Between the Civil Rights movements, war on poverty, peace protests, assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the rise of counterculture, exploration of space, and Nixon's resignation due to involvement with Watergate, the 1960's were packed full of significant events. The nation was jostled from one event to the next, and between drastic mindsets and attitudes. During this time, Coca Cola ads reflect some of these events, and as attempt to calm the nation during a period of commotion.
[...] Addressing a huge audience through his speeches and essays, King was able to promote a peaceful and logical approach to achieving racial equality. The fresh take that King took on the situation is reflected in the second Coke ad. It illustrates three people at a pool enjoying Cokes, the ad reads, “Only Coke gives you that refreshing new feeling It's clear that everybody was focused on a refreshing mindset at the time, considering things from new light and forming new opinions, so Coca Cola took advantage of this and incorporated it into their advertising campaign. [...]
[...] This aspect of the time period is subtly reflected in the Coke ads from my series. However, it's not directly addressed, since Coke's target audience wouldn't have been those benefiting from the war on poverty. On the other hand, the effort to eliminate poverty affected everybody, which is way you can draw connections to the ads. It's clear that the last four ads are colorful and upbeat. The third ad shows a woman wearing a captain's hat with somebody off to the side handing her a Coke and text that reads, “Things go better with Coke.” The fourth ad shows a man and a woman sitting on an unplanted tree with copy that reads, pause that refreshes! [...]
[...] Using his innovative, and obviously effective methods, King was able to single- handedly accomplish much, and coordinate a lot of people towards the common goal of civil rights. He worked with the Congress of Racial Equality on the Freedom Rides project, which “test[ed] compliance with court orders banning segregation in interstate travel and terminal accommodations,” and was met with resistance and violence (Faragher 814). King also contributed to the Albany Movement, in Albany, Georgia, where blacks formed a coalition to fight for integration and equal rights. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
