One of the most recognizable brands in the world is the red can with the white signature that reads “Coca-Cola”. This brand has become sewn into American culture because of the product’s longevity as well as its success in the advertising industry. When it comes to Coca-Cola’s longevity, one key thing that stands out is their impeccable record in advertising. Many of their ads are iconic and recognizable. Coke’s success in advertising success is due in part to the fact that they target a wide range of demographics. Many of their ads use a myriad of rhetorical techniques to play to their target audience. One ad in particular was released in the late twentieth century uses many of these rhetorical techniques. The ad depicts two middle to old aged white people, one man and one woman, sitting next to each other at presumably a country club. The two have just finished playing a round of tennis because they are sitting near a tennis court and both have their rackets with them. The man is pouring the woman a glass of coke and there is text on this image that reads: “Sometimes the finest serve comes after the game”. 

This ad uses multiple rhetorical techniques ike kairos and exigence and in doing so hopes to sell the product (in this case, Coca-Cola) a specific target demographic.

When examining rhetoric in and rhetorical tools in this ad, there are a number of things one could look to, as this ad is stuffed full of information. One thing we can first examine is who exactly the target audience is. The only two people in this ad are a middle aged couple, one woman and one man. They are both white and are dressed very well, even to have just finished playing a tennis match. It is reasonable to infer that the intended audience in this particular ad is people who are more well off and more financially stable. Tennis itself has always been thought of as more of a game for the upper class of society and through Coca-Cola’s intertwining of the sport with this ad, they are trying to give the impression that those who drink Coke products are more classy and that Coke is only to be consumed by respectable people. 

Another question to consider is whether this ad is meant to elicit any sort of emotional response from its intended audience. The tone of this ad has a really laid back and relaxing feel to it so any emotional response would probably be somewhat the same. The audience would likely look at this article and feel like drinking Coke products would make them more happy or relaxed. 

An interesting rhetorical tool to consider when examining this ad is the use of exigence. The ad uses exigence mostly through the backdrop of the ad and in the text present in the ad. At the bottom of the ad, below the image of the man and woman there is a logo for the U.S. Open (of Tennis). This tells us that this ad was released to target not only those who are wealthy and rich but also to reach out to those who enjoy the sport of tennis as well because this product is an official sponsor of the event. 

There are cultural questions to consider when we view this ad. What does it tell us about society’s values? This ad looks like it was released around the late 1980s or early 1990s which was a time in the United States where there was a culture of greed. There was a narrative being pushed at the time that the only way to be successful in life was to be rich or die trying. The popular culture at the time was that happiness could only be achieved through materialistic wealth and this can be seen in the ad, because the couple in the image seem to be very happy with their tennis rackets, their very expensive looking clothes and their very fine glass of Coke. This notion could also be seen as the use of kairos because this imagery was used at a time with what is seen in the ad definitely falls in line with some of the values that were held by many Americans at the time. 

When looking at this ad, it is likely safe to say that the advertiser wanted to play it safe with the message it was trying to convey by reaching out towards such a wide demographic and using a sort of two-pronged approach. The ad uses this approach by saying that not only do well off, wealthy people drink Coke, but people who love tennis drink it too. 

This ad uses multiple rhetorical techniques, and in doing so hopes to sell the product (in this case, Coca-Cola) a specific target demographic. It uses multiple target audiences to play to a larger demographic in order to consistently sell more of its product. It uses kairos by using imagery that would fall in line with the values held by many Americans at the time that this ad was released which was that greed is good and that money can buy happiness. Finally this ad also uses exigence in order to promote its product to those who enjoy tennis because it was released at the same time that the U.S Open was happening. Coca-Cola has a very impressive record in the advertising industry and this ad is a prime example of why they have been able to sustain success for well over a century. 