The Political Economy Of The Mass Media
Propaganda is determined as the creation of influence politically, commercially or ideologically based on selective information that may or may not be based on the actual facts. This includes portraying of a single sided view and generally impacts opinions, emotions and attitudes of people towards certain substance. Image Making is synonymous to propaganda and mostly applied towards commercial marketing of products or more specifically for the creation of brand image.
Historically propaganda has played a crucial role in winning wars. Nazi Germany implemented their propaganda against the Jews by controlling all the media including newspapers, publishing houses and television channels and they succeeded in it as the abrupt changes in the ideologies were seen in the citizens of Germany against Jews (Marlin, 299). Similar propagandas have been implemented by American forces during cold war, Iraq and Afghanistan war where they succeeded, however, in Vietnam the propaganda was successful in getting support from the American people but soon this propaganda failed as the dead bodies of American soldiers came back to America. If we look at the business aspects of propaganda, it becomes clear that currently the success of any brand is completely dependent upon how it is advertised and how it exploits the emotional aspects of the consumers (Herman, 90).
Coca Cola is considered as one of the mostly sold drink not only in America but also around the world. The company has implemented such strategies in its marketing that has allowed it to rule the world for the most part of the second half 20th century and currently into the 21st century. The company first came into being in 1886 when first as a medicine with cocaine in it and then in 1983 when cocaine freed Coca Cola hit the market. During all these years the advertising campaign of Coca Cola was dependent upon propaganda which can be referred to as image making of the brand. In 1930s Coca Cola implemented the Santa Claus in their advertising campaign to portray it as a gift from the Santa. Though, this was not the first time any company focused on Santa to sell their products, but the concepts of Coca Cola bear differences in the showcasing through various magazines and in restaurants. The propagandas during the both World Wars depicted by Coca Cola were even more encouraging for the success of brand. Eisenhower even demanded that some eight factories of Coca Cola should be built in Africa for the American troops critically determine that Coca Cola was creating an impact from its advertising techniques. Second to none are the advertising procedures that are being followed currently where the people who drink Coca Cola are exaggeratedly shown to have some superficial personalities who can do everything in the world. The product of Coca Cola Company, ‘Mountain Dew’ showcases similar exaggerations which have created such a positive perceptions in the minds of the people that have allowed them to attach to these actions emotionally. Coca Cola hasn’t stopped here as it has even portrayed somewhat very different and gigantic image of Coca Cola in the newspapers and magazines by outlining the benefits of their products with conviction. Various campaigns have been started to order to attract people have been done in many countries of the world and the results have been far more convincing as more than 600 million bottles of Coca Cola are being sold daily in more than 200 countries of the world (Rutherford, 145). Coca Cola’s long time rival Pepsi has also tried numerous such campaigns but the image that has been created by Coca Cola during all the previous years have made it the utmost choice of many more people. Apart from the some Asian countries, Coca Cola outlays Pepsi in all the other countries of the world where its taste, its presentation, its price control and the production of newer tastes has made it the winner in each and every aspect (Jacobson, 40).
The image making procedure of Coca Cola has been continuing for many long years. Hollywood has played a very convincing and distinctive role in the success of many brands. If a well known celebrity gets attached to a brand, the brand itself becomes celebrity. Coca Cola hasn’t wasted any opportunity to get ahead in the market and from time to time they have hired high level celebrities to become its brand ambassador. This means that whenever a celebrity will visit a promo or will tour, he has to showcase the Coca Cola as his major drink where he can then try to emphasize why he drinks Coca Cola and how he has become proactive in his approach and how his life has completely changed from this experience. Though, it is just a drink that soothes the mind and refreshes body, researchers believe that this is a wrong communication as Coca Cola doesn’t act like this when it enters the body. Researchers have even impacted that Coca Cola uses some chemicals that are harmful to various tissues of the bodies because of their chemical instability (Pendergrast, 56). Some cases have also been reported where continuous use of Coca Cola has damaged liver but these cases have been rare and haven’t caused any damage to the repute of the company.
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