Coco-Cola and McDonalds Print Adverts

I looked for Coca-Cola and McDonalds adverts that were the most creative, and found the some recurring themes in the below examples.

Use of the Logo/Identity

Coca-Cola makes use of the strong brand recognition it has through the colour and typography in this advert by re-arranging the letters to create a smiling face when zoomed in. Because you automatically associate the advert with Coca-Cola because of the colours and shapes, you associate happiness with the brand after seeing the smile. This is an example of one of a false need that you want to fulfil to make you happy, as talked about by Herbert Marcuse. 

McDonalds know that young children would rather eat their food than a sandwich, and know that parents know this too. By putting their logo and packaging on a sandwich which we know is for children through the connotations of them being cut triangularly, the fact that there's only two whereas an adult would tend to eat more, and more obviously the use of the word 'mom', they try position themselves alongside parents rather than against them. This makes parents more open to going to a McDonalds with their children.

Negative Space

Similar to how Coca-Cola linked their brand with happiness in the first advert, they do the same here with the idea of Summer and holidaying. It uses negative space to create the bottle shape, which adds an extra level of recognition to the colours, and an extra relevance to the placement of the sandals.

McDonalds use of negative space is a lot simpler, with the burger being representative of the moon. From a distance or at a small size the text is unreadable, and the contrast of this against the burger has a lot more presence about it. When you get close enough to the text to read it, it adds relevance to advert, so it works on two levels.

Using the Product to Establish Trust

This Coca-Cola advert uses the bottle in to show how it's been around for years and hasn't changed. Illustrating this through various technological ages works well as it simplifies the brand down to nothing more than just a drink against the complex connotations of technology. This removes it from the context of the big multi-national corporation, making it appear more innocent, trustworthy and likeable in the eyes of the consumer.

The McDonalds advert uses the product in a way that shows the brand itself is up-to-date by keeping up with technology. This keeps young people wanting to eat there after they outgrow the Happy Meals, as this sort of advertising makes clear that it's more than just a place to eat, it's more of a lifestyle decision.