Featured in the advertisement is notable celebrity, Taylor Swift. She is wearing a red dress and is pouring a glass of Diet Coke while looking into the camera. She is sitting behind a table that is set for multiple people. There is already a filled glass of Diet Coke on the table while she is pouring the second glass. In addition, there is a sweepstakes included in the advertisement. The sweepstakes includes the chance to win a gift card and cool Diet Coke and Taylor Swift products. The main colors included in the advertisement are red, white, and black.
The advertisement’s message is that if you, as a consumer, are to drink Diet Coke, you could be as extraordinary as Taylor Swift. Since she is a notable celebrity, the company uses Swift in order to entice her fans to drink their product. The message also includes the chance of winning a gift card and other cool prizes. Taylor Swift is a world-renowned artist, so if she drinks Diet Coke, it must be good enough for the common person to drink it too. After looking for a few more seconds, it is clear that the meaning of this ad is to get people to “share a Coke” with Taylor. There is already a full glass on the table, but Swift is pouring another one, which the viewer can assume is for them. In order for them to get that glass of Diet Coke, they have to buy the product.
The product’s advertisement is arguing that their product is good enough for celebrities, so it is great for you too. Diet Coke is also arguing that their consumers will be extraordinary if they buy their product. The money and prizes allow the company to pull more customers towards them and away from competitors. Furthermore, just a year before this advertisement got published in 2014, Taylor Swift had released her song “22.” This song conveys the message about being young and feeling extraordinary, which is why Diet Coke then argues in this advertisement to “Stay Extraordinary,” but the consumer can only do that if they buy the product.
There are several rhetorical strategies that are prominent in the advertisement for Diet Coke. For instance, the appeal to logos is seen in the lifestyle of Taylor Swift. Soda has been infamous for problems such as obesity, but then we see this contradictory image of a young, skinny, seemly healthy celebrity urging us to buy soda. The positive behavior can be identified on how drinking Diet Coke seems good for the consumer since Taylor Swift is a thriving celebrity and also drinks the product. There are appeals to ethos in having Taylor Swift be the face of the advertisement, since she is well-known, and by having the logo of Diet Coke included in the advertisement. The colors play into the appeal to pathos because the red all around the scene plays into our emotions. The red is a symbolic color as it is found in the Diet Coke label and is also a symbol for love and passion.
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