned, patriotism and American superiority are essential American values. Americans think highly
of their strong military force, and it has thus become an imperative American value to support the military,
especially after the terror action of 9/11 (Nye 2010; 24, 132). The clip featuring the graduation ceremony
also depicts a central American value, namely that it is important to have an education so that you can do
well in life, get a good job and be able to fulfill the American dream. This means that everyone is the
architect of his or her own fortune as mentioned in section 5 (Appx.2, 20; Nye 2010, 204-205).
National Dimensions
Power distance
In clip 7, the teacher and the choir are shown. In the clip, the teacher stands in the front, and he is hereby
depicted as raised above the children (Appx.2, 7). This matches the power distance between teachers and
school children. This is in accordance with the high power distance in the US (Appx.1).
The military force presented in clip 3 and clip 4 could also be a sign of power distance. As mentioned in
section 5 about American culture, the US has a strong military and the US is seen as a superpower. The
Americans themselves believe that the US is superior and therefore, it could be understood as the power
distance between the US and other countries (Nye 2010, 120-121).
In the graduate celebration clip the dean is wearing an outfit that makes him appear more distinguished
than the rest of the people represented (Appx.2, 20). This thus shows that he is ranked higher than the rest,
and he may be highly respected because of his leader position. The dean is Caucasian, which may also be an
indicator of power distance as black people were seen as inferior in the past (Nye 2010, 170). This has
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resulted in a gap between Blacks and Whites that is somehow still present today especially in the labor
market, in which Blacks are often the ones getting the lowest pays and having the highest unemployment
rates (Nye 2010, 170). However, today’s US president is black, and this may seem to be one of the greatest
leader positions you can reach. The decreasing racial gap is an ongoing process, and the Blacks have thus
gained a footing in some great leader positions as well. The fact that the dean is a man also indicates the
power distance between men and women since men are often the ones occupying the leader positions, as
mentioned in the American Culture paragraph (Nye 2010, 176). This may also indicate a more masculine
view on culture, which is typical American , as the US is a highly masculine country with a score of 62 out of
a 100 (Appx.1).
The clip with the referee who hands out a red card also indicates power distance because the referee has
the power to exclude a player from the game by using the red card. The referee is thus more powerful and
to some extend higher ranked than the athletes (Appx.2, 14).
Individualism versus Collectivism
As mentioned in section 5, the American culture is in general highly individualistic. However, when it comes
to sports all people gather around for the same reason, namely to celebrate a sports event and pay tribute
to the players and the team. (Nye 2010, 228) In this particular context the individualistic thinking is set
aside, whereas the collectivistic feature is prominent. This particular sports example is present in clip 15.
Here members of a soccer team are hugging each other and expressing joy possibly due to a joint victory
(Appx.2, 15).
There are several other celebratory situations depicted in the commercial that give the impression of a
common collective feel, for instance the supposed birthday party in clip 6, the race in clip 12 and the
wedding ceremony in clip 18 (Appx.2; 6, 12, 18). The birthday celebration may also indicate a collectivist
feel, as more people than just the immediate family oftentimes participate in such an event. This is also the
case with the wedding ceremony.
In one of the last clips in the commercial, two teenage girls argue (Appx.2, 23). This may indicate
individualism because both girls feel that they should have a say, and they are presumably only interested
in getting it their way. They do not seem willing to go in on the other’s proposal, and thereby their actions
correspond with the American individualism.
The young people who sit in a subway could also indicate individualism as the African-American man and
the Caucasian woman have a closed body language, as mentioned earlier. This could indicate that they are
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not particularly social and that they are not interested in interaction with other people in the subway. The
two men listening to music could indicate the same.
The clip with the young people who party may also be a characteristic of individualism. It depicts a social
situation and the people are together on the dance floor but they are not directly dancing with each other
as there is no touch. They are thus individualistic even though they are together sharing a happy moment.
Masculinity versus Femininity
Some of the first clips in the commercial show tanks and a soldier with a gun (Appx.2, 3-4). These illustrate
the American military force, which is particularly strong. This is one of the US’s great values, and having a
strong military and embracing it symbolizes a masculine culture. Because of that, it makes great sense to
bring up this national value in the commercial aimed at the US.
The clip with a woman baking a cake and serving it also indicates the masculine dimension present in
American culture, as women are in charge of the domestic work while men are the breadwinners (Nye
2010, 176). However, the text for this clip is ‘there are 1000s of cakes being baked’ and this does not imply
that it is normally the women standing in the kitchen baking or doing household deeds in general, it only
suggests that cakes are being baked (Appx.2, 5). There is no gender specification related to the text.
Throughout the American commercial a lot of social and collectivist scenes are illustrated. This corresponds
well with Coca Cola’s values of happiness in social gatherings . However, few individualistic situations are
also portrayed and they are probably chosen to create the American individualistic feel and play on these
to make the commercial more effective to the Americans. Though, it might be risky to put it up all black and
white as Hofstede tends to do, because cultural dimensions are context specific. Even though one may have
an overall individualistic approach to life, but at the same time be collectivistic in certain situations.
10.2.3 Standardization, Adaptation and Westernization
In this section the different aspects of standardization and adaptation within the American commercial will
be elucidated. Throughout the American commercial there are a lot of standardized and universal
situations illustrated. For instance the choir of children portrayed several times through the commercial
indicates different races and nationalities as mentioned earlier (Appx.2; 2, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22). This thus
gives an indication that the children could come from whatever country, and therefore most people around
the world will be able to relate to these children and their nationalities or races. Different races and
nationalities are also depicted in some of the other clips through the commercial, for instance in the
subway both African-American and Caucasian people are shown (Appx.2, 8). The soccer team also includes
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both African-American and Caucasian men (Appx.2, 15). As previously mentioned, different races are also
visible in the clip with the graduation ceremony (Appx.2, 20).
The cake baking clip together with the clip depicting a woman with a birthday cake are other illustrations of
standardization as the birthday celebration is a tradition in most countries around the world, as mentioned
in the former section (Luling 2013). The young people sitting in the subway Monday morning, as the fitting
text suggests, is another situation most people around the world can relate to, as it is a common means of
transportation. The man who runs from the law and the group of young men vandalizing a car are also
standardized. This works because situations like this could take place anywhere in the world, it is not only
in the US people display hatred or commit crimes.
The clips with young people who gather to share a happy moment together are thus also universal as it is
common in most cultures that family and friends gather around for a good time.
As mentioned, clip 15 illustrates a group of soccer players who hug. This clip is standardized as well because
soccer is a sport most people around the world are familiar with (FIFA 2014). However, if it should have
been more in line with American culture, it would probably have made more sense to show an American
football match or a baseball match since these sports are more American, as mentioned in the previous
paragraph (Nye 2010, 228).
There are thus many clips throughout the American commercial illustrating situations that are not
particularly culture specific. All of the above mentioned situations could take place in most cultures and
countries around the world.
On the other hand, clips that are adapted to the American culture and values are also depicted throughout
this commercial. As mentioned in paragraph 5, most Americans are particularly patriotic and thereby the
clips depicting the tank and the soldier at war appeal to this American value (Robbins 2013; Appx.2, 3-4).
Most Americans will thus relate to these clips and may also get the feel of American superiority, which the
great military force also symbolizes, as previously mentioned. Though, these clips might evoke other
connotations like negative feelings such as death and destruction that follow war depending on one’s
interpretation.
The graduation ceremony illustrated in clip 20 is also particularly American due to the fact that all the
graduates are wearing the traditional American academic dress (Appx.2, 20). This thus appeals to the
American culture. However, this clip is also used in the Danish commercial, but it will most likely not have
the same effect there.
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The westernization is not that recognizable within the American commercial due to the fact that many
westernized elements come directly from the American culture. However, Coca Cola is a central element
within Westernization, and this has led to the phenomenon Coca-Colonization which will be further
touched upon in the analysis of the global commercial. The American beverage Coke is hence a great
symbol of westernization.
10.3 Coca Cola Danish TV-commercial
10.3.1 Gillian Dyer
The commercial is created on the basis of interactions between people in different situations. In this
section the focus will be on the characteristics of these people in terms of appearance, manner and activity.
