American corporations spend millions of dollars every year in advertising trying to capture the attention of consumers. Every day we are attacked with carefully developed ads intended to persuade us to consume, or take same action upon products or services. There are no safe places anymore. As we walk down the streets, we can see ads everywhere: on billboards, on the roof of buildings so people can see ads from an airplane or from Google Earth via Internet, on taxis, on buses, on TV, on radio, in magazines and newspapers. Even public bathrooms that were once considered a private place are now invaded with advertising, just in case people’s minds were not yet overloaded with information from the clutter world of advertising.
Because advertising is everywhere, people are becoming more and more immune to it, and every effort by people to break away from the clutter creates even more clutter. Advertising agencies are therefore becoming more creative in how they produce and target audiences. If a message doesn’t break through the clutter, then the ad wasn’t successful at delivering its message and a new ad must be created. Those agencies use techniques to increase the probability of an ad reaching its target audience and delivering its message. Advertising agencies use consumer’s emotions and sub-rational appeals to move people’s profoundly desires and stimulate images that individuals secretly crave.
Different appeals can be played by the advertising agencies in order to reach consumers. The need for sex is one of those appeals used very successfully by the alcohol beverage industry to market its products. Traditionally, the rules of beer advertisers were that sex and women sell beer. This approach worked very well and for long time; however, because too much clutter has already been created from its use, the message wasn’t breaking through as consistently as before, and new ideas and approaches were needed. CervecerÃa Grupo Modelo, a Mexican beer company took a different and creative approach by breaking those traditionally established rules of beer advertising and appealing to costumer’s emotions using a different appeal: “the need to escape.”
According to the article “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals,” by Jib Fowle’s, “many advertisers like appealing to the need for escape because the sensation of pleasure often accompanies escape” (82). In other words, the sensation of pleasure by relaxing in a beautiful sandy beach, with warm weather makes people feel that they have escaped away from their life responsibilities, or are free from their commitments. A feeling of freedom, adventure and care-free attitude is the field here.
Corona’s advertising “Just Add Nada,” is a fresh break away from the stereotypical advertising that the beer industry had been so famous for. While most beer advertisers are still using the same old marketing approach of using sex and women to sell beer, Corona’s advertising uses a much simpler, yet powerful approach. It uses natural visual elements such as a tropical beach with palm trees, always complemented by that iconic Corona bottle of golden color with a wedge of lime in it. No super attractive models are engaging around a Corona beer or any sexual defiant outfits are needed. Instead, Corona’s advertising consistently offers to our senses a journey to a peaceful, tropical place, miles away to escape from our ordinary worries and afflictions. The beach scenes and ocean in the ad are powerful triggers of relaxation. It invites people to silence their minds and engage in stress-neutralizing activities. Images of peaceful blue warm waters with beautiful surroundings emerge from the kind of inactive mental play that only occurs to a vacationing mind.
A clear cold bottled Corona is sitting strategically on a rustic table, located to the left corner of the ad and with the image of the tropical beach clearly visible in the background. It welcomes all those who need a vacation break, and appears reachable to anyone. The off-center placement, also known as the “rule of thirds”, is one of the most pleasant positions for point of interest in a photograph, according to authors Michael Langford and Philip Andrews of the book Starting Photography. This rule emphasizes that a principal element, such as a Corona bottle, is called “golden mean,” and should be placed towards either corners of the picture. Proponents of the technique claim that positioning objects on those locations creates more energy and interest in the composition than simply centering them.
The correlation between colors and mood and attitude is clearly present in ads. It is common for advertising agencies to select colors that influence people’s minds and emotions and motivate consumption. The fact that Corona’s advertising uses blue as its primary color is not a coincidence. Blue is the color of the ocean and sky, and is often associated with tranquility, softness and harmony. The blue color can actually slow a person’s pulse and heart rate. It can trigger the body to produce calming chemicals, bringing relaxation into people’s minds and well-being. Blue is used by physiotherapists as a visualization technique to help lessen the physical and emotional tension of people who suffer from anxiety.
Additionally, certain colors can also be appealing to certain demographic groups. It is no accident that Corona’s main target demographic group is males. Color studies done over the years indicate that the favorite colors of men and women do differ. Some of these differences may be attributed to the cultural use of colors. For example, in some cultures, such as the US, pink is the color of little girls. It represents sugar and spice and everything nice. Most people still think of pink as a feminine, delicate color. On the other hand, blue is a masculine color, and it is highly accepted among males. It is often associated with authority figures, intelligence and stability. Blue expresses importance and self-assurance without being dull or evil, hence the blue power suit of the corporate world, and the blue uniforms of police officers and the military.
Corona’s choice of slogan, “Just Add Nada,” delivers two important messages. The first message relates to the positioning of the slogan on top of the ad. By allowing the entire image of paradise to be fully captured in people’s mind, Corona is reinforcing its main advertising pitch: an escape from the ordinary. In order to escape from our daily problems and boring life, we need to take our imagination to a beautiful tropical beach and relax while drinking a Corona beer. Nothing (or “nada”) else is needed.
The second message delivered by Corona’s ad slogan is a result of a clever choice of a Spanish word (“Nada”). Because of Mexico’s geographical proximity to the US, and the fact that Mexico’s national language is Spanish, Corona is suggesting that tropical heaven is perhaps located somewhere south-of-the-border, in an isolated, beautiful Mexican beach. After all, CervecerÃa Grupo Modelo is a Mexican company, and any association of Corona with a relaxing Mexican beach would make the branding even more powerful.
Corona’s advertising delivers the promise that drinking a Corona beer is equivalent to a temporary escape and a vacation from our exhausting daily lives. However, how can Corona deliver on such promise? Alcohol content is without any doubt part of it, but I believe that the phenomenon has also something to do with what Kalle Lasn, author of Culture Jam, describes in his essay “The Cult You Are In.” He suggests that “we have been recruited into roles and behavior patterns we did not consciously choose” (53). In other words, the ad dollars spent by Corona over the years haven’t been just to convince us to buy Corona beer; they have also been part of a content that creates an entire product experience, i.e., the association of a Corona beer with tropical beach, vacation and relaxation.
By staring at the Corona’s ad, I can see myself lying down in that stunning tropical beach and escaping from everyday obligations. I can close my eyes and immediately memories of the Riviera Maya in Mexico with its warm, beautiful beaches come into my mind. I instantly forget about my work and English paper obligations, and my mood changes to vacation mode. I can feel the breeze on my face and hear the sound of the ocean, as the birds fly by. The warm weather makes me thirsty, and I am lucky to have a cold Corona Extra by my side. I drink my Corona and suddenly, I am relaxed and all my problems and afflictions seem to be gone.
Although Corona’s advertising can appeal to many people, especially for those who are seeking adventure from ordinary life (me included), there are some to whom Corona’s ad is not appealing. In the article “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals,” Jib Fowle states that “advertisers may have uncovered the softest spots in our minds, but that doesn’t mean they have found truly gaping apertures” (87). He argues that “there is no evidence that advertising can get people to do things contrary to their self interest” (87). Undoubtedly, Corona’s approach to advertising is creative and appeals to the need to escape of many customers’ emotions. However, regardless how creative the Corona ad is, if it goes against customer’s self-interest and appeals, it won’t produce the effect it was intended for. As a result, more clutter would have been created.
