Analysis Of Have A Coke And A Smile

Have a Coke and a Smile Throughout history thus far, one of the greatest ways to reach a large audience with a message has been through the television, since it’s conception it has been used by advertisers to convince people to buy a product. Ads, or “commercials” are now a staple of the television world and can thus be considered an art of their own. Some ads have had more success than others, even to the point of cultural fame. One of these ads is an ad done buy the coke company that features the famous football player “Mean” Joe Greene.
The ad dubbed “Hey kid, catch!” is arguably one of the most famous and most recognizable ads that has ever been put on television. It shows a disgruntled Mean Joe Greene after noticeably hard game, he’s …show more content…
In the ad there is a small child who see’s the disgruntled mean Joe walking into the locker room and decides to offer him a bottle of Coca-Cola. This is an excellent use of pathos. The people watching this ad are more than likely going to feel bad for mean joe limping into the locker room despite his reputation as one of the biggest and meanest players in the NFL. Then to see this child offer him a coke; the audience has no choice but to say “aww, that’s so sweet!” Mean joe declines at first of course such is common courtesy, but then the child makes repeated offerings to Joe. He says at one point “Take it, you can have it!” This is just furthering what could be called the “aww” factor in this ad. The child is literally just standing there holding this bottle of coke for Joe. He’s frankly forced to take the bottle because of how sweetly this child is acting. Joe then takes the bottle and begins to drink it, he’s visibly feeling better and thankful for this child’s kind offering. The child seems happy for joe and he begins to walk away; but before the child can make his way out Joe stops him and says one of the most famous lines in all of television ad history, “hey kid, catch!” He then throws the child his jersey and the child’s face lights up with a big smile. This is our climax of pathos for sure in the ad and it is arguably more effective than the ethos or the logos used earlier in the ad. We can’t help but to just be so happy for the child for his good deed to not go unrewarded. He audience by this point has gone on one of the best emotional rollercoasters an ad can possibly