Throughout the commercial, the soundtrack ‘You’ve Got the Love’ is performed by a group of children, both
boys and girls in the age of 10-14, who appears to be a choir performing on a stage while a teacher plays
guitar (Appx.4, 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19). The choir is very racially diverse as the children are Caucasian, Asian
and Black (Appx.4, 19). The children are casually dressed, mostly in discrete colors with a few exceptions of
red, pink and purple, which indicate that the children belong to the middle class (Appx.4, 7). During their
performance the children are focused on the teacher and have eye contact with him. The children have a
positive charisma as they smile and move enthusiastically to the beat of the song (Appx.4, 13).
The next subgroup of people depicted in the commercial is young adults in their mid 20es. They are
primarily Caucasian with the exception of a guy on the subway and five guys vandalizing a car who are black
and Middle Eastern respectively (Appx.4; 5, 17). The first group of young people consists of three people, a
girl and two boys, who sleep on the subway. The three people do not seem to know each other as the two
guys have headphones on and thus simply sit next to each other on their way to school or work (Appx.4,
17). The next group consists of a large crowd of people in a club that mainly consists of girls mixed with a
few guys . The people are enthusiastically dancing on the dance floor as if they were celebrating something.
It seems like some of the people knew each other beforehand and they are smiling, laughing and enjoying
an evening out together (Appx.4, 6).
The next clip shows a young student falling down the stairs in the middle of his graduation ceremony. The
student is dressed in the original American graduation gown and cap, the dean is in similar dark red attire
(Sullivan 1997; Appx.4, 8). The following clip depicts a funny video of a Caucasian guy who high fives his cat.
The interaction emphasizes a close bond between the man and his cat due to the cat’s willingness to play
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along (Appx.4, 9). Then there is a sequence depicting hundreds of people who enjoy an outdoor concert in
the middle of summer. Therefore, they wear summer clothes. The people are a mixture of boys and girls
who are all Caucasians. They are facing the stage and jumping up and down with their hands in the air and
probably sing along (Appx.4, 15). The next clip shows five probably Middle Eastern guys who vandalize a
car. They are wearing sweatshirts and pants and display hatred and rage either against the owner of the car
or because they do not care to obey the law (Appx.4, 17). The last clip in the advertisement shows a group
of young Caucasian people who drink Coca Cola. They all wear summer clothes and they walk outside and
enjoy life. It is most likely a group of friends, which is seen in the intimate body language as a few of them
jostle each other as well as they have eye contact (Appx.4, 21).
The last clip within this subgroup differs in terms of age as the girls in this clip are teenagers, most likely
sisters, who still live at home. In the sequence, they argue with each other and it seems as if the argument
takes place in one of the girl’s room and one of them sits on the bed and the second stands near the
doorway. Their body language is aggressive and they are looking furiously at each other and the whole
situation is rather negative (Appx.4, 20).
The last subgroup of people depicted in the commercial is adults who are primarily Caucasian with the
exception of a Black woman. The first clip shows a Black anchorwoman presenting the news. She has a very
professional and serious expression on her face which corresponds with the text that concludes that she is
presenting the audience with bad news. She is looking directly at the audience through the camera which
creates a certain degree of credibility. Her body language is very professional as she sits still with her
manuscript in front of her (Appx.4, 2). The next clip illustrates a Caucasian woman, most likely a mom, who
wears an apron and decorates a cake with frosting (Appx.4, 3). The third clip depicts a man of unknown
race in a rain suit who walks outside in the rain or what would appear to be a flood. In the background, two
busses drive by while a car has its hazard warning lights on as it is unable to drive through the rough
weather (Appx.4, 11). The last clip depicts a woman who walks alone in the snow with a grocery bag in her
left hand. She is wearing a big winter coat and looks as if she is freezing (Appx.4, 14).
Last but not least, there are two clips that includes all age groups. The first clip depicts hundreds of Danes
who sit in the grandstand of a stadium and they are possibly watching a soccer match. The spectators are
all Caucasians and are a mix of elderly, adults and children and most likely families and groups of friends. A
large percentage of the spectators wear clothes in the national colors, red and white, and they are all
waving Danish flags. They are focused on the soccer field while cheering the players on (Appx.4, 12). The
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second clip takes place outside a building after a homosexsual wedding ceremony. The people surrounding
them are their two families, their best men, a flower girl and friends who are all cheering towards the
camera that is in front of them. The two grooms are as an exception looking directly at each other and
sharing an intimate and unforgettable moment of love. All of the guests are in full evening dress and the
grooms are wearing matching grey suits with a white corsage. The entire sequence portrays happiness and
a utopia of love (Appx.4, 18). In the end the commercial depicts a red Coca Cola bottle on a white
background, and the words ‘ReasonsToBelieve – open happiness’ appear next to the bottle (Appx.4, 19).
To sum up, the people portrayed in the commercial are primarily Caucasians with a few exceptions of
Blacks and Middle Easterners. The age span is very wide as it includes people of all ages and it also includes
both genders and is therefore very reflective of the Danish population.
10.3.2 Geert Hofstede
Symbols
In the first clip featuring the anchorwoman, her professional and serious appearance and facial expression
symbolizes credibility which is important when communicating important information to the public
(Appx.4, 2). The next clip depicts a woman baking a cake while the text reads ‘families baking cake’. The
cake in itself is a signifier whereas the signified is a type of food. Its connotation can be both pampering, as
cake is a dessert, or the fundamental Danish coziness ‘hygge’, which has previously been described as a
positive ambiance revolving around a social gathering (Cranfield 2000, 44). This is the type of situation that
a cake is most likely to be enjoyed in (Appx.4, 3). A central element in coziness, ‘hygge’, is a sense of
community, which is visible in the clip with the young people partying, as their gathering symbolizes a joyful
time in the company of friends (Appx.4, 6).
The geographical position of Denmark results in long bright summer days, which are enjoyed to a great
extent when the weather is warm as this does not happen that often. This symbolizes happiness and
gratefulness as it brings people together to enjoy each other. The concert, which is the event that is
happening in this clip, symbolizes enjoyment and community and the concert is a joint experience on the
basis of common interests (Appx.4, 15). In the last clip in which a group of young people drink Coca Cola,
the Coca Cola is signifier whereas the signified is a drink. The connotation is both sense of community and
happiness due to the association with the Coca Cola value ‘...share a moment of happiness with friends,
family and loved ones’ and its slogan displayed in the end of the commercial, ’Open happiness’ (Appx.4: 2122; Coca Cola – GB 2014(2)).
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The children present throughout the commercial symbolize acceptance of diversity as they are all
presented as equals and belong to the same small community (Appx.4, 7). The young man in the graduation
attire symbolizes American culture and is not common in Denmark. The graduation gown and cap are
signifiers; the signified is clothes, whereas the connotation is success and accomplishment leading to better
opportunities further on in life (Appx.4, 8). As mentioned, the Danish weather is in focus, both in regards to
the long summer nights, as well as regular rainy days and dark, short winter days. The clip featuring a rainy
day symbolizes the essence of Danish weather. The yellow busses driving by are signifiers, the signified a
means of transportation, whereas the connotation is public transportation that can get you from point a to
point b at an affordable price (Appx.4, 11). The clip of the dark winter day symbolizes gloominess (Appx.4,
14).
The clip with the large crowd in a stadium symbolizes unity as many of the spectators are wearing the
Danish national colors and cheer as a unit. The Danish flag is signifier, the signified is a flag, whereas the
connotation is ‘The Dannebrog’, national feeling and celebration of unity around the national soccer team
(Appx.4, 12). In other circumstances, the Danish flag can, as previously mentioned, be a connotation for
celebrations such as birthdays (Kirkebæk 2013, 19). The clip with vandalism symbolizes riot and rebellion
against the national rules which could correspond with immigrants having a hard time becoming an integral
part of Danish society and an utterly Danish citizen (Appx.4, 17).
