It's The Real Thing Analysis

The use slogans as advertising has been a main factor of making a product successful. However, the use of the same slogan from different companies may not be convenient for either side. The phrase “It’s the Real Thing” was used by the Coca-Cola company and the Grove Press, to advertise the book Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher. This two-way advertising, however, did not please Ira Herbert, an executive of Coca-Cola. Herbert had written a letter directed to Richard Seaver, a representative of Grove Press, demanding that his company was to stop their use of the phrase, “It’s the Real Thing”, due to how Coca-Cola had “ownership” of the phrase first and how there would be confusion among the people between both products. As a result, Seaver had …show more content…
Seaver’s letter was plausible, nonetheless, seeing as his use of sarcasm was applied in a way that mocked Herbert’s claim on how people would be confused on which product the slogan is promoting. How can people be so foolish as to confuse a drink with a book? Seaver was addressing this question when focusing on Herbert’s nonsensical argument on people’s confusion. Seaver rebuttals by exaggerating on how people can actually “mistake a book [...] for a six-pack of Coca-Cola” (5-6). Seaver had possibly done this to make Herbert understand that his claims are not as compelling as Herbert believed they were. These letters are between two businessmen, therefore, it would be abnormal if they were to speak of emotions. Seaver, regardless, had sarcastically mentioned how the Grove Press “[notes] with sympathy” Herbert’s sentiments (3). By mockingly stating this, Seaver is portraying that Herbert is inane, making this situation based less on logic, and is not being credible as to why the Grove Press should stop their use of the phrase “It’s the Real …show more content…
Seaver had brought up to defend his claim how Grove Press had “published Games People Play which became one of the biggest nonfiction best-sellers” and as seeing that this book was successful, it had “spawned conscious imitations” (21-23). In saying so, Seaver is claiming that the fact that companies are “stealing” from one another is not a situation that should be taken seriously due to how it happens most times. To outline his argument of how Grove Press can use the phrase, “It’s the Real Thing”, Seaver had utilized the First Amendment has a greater credible source that cannot be argued against by Herbert. By bringing in the topic of the First Amendment, Seaver is depicting to Herbert that Grove Press can use the phrase due to the Constitution expressing that peopel have the right to freedom of speech. Seaver had in mind that Herbert would not be able to dispute against a government document therefore Seaver believed that he had won the argument against