Critical Thinking

The “New Skinny Can” PepsiCo Advert

The new skinny can PepsiCo advert features the popular American actress and model, Sofia Vergara. The actress is wearing a fashionable hat and sipping from a slimmer can of diet Pepsi. On the right, the words “the new skinny can” are clearly written. Looking at the advert, the apparent demographic targeted by the advert is women – beautiful and confident women. The advert is pitching a slimline diet Pepsi, which is different from the original diet Pepsi. The arguments being made by the slim-line diet coke advert are explicit and targeted at health-conscious women who may not be comfortable taking soda due to fears of weight gain. The advert passes on a message to women that they can take soda without fear of gaining weight. The arguments displayed in the advert are compelling and powerful, and seems to be bending towards differentiating the Pepsi brand along gender lines. Precisely, the “skinny” can is forwarded cogent to connect with the company’s core female market. The advert uses a rhetorical figure of words to pass the message to the target market. The message, “the new skinny can” and the skinny can is symbolic, designed to grab the attention of the consumer and persuade them into buying the new diet Pepsi in a “skinny” can.

“Life is Short, Have a Diet Coke| Because I Can”

Diet Coke advert begins with Gillian Jacobs taking a slim can of diet coke from the fridge and speaking directly to the camera; she tosses a few coins to the cashier as steps outside still speaking. Jacobs starts her monologue explaining the thing about Diet Coke. “It’s delicious. It makes me feel good. Life is short. If you want to live in a yurt, yurt it up. If you want to run in a marathon, I mean, that sounds super hard, but Ok, I mean, just do you…” (Coca-Cola Great Britain & Ireland, 2018) Ideally, the advert is designed for young people who are not afraid of taking risks because life is short. The product being advertised is diet coke.

Focusing on the arguments of the advert, the campaign is explicit and appears to be attempting a rebellious move. Literally, the phrase “life is short” is often used in the context of doing something that one knows is not exactly good for them, but they do it anyway. For instance, marathons may not be great for the body, but if you want to do it, do it anyway. From a critical point of view, the argument is forwarded cogent, with a clear message to the audience, if you are in the mood for having a diet coke, have a diet coke. Additionally, the advert uses a figure of words to convince the audience to buy diet coke and not be afraid to try something if they want to.

“Total Temptation Mascara von Maybelline New York” TV Commercial

The Maybelline commercial features different models wearing the Maybelline mascara. The advert targets women who conform to beauty standards through a certain body type, long hair, and makeup. The advert is pitching the beauty of perfect eyelashes, which can be achieved through the use of the mascara to give the women “so soft” and “so dense” eyelashes like the models. The explicit arguments being made in the advert is that women can achieve soft and dense eyelashes like the models, if only they use the mascara. The forwarded cogent message being put across is that using the mascara will raise the beauty standards of the women to match those of the models. Additionally, the commercial advert uses ethos by featuring the models to win the faith of their fans and the audience and create a sense of trust in the product.

References

Laliberte, K. (2011, Feb 18). Refinery. [photograph]. Retrieved from: https://www.refinery29.com/diet-pepsi-skinny-cans

Maybelline New York DE (2018, Jan 12). Total Temptation Mascara von Maybelline New York. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13gYP89MX_o

Coca-Cola Great Britain & Ireland. (2018, Feb 26). Life is Short, Have a Diet Coke | Because I Can | Diet Coke GB. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YBP8v6fi2w