The situation with the two sisters arguing symbolizes a difference of opinion. The girls are teenagers which
is signifier, the signified is boys and girls in the age of 13 to 19, whereas the connotation is hormonal
influence and mood swings (Appx.4, 20). The sequence with the gay marriage symbolizes a celebration of
love but also freedom to be yourself and be comfortable with your sexuality. It also symbolizes liberalism
due to the acceptance of gay people getting married (Appx.4, 18). This corresponds with the Danish liberal
values regarding acceptance of gay marriage as Danes were the first country to legalize civil unions and
later legalize actual gay marriages, as previously mentioned (Fortin 2012).
Heroes
As for heroes, the anchorwoman, who might be a mom, can be considered a hero by her children in regard
to being a good role model due to her success in the workplace as well as on the maternal level. She can
also be considered a hero by girls or young women who want to become a front woman on the news or on
television in general (Appx.4, 2). This corresponds with the Danish values concerning equal opportunities
across gender and race (Cranfield 2000, 39). As mentioned in the analysis of the first commercial, sports
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idols have a tendency to be determined as heroes due to success in their individual sports. Even though
there are no clips illustrating any athletes, it is safe to assume that the spectators in the stadium are
watching Danish soccer players on the soccer field (Appx.4, 12). The imaginative soccer players are
considered heroes because they fight for Danish victory
Rituals
As previously mentioned, ’hygge’ is a central element in Danish culture. The first is the party clip in which
partying is a way of enjoying your free time together with friends and family after a long work week.
Opposed to the American commercial reading ‘a Saturday night out’, the Danish text reads ‘er der en
weekend at glæde sig til’ which means a weekend to look forward to. This corresponds to the Danes who
have a tendency to party all weekend instead of just one night (Bernsen 2012). The next clip features the
concert which in a Danish context is most likely a concert at a music festival which is common in Denmark,
as several festivals are held in cities all over the country during the summer (Live-Koncerter 2014).
Therefore, both festivals and partying are social rituals that build upon coziness, ‘hygge’ (Appx.4; 6, 15).
The soccer match is another social ritual. The spectators are wearing clothes in the national colors, red and
white, and in combination with the Danish flags this is a traditional ritual in regards to most national sports
events. Consequently, waving flags and wearing red and white clothes are common social rituals when
being at a stadium watching a soccer match (Appx.4, 12). The wedding celebration is a common religious
ritual, and especially in Denmark where gay marriage has been legalized to take place in the Danish church
and is thus accepted as a religious ceremony (Fortin 2012). It can also be seen as a social ritual because the
celebration includes the grooms’ families, and it is therefore a social gathering (Appx.4, 18). The graduation
ceremony is a common social ritual in which the graduates receive their diplomas. However, the graduation
attire differs tremendously from the Danish, as the Danish attire consists of a white hat with a band in red
or a shade of blue depending on the specific education. This particular graduation scene is thus more in line
with the American ritual (Appx.4, 8; Sullivan 1997).
Values
One of the most central Danish cultural values is as mentioned, ‘hygge’. This value is present throughout
the commercial in several social settings. The first example is baking as a social activity for the family or at
least enjoying the cake together (Appx.4, 3). The next example in the commercial showing the value,
‘hygge’, is of friends who enjoy the weekend in the club or who listen to music at festivals while enjoying
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the warm summer weather (Appx.4; 6, 15). ‘Hygge’ is also visible in the last clip in which a Coca Cola is
enjoyed (Appx.4, 21).
Another value present in the commercial is equality. This is seen in the clip with the anchorwoman, which is
a very important aspect of Danish culture and thus a central value. As previously mentioned Danes believe
that everyone is equal and should be granted the same opportunities, which is more or less achieved
through its influential welfare state (Appx.4, 2; Cranfield 2000, 39). This is also evident in regards to gay
marriage as people are not discriminated based on sexual preferences and generally have the same
opportunities in terms of marriage and adoption as straight people (White 2010). Again, equality is seen as
something ethically and morally right, whereas discrimination based on sexuality is seen as something
ethically and morally wrong. In Denmark, people generally have a great emphasis on national feeling
especially towards any successful achievements related to sports on a national level. The essence of
national feeling is captured in the clip featuring the fans in the stadium as they are proudly wearing the
national colors and waving Danish flags (Appx.4, 12).
In general, Coca Cola’s commercials are based on community as this is a main value in regards to the Coca
Cola brand and company. Therefore, this value is present throughout this commercial and corresponds with
the Danish ‘hygge’. Community and ‘hygge’ can be summed up in the last clip featuring the young people
enjoying Coca Colas, as sharing a Coca Cola in cozy social gatherings is the essence of Coca Cola: ‘...share a
moment of happiness with friends, family and loved ones’ (Coca Cola – GB 2014(2)).
National Cultural Dimensions
In the commercial, there are several aspects that relate to power distance. One example is the clip with the
anchorwoman, which depicts low power distance. This is the case because having a Black female front
figure promotes equality across gender and race in the workplace (Appx.4, 2). This generally corresponds
with the Danish values of wanting to provide all people with equal opportunities as previously mentioned in
the section about Danish culture. This is also visible in Hofstede’s study on Danish national culture (Appx.
1). The video also displays elements in reference to high power distance, which is seen in the clip with the
student who falls and in the continuous clip with the singing children. High power distance is visible in
terms of the dean in the first clip, as he is wearing different and more prominent clothes than the rest of
the faculty. This illustrates a visible inequality in which the dean is more powerful and has a higher status
than the others (Appx, 4, 8). In regards to the children singing, the teacher has evidently more status and
power than the children, Which results in a power distance between them. This is seen in the physical
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distance between the teacher and the children as well as the camera angle that emphasizes the height
difference and thus increases the power difference (Appx.4, 7).
To sum up, the equality in the workplace, which is seen with the anchorwoman, corresponds to the Danish
values (Cranfield 2000, 39). However, the aspects emphasizing a high power distance do not fit the Danish
cultural values (Appx. 1).
As for individualism and collectivism, there are aspects in favor of both dimensions. In the clips with the
subway, the three people are obviously traveling alone which promotes individualism. This is highlighted by
the lack of interaction and that the two guys are wearing head phones (Appx.4, 5). In the clip with the
vandalizing actions, the people involved act out of individual hatred and they are thus concerned with their
individual interests with no recognition of other’s feelings (Appx.4, 17). On the other hand, they are
vandalizing the car together and this can therefore be seen as a collectivist action as they have a shared
opinion that results in them wanting to vandalize the car.The clip with the arguing sisters also portrays
individualism as the girls have their own perspectives on the matter argued and are trying to get it their
own way with no consideration of the other sister’s viewpoint (Appx.4, 20).
So, the individualistic features correspond with the individualistic Danish culture (Appx. 1). On the other
hand, several collectivist aspects are represented in the commercial. The first clip depicts the family
gathering after a wedding ceremony, which emphasizes the collectivist dimension, as the family consists of
both grooms’ extended families (Appx.4, 18). The next clip, which shows the essence of the Danish national
feeling, is the large gathering in the stadium where the people watch a soccer match. This portrays
collectivist values as Danes sing the national anthem when they are in a stadium right before a match
begins. Other Danish songs are often sung during sports events, for example a song that was especially
created for the soccer world championship back in 1986 in which the chorus reads ‘we are red, we are
white – we stand together side by side’ (YouTube 2012). The last clip in the commercial, in which the young
people drink Coca Cola, shows collectivist values as they enjoy Coca Cola together (Appx.4, 21). This
corresponds with Coca Cola’s values of how it wants its product to be consumed ‘...share a moment of
happiness with friends, family and loved ones’ (Coca Cola - GB 2014(2)).
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A few of the clips emphasize both individualistic and collectivist values. This is seen in the clip with the
crowd that dances in a club, which is a collectivist group activity, whereas the dancing in itself is more
individualistic as the people do not pair up which is most often the case when dancing (Appx.4, 6). This is
also the case with the concert, as the spectators are more than likely to attend the concert in small groups
but in general they are still part of a collectivist gathering in which they all sing along to the same songs and
enjoy the same performance (Appx.4, 15). The clip in which a woman is decorating a cake can be seen as
being both dimensions as well, since the text reads ‘families baking cake’, and thus it depends on whether
the family is the immediate or the extended family (Appx.4, 3).
