Pictured above are two of the
most vocal and powerful discourse communities in modern capitalism. Coke vs.
Pepsi. The soda confrontation that defined a generation (or more). But more
importantly, it manipulated the public’s opinion of not one but both companies
by convincing their adoring fans that only one discourse community could come
out on top. So, despite Coke having finally taken a substantial lead in
the sugary soft-drink market, both companies brought in revenue in the
billions, with additional profit coming from the numerous smaller companies and
extensions each owns, such as FritoLay. But the effect of good-natured
advertisements such as the ad on the right, put out by Pepsi Co. just in time
for Halloween, is one of congenial mockery. Understanding exists, not only
between Pepsi and Coke, but between the companies and their audience, that
neither one is attacking their opponent company. Rather than a cavalcade of accusations and factoids about
how horrible Coke is for your health, Pepsi fires shots on the very subculture
of Coke, the people who believe with their very souls that Coke is genetically
superior to Pepsi. They achieve a mirror of popular athletic discourse with
this method, similar to the trash talking that occurs between sports fans (and
infects Facebook in the weeks leading up to Cat/Griz). The "fans," as
it were, rally to the defense of their product, Pepsi gets some press,
Coke-fans on Reddit respond with a pithy ad of their own, and the world spins
on.
But this result would not be
conceivable without the polarizing effects of the all-powerful discourse
community. Because, as the advertisements indicate, you are either pro-Pepsi or
pro-Coke (unless you happen to be one of the godless heathens that claims they
can't tell the difference, but those liars have no place in either discourse).
By using their distinctive images as their primary polarizing weapon, Coke and
Pepsi, like other famous - and infamous - brands, have used the formation of
discourse communities to their advantage. This formation is the most
superficial of all the discourse communities related to the psychology of
labels, but it functions as an undeniable mainstay of American economy and society.
Brands using discourse communities to foster a feeling of "sameness"
between a large group of people use what Fish refers to as a "manipulation
of] reality," attributed to rhetorical man. This manipulation, intended as
a criticism of the inability of rhetoric to unveil truth, instead functions as
a low-level type of societal glue, keeping an advertising audience with few
certain commonalities together.
[Great Rivalries of Our Times. Burger King vs. McDonalds and Apple vs. Microsoft.]
No comments:
Post a Comment