Ethics and Culture in Advertising

Ethics and Culture in Advertising
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Ethics and Culture in Advertising
Advertising is a key activity for almost every organization, particularly in today's interconnected world. Companies employ various advertising techniques to ensure that their products and image remain in the minds of consumers. One such company is Coca-Cola, which has a presence in almost every country. In such a company, the advertising for different countries must consider several factors during planning that may affect how ads are understood. . Two of these factors are ethics and culture. This paper examines three Coca-Cola advertisements targeted at different audiences and assesses how culture and ethics influence their understanding.
Ad 1: Coca-Cola Chinese New Year Real Magic
One of the most celebrated festivals in China is the Chinese New Year, and through an advertisement, Coca sought to make its product part of the festivity. The ad features tigers fighting for a bottle of coke and later sharing a Chinese meal with Coca-Cola drinks (Coca-Cola, 2022). Tiger is not only a revered animal in Chinese culture, but it also represented the year, with 2022 being referred to as "the Year of the Tiger" (Zhao, 2023). Therefore, by using tigers drinking Coca-Cola in the advertisement, the company tried to connect with the Chinese people. As noted by Ogden and Ogden (2014), one key advertising strategy is resonance. In this case, Coca-Cola tried to connect with the Chinese audience using a key aspect of their culture. Chinese reverence for the tiger thus influenced their understanding of the ad to a great extent.
Ad 2: Turn Up Your Break
This ad by Coca-Cola was specifically made for the Australian market and featured in the country's media channels. Two chefs are featured in the ad who appear to take a break from a busy kitchen. They share bottles of Coca-Cola, and they get 'refreshed.' As mus...