Some of the collectivist aspects in the commercial are typically Danish despite Hofstede’s individualistic
evaluation of the Danish national culture. However, this corresponds with the mentioned critique of his
theory especially as the attachment to one dimension is often context specific and thus a national culture
often possesses values that relates to both individualism and collectivism (Osland and Bird 2000).
The dimension femininity is to a degree visible in the clip with the anchorwoman which illustrates the
feminine values, as women are naturally present in the workplace and they set aside their domestic
responsibilities (Cranfield 2000, 39). The domestic responsibility is partly delegated to their male
counterparts as well as third parties such as daycares and cleaning ladies (Appx.4, 2; Kirkebæk 2013, 58).
Another clip that relates to feminine values is that of the woman baking cake. The text reads ‘families
baking cake’ which indicates that it is not necessarily the woman who is responsible for baking. Therefore,
it might as well be the man in the family who bakes the cake (Appx.4, 3). This is a sign of shared
responsibility that regards domestic assignments and corresponds with the Danish feminine values in
relation to gender roles (Appx. 1).
10.3.3 Standardization, Adaptation and Westernization
The Coca Cola campaign ‘Reasons to Believe’ has been adapted to many countries worldwide and thus the
commercial consists of endless different versions with nationally specific and culturally specific
modifications. In this section, we will explore how the different aspects in the Danish commercial are
consistent with the Danish national culture and how this corresponds with standardized and adapted
marketing strategies.
In the commercial, there are several elements that are in line with Danish culture and values. Generally
speaking, the translation of the written text in the commercial testifies the fact that the commercial has
been adapted to Danish culture, even though most Danes are able to read English (Appx.4). Since the
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written text is in Danish, it emphasizes the adaptation of the commercial in order to make it appeal to
Danish consumers. During the commercial there are especially four clips that are particularly Danish. The
first clip is with the rainy weather which as described is typically Danish, and the color of the busses in the
background is also the most commonly color of Danish city busses (Appx.4, 11). Afterwards, the clip at the
stadium is very Danish as the stadium is filled with Danish fans who wear the national colors, red and white,
and waving Danish flags (Appx.4, 12). This particular clip is a great indicator of the adaptation to Danish
culture throughout the commercial. There is thus no doubt that the commercial is addressed to Danish
consumers. Then the Danish weather is mentioned in reference to both the dark winter days and the long
bright summer nights, which is something all Danes experience every year (Appx.4, 14-15). Here the long
summer nights are especially cherished as Danes often use these long nights to ‘hygge’. Again the concert
at the festival depicted in clip 15 is also something that is very Danish and thus adapted to Danish culture.
The clip with the gay marriage is something that relates well to the Danish culture and can be argued to be
something that has been adapted in this commercial. However, gay marriage has also been legalized in
several countries so far and is not something that is exclusively Danish (Appx.4, 18; Fortin 2012). The same
goes for the diversity within the choir throughout the commercial. Denmark has become a country with a
very diverse population, and therefore, the diversity in the choir does to some degree represent the diverse
Danish population (Appx.4, 7). Furthermore, the choir sings in English and this is in line with the
standardized strategy as this particular choir is also featured in other versions of the commercial (Youtube
2014(1)).
As for the standardized elements in the commercial, the American inspired graduation ceremony falls into
this category as this type of graduation attire that the student wear is something many countries are
familiar with through American series and movies but it is not the attire worn in Denmark (Appx.4, 8). In
many of the remaining clips the occurrences depicted are very universal and not particularly culture specific
as they are likely to happen in most countries. Take for example baking a cake, using the subway for
transportation, watching the news, partying with your friends during the weekend, vandalism, arguing with
your sister or enjoying a Coca Cola with your friends (Appx.4; 2, 3, 5, 6, 17, 20, 21).
To sum up the commercial contains certain aspects that are very much in line with the Danish culture but
most of the clips are ultimately more universal.
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Florence and the Machine is a British band with roots in South London (MTV 2014). The song ‘You’ve Got
the Love’ has been re-released endless times by different artists but the version by Florence and the
Machine is the one that the choir sings in the Coca Cola campaign. Here is a clear sign of the power of
westernization as a rather unknown UK band can release a song that becomes the soundtrack in a Coca
Cola campaign. The song consequently becomes well-known to people in many countries around the world.
Other aspects that relate to westernization are clips such as the anchorwoman and the text focusing on
things getting worse (Appx.4, 2). Here news reports in different countries often include worldwide news,
which relates to Giddens remark ‘…local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and
vice versa’ (Giddens 1990, 64). This is a clear effect of globalization and westernization. The increasing
acceptance of gay marriage can also be explained in regards to westernization as westernization has had an
impact on cultural values such as religion (Appx.4, 18). The traditional graduation gown and cap has
become well known worldwide through the global spread of American movies that has become possible
through globalization and westernization (Appx.4, 8). The funny video displaying a young guy high fiving his
cat includes the text ‘…500 videos online’ which again is a result of the technological development of the
World Wide Web due to globalization. The videos that have been shot in America or Western Europe are
distributed online and seen worldwide due to westernization that creates a growing interest in what
happens in the western world (Appx.4, 9). As mentioned in the analysis above, Coca Cola in itself is the
essence of westernization as it is a global product originating from the US. Coca Cola has become as
influential as to have become the center of its own tendency, Coca-Colonization (Howes 1996, 3).
10.4 Coca Cola Global TV commercial
10.4.1 Gillian Dyer
Gillian Dyer's theory about nonverbal communication in advertisements will be used to analyze the
appearance, manner and activity in the global TV commercial from Coca Cola in order to get an insight into
the TV commercial's structure.
The TV commercial is about the campaign 'Reasons to Believe'. Milly Pye is singing the song that plays
through the whole commercial. The song is ‘You’ve Got the Love’ and is originally sung by Florence and the
Machine (MTV 2014). Milly Pye is singing and playing guitar with a band through the commercial and
everytime she or the band is in the picture, it is in black and white (Appx.6: 1, 4, 11, 14, 19, 22, 25, 28). Milly
Pye looks like a young girl. She is tall and she has long blond hair (Appx.6, 19). The band members are all
young men. One is playing drums, another one is playing guitar and the third is playing keyboard (Appx.6,
19). After showing Milly Pye in the first clip in the commercial, the next clip shows a young man who sits
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alone in a bus (Appx.6, 2). In the third clip which is connected with the second clip, a handlebar on a bike is
seen from an angle as if you sit on the bike. A beautiful nature is shown, and in the horizon you can see
mountains and a blue sky (Appx.6, 3). It does not say anything about where it is, so it could be anywhere in
the world.
The fifth clip is of a man who lay in his bed and you can only see his face. His face is covered with two
carrots pointing out from his nose. Two oranges are next to his ears and a pineapple is on top of his head
(Appx.6, 5). Next, more clips are shown of embarrassing pictures. First a young girl with dark hair and
something on her tooth is depicted (Appx.6, 6). The next clip shows a girl in white pants from the back, and
her trousers has a split on her bottom (Appx.6, 7). The following clip shows a man with long hair who has
sunburns both in his face and on his body (Appx.6, 8). The next clip shows many young people both men
and women who are wrestling and having fun in a mud bath. People are standing around the mud bath and
looking at the ones who are in it (Appx.6, 9).
Moving on to a short clip of one of the band members in black and white and then back to a clip in color.
This clip shows two young men and a woman who all sit at a desk with laptops and telephones and are
working (Appx.6, 12). The next clip is of young people who jump into the water at dawn. The lighting and
the sky indicate that it is dawn (Appx.6, 13).
Going to the next clip, this shows an iceberg falling apart into the sea (Appx.6, 15). No people are shown in
this clip or the next, in which a polar bear on a floating chunk of ice is depicted (Appx.6, 16). This could be
Antarctica or Greenland but nothing says anything about it being one or the other. The next clip shows
people helping each other bearing bricks from one place to another. This is both Caucasian and African
men, women and children (Appx.6, 17). The children are happy and smile a lot and show thumbs up, as
they are standing together and some are holding their arms around each other (Appx.6, 18). This indicates
they are happy to get the help because this is what is shown in the clip right before (Appx.6, 17).
