This month’s icon looks at the world both from the brand’s perspective and through the eyes of the people behind some iconic commercials. We travel to Atlanta, Georgia, the home of Coca Cola. We can all think of one Coke ad that sticks in the mind, be it Santa at Christmas, or the African hilltop ad featuring the song “I’d like to teach the world to sing”. Remember that? Well for the rest of the afternoon I couldn’t get it out of my head. That’s advertising at its best.
What began as a syrupy drink invented by a chemist in 1886 has become a pop culture phenomenon. From cosmopolitan cities to the tiniest villages, Coke has crossed cultural boundaries; all because of advertising. Marketing pushed Coke from an odd-tasting fizzy drink to where it is now and is testament to the power of a creative mind and good packing.
The marketing giants Maurice and Charles Saatchi understood this power and built a successful agency around the concept. Their motto: “Nothing is impossible.” For 40 years they have made household names of everything from detergents to airlines and politicians by making branding simple yet effective.
Who better for me to seek advice from when tasked with creating my own ad campaign? David Droga, the man who ran Saatchi & Saatchi for many years and then left to start his own company with clients ranging from Coca Cola, to Puma and UNICEF and whose style has been described as unconventional, has challenged me to create my own campaign. Instead of promoting a product, we chose to push the idea of volunteering, specifically within the world of Corporate Social Responsibility, asking employees to volunteer their time to good causes.
Richard Haddlington, director of strategy for Saatchi & Saatchi helped me work through the thought process needed to create an effective campaign. It comes down to identifying the issue or problem, then finding a solution to address it. His advice: “Be clear, be straightforward, be believable. You need to know exactly what it is you want people to do. Think what you want to think and then start to edit on the basis of does it sound motivating, does it sound credible.” It was an entirely new way of thinking for me and you’ll have to wait to see the finished creation.
Today’s multiple mediums mean advertising is everywhere, whether it’s a pop-up campaign that serves a multitude of platforms from television to the web, or a home-video style commercial posted on YouTube. These days we may not have to think for ourselves as much, but we do have to be more discriminating in order to decide what’s credible and what’s not. Bottom line though, advertising is here to stay. However, we’re the ones with the power to choose.
[CNN Logo] Monita Rajpal hosts the arts and culture programme ‘icon’ each month on CNN International. It airs on Thursday 28 October at 1130 GMT. For full airtimes, visit www.cnn.com/icon
