This commercial presents to me a group of people that are very culturally different & collectively put together to promote a product, Coca-Cola. It almost looks utopian. The singing creates a common bond among them, but they are all staring straight ahead & not interacting with each other. I'm not sure of how Dean Barnlund would evaluate the Coca-Cola commercial. I'm still trying to sort out all the ideas he wrote in his essay. I just saw the reference to the "Denny Doodlebug Problem." (56) Now that is interesting. While the camera scans the group you are given a diverse looking group of people. A neighbor each has the capability to be, but the commercial does not immulate that. It is just trying to sell Coca-Cola. The just of all the group is to show that the product does span large amounts of the worlds' population.
Barnlund, Dean"Communication in a Global Village"from Public and Private Self in Japan and the United States by Dean C. Barnlund. Copyright 1975. 47-61
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I agree with you that this commercial's primary goal is to sell Coke. And the commercial does have a clearly utopian feeling about it. I believe, in a way, this demonstrates the “utopian internationalism” of the Coca-Cola Company Friedman discusses (Friedman). Because of the commercial’s intent to sell a product I also agree that the individuals on the hilltop cannot be considered “neighbors” in the sense of being members of a “true community” (Barnlund 48). I think under different circumstances the commercial’s underlying message of a global brotherhood could be taken seriously, such as if product sales were not a part of the message.
Works Cited
Barnlund, Dean. "Communication in a Global Village." Literacies. 2nd
ed. Ed. Terence Brunk et al. New York: Norton, 2000. 47-61.
Friedman, Ted. EServer.org. October 1992. 10 October 2007 http://theory.eserver.org/world-of-coca-cola.html.
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