The next clip shows a lot of people who demonstrate for or against a cause. Both young men and women
are present. For example, it shows two young men from behind. They have a modern haircut and they have
a garland of flowers around their necks (Appx.6, 20). They are walking outside and one of them is holding a
sign above his head. The following clip is a band of four people. They are all young men and three of them
are playing guitar and the fourth is playing drums. They are standing in a small room and it looks like they
are practicing and not performing for an audience (Appx.6, 21).
The next clip is of a guy who walks with a tray filled with cups of coffee (Appx.6, 23). He has a blue shirt on
and a matching tie. His face expression indicates that he is being very careful not to drop or to spill anything
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from the tray. The next is a clip of young men and women having fun in the sea. There are two boys and
two girls who are having fun with surfboards, they are laughing and having a good time (Appx.6, 24).
The following clip shows two cats. One is black and the other is orange. The little black cat is putting his
paws up against the bigger one and then the big one jumps at the little one. It is difficult to know whether
or not they are just playing or they just cannot get along (Appx.6, 26). The last clip shows young people and
the focus is on a woman who has long dark hair and a bikini top underneath her shirt. She is drinking a Coca
Cola and a man joins her and puts his arm around her. He has dark hair and is also holding a Coca Cola.
They are both smiling and enjoying themselves (Appx.6, 27).
In the end there is a short clip of Milly Pye singing, the picture is in black and white colors, and then it shifts
over to a red Coca Cola bottle on a white background (Appx.6, 28, 29).
10.4.2 Hofstede
Hofstede’s Onion will be used to analyze symbols, heroes, rituals and values in the TV commercial from
Coca Cola. As this is a global commercial, the analysis will be made from a more universal perspective and
not focus on symbols, heroes, rituals and values that may relate to specific cultures.
Symbols
To help each other like they do in clip 17 is a symbol of humanity. The fact that the people help each other
indicates that they are aware of others in need (Appx.6, 17). The young people who are having fun after
work both in clip 13 and clip 24 can do whatever they want when they are off work(Appx.6; 13, 24). This
symbolizes freedom because no one can tell them what to do and there are no limits for what they can do.
The person who is riding the bike in unexplored nature is also a symbol of freedom and exploration. He has
the freedom to ride wherever he wants and to explore the world (Appx.6, 3). The polar bear floating on an
ice floe and the iceberg that is melting are symbols of global warming (Appx.6, 15-16). The polar bear is
signifier and the signified is an animal. The denotation is a polar bear and the connotation is global
warming. The people who are protesting are symbol of freedom of speech (Appx.6, 20). They can protest
without anyone stopping them as long as they obey the law and protest in a calm and respectful way.
Heroes
In clip 17-18 people are helping each other to move some bricks. In clip 18 you see smiling children and
they look very happy to receive the help and they might see some of the people who came a long way to
help them as heroes (Appx.6, 17-18). The demonstration in clip 20 could be for a person that they believe
has not been treated right; a person who they see as a hero but this is uncertain (Appx.6, 20). The band
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that plays in the commercial, and the band that is depicted in clip 21, can both be seen as heroes for young
people who love their music (Appx.6, 21).
Rituals
There are two clips about working. There is the one in which three people are sitting at a desk, and the one
with the intern who is carrying a tray with coffee cups (Appx.6, 11-12, 23-24). Both clips are followed by
people who are having fun after work. This indicates a good work ethic, according to which you work first
and party later. The distinction between work and fun is quite clear, and this is a work ethic that most
people can relate to.
Values
This commercial portrays more universal values as opposed to culturally specific values. Examples of this
include the clips about community and the one in which people are helping each other (Appx.6; 9, 13, 17,
24). This is about good moral and thinking about others in need. The people who are working show a high
working morale as they are completely focused on their work, when they are in the office. They set aside all
things unrelated and they wait until they are off work to have fun with friends (Appx.6, 12, 23).
National Cultural Dimensions
Power Distance
Power distance is about the unequal power relation, for example in families or in the workplace. In this
commercial there is a scene in which three people are sitting in an office with a telephone and a computer
each. They are sitting close together which indicates some kind of power distance, as their CEO most likely
has his or her own office and does not sit together with the other employees. The fact that they all share a
desk opposed to them having their own cubicle indicates that they are at the bottom of the hierarchy in the
workplace (Appx.6, 12). The next clip is the one with the intern who carries a tray with a lot of coffee cups.
This shows the power distance between interns and other employees in a company. Interns make coffee to
the other employees and have to do what they are told. Though, there are also clips in which power
distance does not show. For example in the one where people are helping each other bearing bricks. This is
both men and women, Africans and Caucasians who are helping each other all together. There is no sign of
one person controlling the work or telling the others directly what to do (Appx.6, 17).
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Individualism versus Collectivism
In the commercial Milly Pye is singing in a band and she is not just playing solo. This is a sign of collectivism.
Every scene that has more people in it is an indicator of collectivism and community because people are
together and helping each other. For example, the clip with the people who are wrestling in the mud bath
are all having fun together and the clip with the people who stand together while demonstrating. They
share an opinion and demonstrates for the same cause (Appx.6, 9, 10, 20). The clip with the young people
who are having fun after work also indicates collectivism because they are together and they seem to have
a close relationship (Appx.6, 13).
There are some clips indicating individualism as well, for example the clip with the person sitting alone in
the bus, or the person who bikes through nature alone (Appx.6, 2-3). The man taking the bus does not
smile, and you cannot see the face of the person on the bike. The intern who walks with the tray also
indicates individualism (Appx.6, 23). Individualism is also about being responsible for one’s own success,
which this intern is a good example of, as it is his own responsibility to do his to reach his goals in life.
Masculinity versus Femininity
This is about the separation of the social gender roles. In masculine societies men are expected to take care
of the family's income and women are expected to take care of the household. In feminine societies it is
more equal; men and women are both responsible for income and household. As mentioned before there
are both men and women in the commercial taking different positions. It is a very feminist commercial
because it is both men and women who take responsibility both in work situations, in helping each other
and when having fun all together. This is for example visible in the clip with the three people who work in
an office as they are both men and a woman (Appx.6, 12). The clip in which men and women are helping
each other move bricks from one place to another is also an example of femininity (Appx.6, 17). Everybody
is taking responsibility which is what a feminine culture does.
10.4.3 Standardization, Adaptation and Westernization
Coca Cola has made several versions of its ‘Reasons to Believe’ TV commercial campaign. This TV
commercial is global and will now be analyzed with standardization, adaptation and westernization
theories.
Arthur C. Fatt argues that it is a waste of time to change an advertising idea if it has been a success in one
country (Fatt, 1967). It seems like the idea about showing two clips where the one illustrates something
negative and the second one illustrates something positive is a concept that works. This is the structure
followed throughout the entire commercial. In relation to the analysis that is in accordance with Hofstede’s
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theory, there are no values or dimensions that are directed towards a single national culture in this specific
commercial. Therefore, this is an advertisement that could be shown in all markets, as Levitt also argues
that a company should see the world as one market, and therefore there is no need to create adapted TV
commercials to different markets (Levitt 1983, 1-2).
On the other hand, Marieke de Mooij advocates that it is not possible to standardize advertisements
because there are no global consumers (Mooij 2011, 17). This commercial will thus not be a success in
every market Coca Cola operates in because of cultural differences among the markets. Though, Coca Cola
has global products its consumers will not necessarily be affected the same way by a global commercial
according to Mooij (Mooij 2011, 17). Mooij argues that it is important to know the culture in the country
that you are approaching to create a successful adapted approach (Mooij 2011, 3). According to Mooij, one
commercial cannot be shown in all markets and this indicates that this commercial should not be shown as
a global commercial all around the world but should be adapted to fit to each market. The text in the
commercial is in English. Marieke de Mooij argues that communication cannot just be translated from one
language to another because meaning can be lost in translation. Therefore, the text will have to be adapted
to each market as well (Mooij 2011, 6). This is not in accordance with the westernization approach.
