Campaign of the Week: Coca-Cola Ad Shares Message of Unity

Coca-Cola recently released a simple ad campaign intended to help ease rising tensions in the U.S. The ad reads, “We live as many. We stand as one.” Then it includes the iconic Coca-Cola logo in the bottom corner. This isn’t the first example of brands using advertising to get involved in social issues. But what do consumers think about this type of ad? We asked 1,000 respondents their thoughts about the brand and then tested the ad to see if it might actually have a positive impact.

Soft Drink Consumers

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 9% of respondents said that they drink soft drinks daily. 24% enjoy them a few times per week. 29% do so a few times a month. 11% have soft drinks a few times every three months. Another 11% do so a few times a year. And 16% drink soft drinks less frequently than once per year. Coca-Cola is already the most popular soft drink brand in terms of regular consumers. 46% of soft drink consumers said they drink it regularly. And just 37% enjoy Pepsi regularly. 61% of consumers have at least tried both Coke and Pepsi. In addition, 45% of respondents said they’ve seen at least one advertisement for soft drinks within the past week.

Ad Impact

Looking forward, 23% of soft drink consumers overall said that they would be certain or practically certain about choosing Coca-Cola for their next soft drink purchase. 22% said it would be very probable that they’d choose Coca-Cola. And 21% said it’s a good possibility. Alternatively, 17% said they would be practically certain about choosing Pepsi for their next purchase. Of those who viewed the ad, 22% said that they would be certain or practically certain about choosing Coca-Cola. 23% said it would be very probable. 21% said it would be a good possibility. And just 16% said they would be certain about choosing Pepsi for their next purchase. In addition, 63% of those who viewed the ad had at least a somewhat positive opinion of the Coca-Cola brand.

Brand Attributes

Overall, soft drink consumers seem to see Coca-Cola as a brand that’s respectable, held in high esteem and one that reflects the kind of person they are. Pepsi was given those same attributes, but to a slightly lesser degree. And respondents also named Pepsi as a brand that’s made by a trustworthy company and scored it high when it comes to taste. Those who viewed the ad generally associated the same attributes to the Coca-Cola brand, but to a slightly higher degree. There also wasn’t any significant change in how those respondents viewed the Pepsi brand.

Key Takeaways

It doesn’t seem like the latest Coca-Cola ad is likely to have a big impact on the brand’s sales immediately. However, the results did show a slight improvement in a few key attributes like respectability. And although there wasn’t a huge shift in those opinions after seeing the ad, those small changes can make a big impact over time. The Coca-Cola ad didn’t highlight a new product or special offer, but instead just tried to communicate the brand’s values. So a small shift could be considered a win for this type of ad. And over time, a large brand like Coca-Cola could make a big difference through lots of little shifts. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Coca-Cola delivery truck by Richard Eriksson under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on July 20 via AYTM’s online survey panel.