Decoding Coca-Cola: A Biography of a Global Brand

251 Pages·2020·4.893 MB·English

by  Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan and Susie Khamis

Decoding Coca-Cola
This collection of essays delves into the Coke brand to identify and decode its
DNA. Unlike other accounts, these essays adopt a global approach to under­
stand this global brand.
Bringing together an international and interdisciplinary team of scholars,
Decoding Coca-Cola critically interrogates the Coke brand as well its constituent
parts. By examining those who have been responsible for creating the images of
Coke as well as the audiences that have consumed them, these essays offer a
unique and revealing insight into the Coke brand and ask whether Coca-Cola
has always had the same meaning. Looking into the core meaning, values, and
emotions underpinning the Coca-Cola brand, it provides a unique insight into
how global brands are created and positioned.
This critical examination of one of the world’s most recognisable brands will
be an essential resource for scholars researching and teaching in the fields of
marketing, advertising, and communication. Its unique interdisciplinary
approach also makes it accessible to scholars working in other humanities fields,
including history, media studies, communication studies, and cultural studies.
Robert Crawford is a Professor of Advertising and Associate Dean of
Research & Innovation in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT
University in Melbourne, Australia. His research has focused on the growth and
development of the advertising, marketing, and public relations industries across
Australia, Oceania, and Southeast Asia.
Linda Brennan is a Professor of Advertising in the School of Media and
Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Her research
interests are the use and abuse of advertising and social marketing for social
change.
Susie Khamis is Senior Lecturer in Public Communication at School of
Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Her
research areas are branding, representations of cultural diversity, and consumer
cultures.
Routledge Studies in Marketing
This series welcomes proposals for original research projects that are either
single or multi-authored or an edited collection from both established and
emerging scholars working on any aspect of marketing theory and practice and
provides an outlet for studies dealing with elements of marketing theory,
thought, pedagogy and practice.
It aims to reflect the evolving role of marketing and bring together the most
innovative work across all aspects of the marketing ‘mix’ – from product
development, consumer behaviour, marketing analysis, branding, and customer
relationships, to sustainability, ethics and the new opportunities and challenges
presented by digital and online marketing.
Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa
Edited by Emmanuel Mogaji, Felix Maringe and Robert Ebo Hinson
Food Advertising and Childhood Obesity
Examining Food Type, Brand Mascot Physique, Health Message and Media
Fariba Esmaeilpour and Mitra Shabani Nashtaee
Understanding the Higher Education Market in Africa
Edited by Emmanuel Mogaji, Felix Maringe and Robert Ebo Hinson
Internal Marketing
Theories, Perspectives and Stakeholders
David M. Brown
Stakeholder Involvement in Social Marketing
Challenges and Approaches to Engagement
Edited by Kathy Knox, Krzysztof Kubacki and Sharyn Rundle-Thiele
Decoding Coca-Cola
A Biography of a Global Brand
Edited by Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan and Susie Khamis
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
Routledge-Studies-in-Marketing/book-series/RMKT
Decoding Coca-Cola
A Biography of a Global Brand
Edited by
Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan
and Susie Khamis
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan and
Susie Khamis individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Robert Crawford, Linda Brennan and Susie Khamis to be
identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their
individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN: 978-1-138-49544-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-02402-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Taylor & Francis Books
Contents
List of tables vii
List of contributors ix
Introduction: Unpacking Coke 1
ROBERT CRAWFORD, LINDA BRENNAN AND SUSIE KHAMIS
1 Coke and The Coca-Cola Company 11
MARK PENDERGRAST AND ROBERT CRAWFORD
2 Coke and the Hilltop 33
JOANNA K. LOVE
3 Coke and the Super Bowl 47
SUSIE KHAMIS
4 Coke and the media 59
ROBERT CRAWFORD
5 Coke and gender 77
PAULINE MACLARAN
6 Coke and the digital age 89
TAO DENG, DARADIREK EKACHAI AND JEAN M. GROW
7 Coke and design 111
YARON MERON
8 Coke and sustainability 125
PETER JONES AND DAPHNE COMFORT
9 Coke and the environment 140
SIMON LOCKREY, KARLI VERGHESE, SOPHIE LANGLEY AND
LINDA BRENNAN
vi Contents
10 Coke and the Cold War 157
LAUREEN KUO
11 Coke and America 172
VANDER CASAQUI AND ADRIANA LIMA DE OLIVEIRA
12 Coke and the beach 184
PHILIP HAYWARD
13 Coke and the kids 198
VIVIANE RIEGEL AND JOANA PELLERANO
14 Coke and health 207
ELLA CHORAZY
15 Coke and the competitor 226
ANDREW MCCOWAN
Index 234
Tables
6.1 Breakdown of Coca-Cola Instagram post demographics by
country 97
6.2 Degree of dress and physical presentation between men and
women 99
6.3 Comparing the regional portrayal of women and men against the
global account 101
6.4 Comparing the portrayals of women and men between masculine
and feminine countries 105
14.1 Artificial sweeteners used in Coca-Cola products 214

Contributors
Linda Brennan, Professor of Advertising, RMIT University, Australia
Vander Casaqui, Professor of Social Communication, Universidade Metodista
de São Paulo, Brazil
Ella Chorazy, Lecturer in Professional Communication, RMIT University,
Australia
Daphne Comfort, BEPS Researcher, University of Gloucestershire, UK
Robert Crawford, Professor of Advertising, RMIT University, Australia
Tao Deng, Assistant Professor of Communication, Marquette University, USA
Daradirek Ekachai, Associate Professor of Strategic Communication, Mar­
quette University, USA
Jean M. Grow, Professor of Strategic Communication, Marquette University,
USA
Philip Hayward, Adjunct Professor, School of Communication, University of
Technology Sydney, Australia
Peter Jones, Emeritus Professor, University of Gloucestershire, UK
Susie Khamis, Senior Lecturer in Public Communication, University of
Technology Sydney, Australia
Laureen Kuo, Assistant Professor of History, Fu Jen Catholic University
Sophie Langley, HDR Student, RMIT University, Australia
Adriana Lima de Oliveira, PhD Student, Escola Superior de Propaganda e
Marketing, Brazil
Simon Lockrey, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, RMIT University,
Australia
Joanna K. Love, Associate Professor of Music, University of Richmond, USA