Westernization relates to the more cultural aspect of globalization and emphasizes a global culture that is
dominated by western cultural values. Tomlinson argues that English is a lingua franca, a language that can
be used in all markets and that people are expected to be able to understand. In accordance with
Tomlinson this commercial could thus be shown in all markets as the text in the commercial is in English.
Latouche states that a worldwide standardization of lifestyles is happening. This influences clothes, food,
drinks, movies, television etc. The aspects that are shown in this global commercial could relate to a
standardized lifestyle. Many of the clips can be linked to several cultures and are situations that many can
relate to no matter which country you live in. Tomlinson agrees with Marieke de Mooij in the matter of the
existence of global products, and this leads to the expression Coca-colonization (Howes 1996, 3).
Coca-colonization
This phenomenon is described as an increased replacement of local products with mass-produced global
products, which have originally been made in western countries but have now moved to non-western
countries (Howes 1996, 3). This could have been the thought behind this global commercial, as Coca Cola’s
products are sold all around the world, and therefore, this global commercial was made. Howes further
argues that no matter where you are in the world, you can always find a McDonalds or drink a Coca Cola
(Howes 1996, 3). Eventually this tendency will destroy cultural diversity because every consumer around
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the globe has access to the same products (Howes 1996, 3). But again this is where Mooij argues that even
though the products are global, it does not mean that the consumers are global.
11. Discussion
In the first part of the discussion, the main focus will be on the way this Coca Cola campaign has been
constructed and why Coca Cola has chosen to show these particular photos and situations in each of the
three commercials. The second part will touch upon whether Coca Cola emphasizes cultural values or its
own values, such as unity and ‘hygge’, throughout the three commercials. The last part of the discussion
will put focus on whether or not Coca Cola uses a standardized or an adapted marketing strategy within its
‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign and hence the three commercials.
11.1 Scenes in The Commercials
The first and the last things written in the commercials are similar in all three of them. The first text reads
‘There are millions of reasons to believe in a better world’ (Appx.2, 4, 6; 1). This text is put together with
different clips in the three commercials. However, they all portray an introduction to the people singing the
soundtrack ‘You’ve Got the Love’ in the commercials. In both the Danish and the American commercials,
the song is performed by a choir of children, whereas the global version features the British
singer/songwriter Milly Pye (Appx.2, 4, 6). The last text written is ‘#ReasonsToBelieve – open happiness’
(Appx 2, 24; Appx.4, 22; Appx.6, 29). The clips depict this text in red alongside a red Coca Cola bottle on a
white background. This shows that it is a Coca Cola commercial, and it illustrates Coca Cola’s new campaign
and current slogan, ‘Open Happiness’.
The three commercials are built in the same way. First you are introduced to a bad or negative illustration
with a fitting bad ‘dilemma’ written, and afterwards the bad thing is outweighed by a positive illustration
with a fitting text. However, some people might have the opinion that the good elements illustrated are not
enough to weigh out the bad elements. An example could be mentioned with clips 15 and 17 from the
global commercial. Clip 15 illustrates that the ice is melting and the text reads ‘Even though it seems no one
cares...’ (Appx. 6, 15). The counterpart to this clip is the one depicting people helping African families and
the fitting text reads ‘there are 1000s of you who do’ (Appx. 6, 17). Here two disastrous and vital elements
are put up against each other. Though, the positive element might in some people’s eyes not make up for
the bad because some may believe that the global warming issue is more catastrophic than poverty in
Africa. Therefore, some people might believe that the global warming issue needs to be put more into
focus. In this way, the help to Africa cannot weigh out the consequences of not doing something about
global warming.
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It seems that Coca Cola with its ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign is out to make people remember that
despite all the bad things that happen in the world there are still a million reasons to believe in a better
tomorrow. Nonetheless, it seems that Coca Cola believes that the positive elements really do outweigh the
negative elements exactly because the campaign is called ‘Reasons to Believe’. Thereby, most people are
probably left with the feeling that the positive elements do outweigh the bad, and this is possibly a
deliberate strategy from Coca Cola. On the other hand, as mentioned in the above example, this may
backfire as some people may tend to put more attention into the negative elements. However, the
message Coca Cola probably wants to send is that even though bad things happen, it is possible to turn the
bad things into something positive and at the end create better conditions and hence a better world, if we
stand together. A tool Coca Cola uses a lot throughout the commercials is namely the social and unified
aspects.
Coca Cola uses different effects within its commercials; one of them is the emphasis on people’s emotions.
The use of this tool is particularly present in all three commercials as Coca Cola focuses on a lot of different
feelings throughout the commercials. For instance the sense of community among both family and friends
is shown in many of the clips in the commercials. This sense of community is present in spite of different
cultures, nationalities, races etc. This feeling is possibly chosen as this is one of Coca Cola’s main values as
previously mentioned. With this, Coca Cola will probably create the feeling that everyone has a place they
belong to, and probably also that people are strongest when they stand together. The wrongful and
negative illustrations and the opposite happy and positive illustrations are also contributory to bring out
different feelings such as sadness, anger, frustration, happiness, joy etc. The whole gamut of emotions is
somehow present throughout the commercials. This is most likely a deliberate choice Coca Cola has made.
It could be to show feelings that everyone in one way or another can relate to and thereby more people
will possibly have the commercials in mind and might end up buying the product, Coca Cola. So on one
hand Coca Cola has made the commercial to promote its brand and make people buy more Coca Cola. On
the other hand, Coca Cola puts lot of attention into the sense of community indirectly stating that this is
very important, also in the sense of creating a better world. As mentioned in the former paragraph, Coca
Cola has put focus on some intense feelings by depicting the global warming in the clip with the melting ice,
and the poverty in Africa and the help they receive (Appx. 6; 15, 17). Coca Cola has also put focus on less
intense feelings and more everyday life feelings, such as happiness and joy that comes from partying with
your friends in the weekends, or the tiredness you experience almost every Monday morning. The mix
between the intense and more regular feelings is very efficient, and people can relate to both of them.
Because of that, the commercials are very likely catchy to most people exactly because it plays on the
whole gamut of emotions, and you are left with a lot to think about and to take into further consideration.
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The lyrics of the soundtrack ‘You’ve Got the Love’ are constructed in the same way as the commercials, in
the sense that it is initiated by some negative and despairing elements and afterwards it is outweighed by
something uplifting and life-giving (Appx. 3, 5, 7). The choice of the song is very likely also strategic as the
similarities are strong and thereby form a synthesis. This effect also makes the advertisement stronger and
catchier, and it is also contributory to the feel that if everyone stands together, there are more reasons to
believe, which in the end is a clever sales technique.
An interesting point within the commercials is that you do not find out who or what the commercials are
promoting until the penultimate clip where the text reads ‘There are many more sharing a Coke’ (Appx. 6,
27; Appx. 2, 24; Appx. 4, 21). This might be a bad choice for Coca Cola as some people might skip the rest of
the commercial and thereby fail to realize who is behind the commercial which will result in a lack of
impact on consumers and thus sales. On the other hand, the fact that people cannot see who or what the
commercial is for, could also trigger them into wanting to see the end of it in order to be surprised about
the sender of the commercials. However, as Coca Cola is a global brand with a high brand awareness, it
might not even be necessary for Coca Cola to promote itself that excessively and put its name or Coca Cola
bottle at the beginning of the commercial. Ultimately, when people see the name or the Coca Cola bottle at
the end, they are completely aware about the sender of the commercial. Consequently, Coca Cola can
unproblematically focus on the central concept of the campaign, ‘Reasons to Believe’ and thus emphasize
that there are many reasons to believe in a better world, or just reasons to believe in general.
11.2 Cultural Values versus Coca Cola’s Own Values
Coca Cola often emphasizes the social dimension of drinking Coca Cola. This is for instance seen in its
advertising campaign that aired in the 1900s under the slogan ‘Delicious and Refreshing’ (The Coca-Cola
Company 2012(1)). The catch phrase of the campaign was ‘It’s a family affair’ meaning that Coca Cola was
something that needed to be shared among family (The Coca-Cola Company 2012(2)). This social aspect of
Coca Cola is also seen in the 2013 summer campaign ‘Share a Coke’ that ‘…invited you to share a moment of
happiness with friends, family and loved ones’ (Coca Cola – GB 2014(2)). During the campaign, the Coca Cola
logo was swapped with names on small bottles, whereas the larger bottles featured the words ‘Friends’ and
‘Family’ as these were meant to be shared with loved ones (Coca Cola – GB 2014(2)).
