OPTIC: COCA-COLA "TASTES LIKE HOME"

OVERVIEW: The image is in black and white. There is a black rectangle inside a larger white rectangle. Inside the black rectangle there are white letters and a white figure. The letters read: "Tastes like home." The figure is a man holding a Coca-Cola bottle and smiling. His hat may mean that he is in the Navy. In black letters, written on the man's shirt is the year: 1943. Outside the black rectangle, at the bottom center of the larger, white rectangle, are the words: "Drink Coca-Cola," and a price of 5 cents.
PARTS: The slogan, "Tastes like home," is very effective. Given the time period in which the advertisement was released, as well as the man's attire, the taste of home is very precious. The man who is drinking the coke, and the one who says it tastes like home, is apparently a soldier. This is evident from his attire and the year 1943, in which the United States was in involved in WWII. His eyes and smile indicate that he is enjoying the drink very much. Finally, the "Drink Coca-Cola" at the bottom is an invitation, an invitation to taste your home once more.
TITLE: Although the advertisement doesn't have a title per say, its easy to talk about the subject being presented. Coca-Cola is being advertised. The company is trying to sell a product.
INTERRELATION: The elements in the advertisement combine to send a really strong message. Although it is not obvious from a first look, the message is quite deep. A soldier drinking coke says: "Tastes like home." In wartime, soldiers constantly await the day they are sent home. They are always remembering, cherishing a past time in which there was peace and tranquility. If the coke tastes like home, it gives the soldier a little escape from the war.
CONCLUSION: I did not think much of the advertisement the first time I saw it. However, as I have begun to analyze it I realize what it meant at the time. In 1943 Americans wanted the war to end so their soldiers could come home. In 1943, American soldiers fighting abroad wanted to come home. By claiming that Coca-Cola tastes like home, the company is satisfying both needs. The soldier looks happy with a coke in his hands, almost as if a war wasn't happening around him.