Love is Coke!

OK I've had it with advertsing and cooporate organisations which take emotion/global/universal words and use it for their products, eg, Mars chocolate, milkyway, Galaxy, O2 (yes a company who has ‘legally’ created a brand for air), Kellogs Bliss, Heaven Chocolate (again a legal company name), 3 (mobiles),Woman (magazine), I mean wtf. For example I was watching an advert for a soft cheese in which they quoted their product as 'a little piece of Heaven' they're bastards (excuse language) how dare they, the same goes for Coca Cola who had a brief campaign of 'Coke is Love', how dare they cheapen a word so sacred and meaningful to us. Take kellogs Bliss for example (a cereal) in which they are indirectly suggesting you will experience bliss if you eat their product. Bliss for me is like perfection it is sacred to me beyond belief it is the train I want to catch, it in my sights I can almost feel it and I will not have some dumb ass advertising executive sway my attention during meditation with a f#cking cereal. And it doesn't end there adverts use nearly every emotional word to grab your attention and con you into associating that emotional word with their product. Bear in mind each time they do this they cheapen the emotional word itself mainly through over usage of the word but also by association ie associating an emotional word with something that have little or nothing to do with the actual true definition of the word.

On a physiological level what these companies are doing is gradually eroding of our self esteem (by making us feel inferior if we don't have their product) and to some extent messing with minds.

I think all advertising execs should be sentanced to an enterity in hell, anyone agree?

Also I would be glad if any of you can add any further examples of this act of cheapening a words definition by the act of trade marking it, or what you think about advertisers generally?

reply to post by pharaohmoan


There is something you can do to fight back. Trademark holders cannot enforce their rights if their trademarks if their trade mark becomes generic.

For example, Kleenex used to be a protected trade mark a brand of paper people used to blow their nose with. People started using the term Kleenex to refer to all such types of paper, including paper that was not made by the Kleenex mark holder. Now, anybody who wants to sell paper that people could use to blow their nose can call it Kleenex without being liable for violating the Kleenex trademark.


Similarly, people could start killing trademarks by using them generically. For example, if you wanted to kill Coke, you could start referring to all beverages as Coke. If enough people followed suit, the Coke brand name would be dead.

So next time you order a drink at a restraunt, ask what type of coke they have. When they say "regular (cherry) and diet" respond by asking, "Do you have wine, beer, scoth, cider, or seltzer coke?" Ask your friends to do the same.

Won't do me any good, I drink RC Cola, and have for years. the reason? Real sugar. Double Cola too. Coke and Pepsi are not what they used to be. When I go into a resturant, I alwasy order coffee or sweet tea I hate fountain sodas.

Thanks for the low down Hot.

Just went into Debenams today and saw two brands of perfume called get this, 'Alien' and another called 'Angel'. Is there nothing these idiot advertisers won't taint with their product association!?

reply to post by pharaohmoan


If you really want to fight back and have a creative aptitude you could take the original advert and 'adbust' it. The subtler and simpler the twist to the adverts message, the more powerdul the anti-message effect.

Here's some prime examples from the adbusters.org site to give you some inspiration...enjoy!

Excellent stuff, boy did that make me cackle.

reply to post by pharaohmoan


Wold diamonds being a girl's best friend fit here? Or does my lady just want me to marry her alreaddy?