Coca Cola has had numerous slogans during the years but its current slogan ‘Open Happiness’ has been the
official one since 2009 (The Coca-Cola Company 2012(1)). This slogan also addresses the social aspect of
enjoying a Coca Cola. As mentioned throughout the analyses of the three Coca Cola commercials, the social
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aspect is also emphasized in its ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign. However, this campaign includes different
versions addressed to different markets, and the cultural aspect is thus highly important.
Looking at both the American and the Danish commercials, there are several aspects that are culturally
specific as mentioned in the analyses. As for the American commercial, the graduation ceremony and the
military stand out, whereas the cultural aspects in the Danish commercial regard typical Danish weather,
the shared national feeling and ‘hygge’ (Appx; 2, 4). The translation of the English text into Danish is a clear
sign of cultural consideration as it is meant to fit the Danish commercial and thus consumers. In the global
commercial the cultural aspects are rather downplayed and the focus is instead on more universal
occurrences (Appx. 6). This corresponds with the text remaining in English, as English as mentioned was the
first global lingua franca (Tomlinson 1999, 89; James and Tulloch 2010, 214). The social aspect on the other
hand is visible in the majority of the clips as most of the events featured in the commercials regard social
happenings such as enjoying ‘the 5 to 9’ in the global commercial, ‘looking forward to the weekend’ in the
Danish commercial, and ‘running for a cure’ in the American commercial. This also corresponds with the
emphasis on emotions throughout the commercial. However, is it a beneficial solution for Coca Cola to
include the cultural aspects and adapt its commercials, or should it stick to only portraying its social
company values?
By considering cultural differences in its commercials Coca Cola has the potential to increase consumer
loyalty as the consumers are more likely to identify with the message of Coca Cola’s advertising. This can
potentially result in stealing customers from a brand like Pepsi that may not consider cultural differences in
its marketing. On the other hand, when dealing with culture, it is crucial to tread cautiously in order to
avoid offending people. This can happen as a result of misinterpretations of the values pertaining to a
specific culture. By focusing on culture specific elements, it is also possible for Coca Cola to lose its identity
and lose brand awareness or change the way its brand is perceived by consumers. In this campaign, Coca
Cola has chosen to include culture specific elements, and thereby adapt its commercial to different
markets. However, the degree to which the campaign has been adapted is somewhat limited as seen in the
above description of the culture specific clips in the Danish commercial and in the American commercial.
This can partly be explained because of the homogenizing of the world’s cultures due to westernization,
which results in the western culture influencing other cultures and creating similar values that resemble
western values across large geographical distances. Therefore, it can be argued that the Coca Cola
commercials in a large degree address the cultural aspect, but as cultures become more similar, the cultural
differences are not as evident as they might have been many decades ago. This is particularly noticeable as
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several clips are repeated in both the Danish commercial and the American commercial. For example, this
concerns the clip featuring the young people in the subway, the party scene, the graduation ceremony, the
funny video with the cat and the sisters arguing (Appx.;2, 4). In the global commercial, influence from
westernization is evident in the standardization of the lifestyles illustrated in the commercial as these can
relate to most people regardless of nationality (Appx. 6).
If Coca Cola uses a standardized global commercial with no adaptations, it is important that Coca Cola is
well known as the consumers will then be more likely to accept a more universal commercial. This is the
case with Coca Cola, as it is a global brand with high brand awareness. Looking at the two adapted
commercials, the Danish and the American, it is possible to argue that the cultural considerations are
present in so few clips that the commercials could be shown in many different markets if a few of the clips
were replaced with clips with a more global focus. This can again be explained by looking at the influence
that westernization has had on the rest of the world. However, the influence as mentioned earlier does not
apply to all aspects of culture. Therefore, a global commercial with no alterations might create problems in
for example parts of Asia. Take for example the clip with a gay marriage which is featured in both the
Danish and the American commercials. It is very unlikely that the content of this type of clip would be well
received in all countries globally, and it might be more beneficial for Coca Cola to create several versions of
the commercial, so that one version is addressed towards all western countries and to all western
consumers. Even though the content of the commercial featured in the entire western world is exactly the
same, it might be beneficial for Coca Cola to continue to translate the text in the commercial in order to
ensure a correct interpretation of the content across all countries. Ultimately, focusing on the social aspect
and Coca Cola’s values can possibly be more powerful as it applies to most people despite cultural
differences.
It is difficult to determine whether or not Coca Cola should disregard cultural considerations in its
advertising as it is one of the most well known brands on a global scale, and the company does not
necessarily need to consider cultural differences in order to generate sales. Therefore, it can be argued that
Coca Cola should focus exclusively on its own values in its advertising as this is both efficient and less
expensive than adapting the original version to other countries. However, there are several advantages in
regards to considering cultural differences. Whether Coca Cola should use an adapted or standardized
marketing strategy and thus which strategy would be most beneficial, will be discussed in the next section.
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11.3 Be Global but Act Local?
Three TV commercials have now been analyzed with the theories of Gillian Dyer, Geert Hofstede and
different advocates for standardized, adapted and westernized marketing approaches. Afterwards a
discussion of Coca Cola’s usage of different situations that it has selected to use in the commercials has
been made, followed by a discussion of the commercials in connection with Coca Cola’s values. All of this
has led to this final discussion of Coca Cola’s choice of standardizing or adapting its marketing in connection
with its ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign.
Coca Cola’s ‘Reasons to Believe’ campaign is shown in 72 countries (Moye 2012). A Danish version, an
American version and a global version of the campaign have been chosen as the focus of this project. As
mentioned, there are several versions of the commercial, for example, versions addressed to different
countries like Egypt, Greece, India, Spain etc. All commercials illustrate that despite negative things
happening in the world there are still more good things than bad things going on. (Coca Cola - GB 2014(1)).
This indicates standardization of the concept for the commercial in this campaign. It is the same principle
that is used in every commercial. The global brand director for Coca Cola Lorna Sommerville says that
“’Reasons to Believe’ has translated from market to market so seamlessly because it leans into the fact that
we are more alike than we are different” (Moye 2012). This is in accordance with the standardized
approach as Coca Cola is taking on a concept that works in one place and uses it in every market. Though,
each country that the commercials are shown in has put its own locally relevant twist into the commercial
(Moye 2012). This means that the commercials are adapted to each market. However, it is not all the clips
in the commercials that are adapted but only a few of them. As an example, the clip in the Danish
commercial with the Danish flags can be mentioned. It is easily seen that this is an adapted clip as it would
not make any sense to consumers in other countries to see a clip with Danes waving the Danish flag with a
text that says ‘er vi stadig det lykkeligste land i verden’ (Appx.4). In English this text means we are still the
happiest country in the world. The text has also been adapted and translated into Danish. The text is
adapted to the different clips and is understandable, even though you compare the Danish commercial and
the American commercial. You can see that some of the clips recur and the texts to these clips are
translated but maintain their original meaning and is thus not lost in translation. This is very important in
order for the consumers to understand the message in the commercial (Mooij 2011, 17). As mentioned,
several clips are repeated in the Danish commercial and the American commercial (Appx.2, 4). On the other
hand, the clips depicted in the global commercial are different from the clips in both the Danish commercial
and the American commercial (Appx.6). Though, there are not many clips that are adapted to the Danes or
to the Americans (Appx.2, 4). For example, the clip with the people sleeping in the subway and the clip with
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the young people who are partying are shown in both commercials. The global commercial shows clips that
are more global and that could be understood in many markets. Both the song and the text are in English in
this commercial (Appx.6).
