Coca-Cola Advert Gone Wrong!

The one who says a glass of water before him is half empty and the one who says the same glass of water is half-full is neither wrong nor right. A former colleague will usually say, we see differently. It is an eye-opener that can end all strifes. 

That brings to mind an advert of popular beverage brand, Coca-Cola, in the Middle East, many years ago. They presented three pictures about their product before their Arab audience in the following order:

Picture One: Picture of an obviously sickly, dehydrated man. 

Picture Two: Picture of the same man taking a bottle of chilled coke.

Picture Three: Picture of the same man now energized and full of life, as a result of the act in picture two. 

However, the target Arab audience saw the pictures about the product presented before them differently. To the Arab audience, the pictures were seen in the following order:

Picture One is that of a man full of life and energy. (Picture Three above)

Picture Two is that of the same man in picture one taking a chilled bottle of coke. (Picture Two above) 

Picture Three is that of the same man now sickly and almost collapsing, as a result of the act in picture two. (Picture One above) 

It became an advert gone wrong, because of insensitivity to the reading and writing pattern of the target audience, the Arabs, who read from right to left. The implication was that the Arabs perceived the product, Coca-Cola Coke, as a beverage that is injurious for consumption.