Back in 1970, there was a small conflict between the Coca-Cola company and Grove Press because the book publishing company was being accused of using the slogan “It’s the real thing,” a phrase Coca-Cola had been using for approximately 27 years, as advertisement for one of their books. The issue here was that the beverage corporation thought this would cause some sort of confusion to the public, even though the two products were not related in any way. Several rhetorical strategies are used throughout the two letters between Ira C. Herbert of the Coca-Cola company and Richard Seaver of Grove Press, but it was the latter who made a better use of them by presenting a more convincing argument.
In the first letter exchanged by the two companies, we have an executive of the Coca-Cola company, Mr. Herbert, claiming the slogan belong to them and that Grove Press should cease making used of it to advertise the book Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher by Jim Haskins. He mentions the purpose behind this is for there to be no misunderstandings, and refusing to agree to his request would “dilute the distinctiveness” and “diminish its effectiveness” …show more content…
If Herbert had made a better use of rhetorical devices, he would’ve more than likely gotten away with what he wanted, but since he had the confidence of being backed up by one of the biggest companies, he simply assumed there was no way the book publishing company would refuse to accept his request of making them stop using a slogan Coca-Cola thought only they could use. It might’ve been the simplicity and lack of effectiveness of the first letter that gave Grove Press the opportunity of coming up with a greater comeback, just by using the right rhetorical strategies and knowing how to apply them to a letter that the Coca-Cola company might never
In the first letter exchanged by the two companies, we have an executive of the Coca-Cola company, Mr. Herbert, claiming the slogan belong to them and that Grove Press should cease making used of it to advertise the book Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher by Jim Haskins. He mentions the purpose behind this is for there to be no misunderstandings, and refusing to agree to his request would “dilute the distinctiveness” and “diminish its effectiveness” …show more content…
If Herbert had made a better use of rhetorical devices, he would’ve more than likely gotten away with what he wanted, but since he had the confidence of being backed up by one of the biggest companies, he simply assumed there was no way the book publishing company would refuse to accept his request of making them stop using a slogan Coca-Cola thought only they could use. It might’ve been the simplicity and lack of effectiveness of the first letter that gave Grove Press the opportunity of coming up with a greater comeback, just by using the right rhetorical strategies and knowing how to apply them to a letter that the Coca-Cola company might never