If Coca Cola sees the world as one big market, this commercial could be the one to show. It is influenced by
westernization as the language is English and this is seen as lingua franca, a language that everyone is
expected to understand (Tomlinson, 1999, 89). This leads back to standardization that in this case is
influenced by westernization. A standardization of this commercial would minimize the marketing costs as
the time spent on conducting all the data to the commercials would have been minimized, and there would
be no need to spend time on translating or make adapted music and text. This commercial is affected by
westernization mainly because Coca Cola is a western brand. Coca-colonization is a western phenomenon
that describes the way that western culture is spreading to the rest of the world, this being things like
McDonald’s, clothes, music, movies and television (Tomlinson, 1999, 83, 89). This gives reason to
standardize the commercials as Coca Cola is a world known brand and the concept used in this commercial
about bad and good things are something all humans can relate to. As brand director Sommerville says, this
concept works because people are more alike than they are different (Moye 2012). Though, according to
Hofstede there is differences in cultures that have to be considered when approaching new markets and as
says: ‘there may be global products but there are no global consumers’ (Mooij, 2011, 17). This advocates
that the commercials should be adapted in order to obtain the most successful effect with the consumers
and this is also what Coca Cola states that it does (Moye 2012).
Coca Cola says that each commercial has been influenced with relevant local twists. This is in accordance
with Coca Cola’s adaptation of commercials but is Coca Cola really adapting its commercials completely to
the different markets or is there some kind of standardization too? According to the first part of this
discussion about the content of the commercials, there are signs of standardization in the commercials too.
There are clips that are being used in more than one commercial for example in the Danish and the
American ones. It would be a huge work to conduct data in all countries, as the commercial is shown in
more than 70 countries, so in this way it makes sense that Coca Cola has standardized some parts of the
commercials (Moye 2012). At the same time it also shows that Coca Cola believes that the clips that it has
chosen to use in several commercials will influence consumers despite the consumers being from different
cultures. This also indicates that it is difficult to completely standardize or adapt commercials as there is
often a concept or idea behind the commercial that is used in every market. Coca Cola has chosen a
standardized concept to this commercial campaign. Coca Cola also shows that it is aware of the differences
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in cultures in the markets that it approaches by adapting some clips in each commercial to specific markets.
These differences in cultures could be the reason why Coca Cola has chosen to adapt the commercials
instead of using the global commercial, despite the fact that Coca Cola is a world famous brand. This is also
in accordance with the strategy where Coca Cola says that it is: ‘…a global business that operates on a local
scale, in every community where we do business’ (The Coca-Cola Company 2014(2)).
12. Conclusion
Globalization has caused an interconnectedness that revolves around social, cultural, economic,
technological, political and environmental aspects (Tomlinson 1999, 13). This interconnectedness has
created a tendency that several theorists claim has resulted in the development of a global culture that is
primarily influenced by Western tendencies. This tendency is determined as Westernization. Friedman
refers to this tendency as: ‘The increasing hegemony of particular central cultures which bring all other
cultures into their ambit through the diffusion of specific values, consumer goods and lifestyles’ (Friedman
1994, 195).
Coca Cola is a global brand and company that has achieved success due to the opportunities that
globalization has brought along with it. Therefore, Coca Cola is present in the majority of countries
worldwide which results in the need to market its products globally. Coca Cola states that it considers local
differences in its marketing which corresponds with the adapted marketing approach.
In the first commercial, the American version, Coca Cola emphasizes a few elements that are in line with
the American culture and American values. This includes for example its superior military power and highly
cherished patriotism as well as the graduation ceremony that features the traditional American graduation
gown and cap. In the Danish version, Coca Cola touches upon a few aspects that correspond with the
Danish cultural values. Here is to mention the stadium packed with Danish fans dressed in the Danish
national colors while waving Danish flags, the three scenes that revolve around Danish weather and one of
the most central aspects in Danish culture, ‘hygge’.
In general, the cultural specific elements in the two commercials are very limited and several clips are
depicted in both the American version and in the Danish version. The text in the Danish version has been
translated into Danish to ensure a correct understanding of the commercial. The performance of the song
in the commercial is also the exact same in the Danish version as in the American version. This corresponds
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with the homogenization of the world’s culture, as many clips can apply to both cultures. In the global
commercial, the clips are more universal and do not address any specific culture. As a result, this version of
the commercial can thus be used as a globally standardized commercial. Consequently, the two cultural
specific commercials contain aspects that correspond to both the standardized and the adapted marketing
approach, whereas the global commercial is completely standardized. Hereby, it can be concluded that the
American and Danish commercials are both standardized and partly adapted.
This Coca Cola campaign and the underlying commercials are constructed by the use of a negative aspect
followed by a positive aspect that is ultimately designed to portray many reasons to believe in a better
world. The focus of the campaign is primarily put on Coca Cola’s own values that include a sense of
community and social values in general. Therefore, it is concluded that the social values outweigh the
cultural values present in the two culture specific commercials and that the cultural aspect is very limited.
However, by including the cultural aspect in the commercials, Coca Cola will be able to address its
consumers more efficiently as the consumers’ cultural specific values are considered and addressed in the
commercials. On the other hand, a standardized version of the commercial would reduce costs and time
spent on conducting cultural specific data to include in the commercials as well as time spent on
translations.
Ultimately, it is concluded that it would be more beneficial for Coca Cola to mix the two marketing
approaches in terms of creating a few different versions that are aimed at addressing larger geographical
areas and cultural groups than the current versions. It would be possible to create a western version that
will be the official version in the US and Western Europe. This is concluded on behalf of the extremely
similar versions that are designed to reach the Danish and the American consumers respectively.
Consequently, the global version is so universal that it could apply to both Denmark and the US and
therefore, conclusions can be drawn towards the possibility of using this version in accordance with the
standardized marketing approach. However, it would be beneficial for Coca Cola to adapt the commercial
in terms of translations in order to avoid confusion or loss of meaning.
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13. Bibliography
13. 1 Books
Andersen, Finn Rolighed. 2011. International Markedsføring. Kbh.: Trojka.
Askehave, Inger, and Birgitte Norlyk. 2006. Meanings and Messages: Intercultural Business Communication.
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Mooij, Marieke K. De. 2011. Consumer Behavior and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing and
Advertising. Second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Nye, David E.. 2010. Contemporary American Society. Kbh.: Akademisk Forlag.
Pahuus, Mogens. 2012. ‘Hermeneutik’. In Humanistisk Videnskabsteori, edited by Finn Collin and Simo
Køppe, 139-169.Kbh.: Danmarks Radio Forlaget.
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Silverman, Kaja. 1983. The Subject of Semiotics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tomlinson, John. 1999. Globalization and Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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13.2 Articles
Benjamin, Jeff. 2012. ‘Fall in Love With Psy's 'Gangnam Style' -- Korean Rapper Goes Viral’. Billboard, July
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Bernsen, Markus. 2012. ‘From Viking Drinking to Stone Age Food’. Focus Denmark Magazine, June, pp. 3031. Accessed May 15. 2014.
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Cooperstein, Paige. 2013. "A History Of The World's Tallest Skyscrapers." Business Insider, November 29.
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Fatt, Arthur C. 1967. "The Danger of ‘Local" International Advertising.’ Journal of Marketing vol. 31, no. 1,
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Commercial’. Chesterchronicle, February 20. Accessed May 12, 2014.
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Luling, Todd Van. 2013. ‘This Is Why You Get To Celebrate Your Birthday Every Year.’ The Huffington Post,
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Mcsweeney, Brendan. 2002. ‘Hofstede's Model of National Cultural Differences and Their Consequences: A
Triumph of Faith - a Failure of Analysis.’ Human Relations vol. 55, no. 1, 89-118.
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McShane, Larry. 2012. ‘Hard-partying Young Americans Have Highest Death Rate of Any High-income
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Mcsweeney, Brendan. 2013. "Fashion Founded on a Flaw: The Ecological Mono-deterministic Fallacy of
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13. 3 Websites
Aqua. 2014. "Aqua : Greatest Hits." Accessed May 7. http://www.aquaofficial.com/biog.php.
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Coca Cola - GB. 2014(2). ‘Share a Coke: Swapping Our Name With Yours’. Accessed May 14.
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The Coca-Cola Company. 2014(2). ‘The Coca-Cola System’. Accessed May 25. http://www.cocacolacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-system.
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