Background of the Study

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Language is an important thing for human life. It is a tool of communication. People use language to communicate their feelings or ideas and interact to one another. Language, however, has been developed from time to time. It becomes important for human beings, since it is used in everyday life and conveys information. It has some roles in human life. Language can control human thoughts and actions, even can manipulate people. Humans may use language for aesthetic reasons, such as poetry writing. Humans may also use language for persuading and influencing others. The way they use language to persuade and influence people are varied. And one of the most concrete is in advertisement. Advertisement can be found everywhere in daily life. The various media of advertisement can be classified into several ways. One of the ways are media classified by type. There are 4 types of media classification by types, such as printed media, broadcasted media, directed and specialty media, and out-of-home and directory media Gilson, 1980: 267. Printed advertisements are categorized into magazines, newspapers, brochures, booklets, or flyers. Persuasive language, however, is often used in advertisements published by many companies. It is used in order to influence and motivate people to use the products, services, or to follow their ideas. To achieve purposes, advertisements use certain patterns to gain persuasive meaning. For example, in 1907, Coca-Cola had once published a slogan The Great National Drink at the Great National Game which caught many attentions at that time, since it was published when a national baseball game was held. The advertisements usually have different language styles. Furthermore, they have their own brands and different messages based on their produc t‟s character. Ross stated that style involves the kinds of words and language in which we clothe our message. It advises us to use acceptable, correct, and appropriate language. “Style can also make the language clear and direct, polished, noble, and also vivid. It also adjusts the language into message, audience, and speaker”. In addition, it also arouses the appropriate emotional response in the audience, and helps establish the proper ethical image for the speaker Ross, 1994: 64. The advertisements often use certain language style to establish the image and the message, just like what Coca-Cola had done for their products. When the first time we hear about Coke, or Coca-Cola, something goes to our mind about a kind of carbonated drink which tastes like caramel would pass through many people‟s mind. The unique flavor of this beverage makes people like to consume it. Coca-Cola is not just popular because of its unique taste, but also because of the slogans. Everytime Coca-Cola made a slogan, it would become so popular, even kids would say and talk about the slogans. On the other hand, the writer is curious with the slogans of Coca-Cola advertisements. Since 1886 up until now, Coca-Cola has been producing for about one hundred of slogans. Thus, this study has been conducted to answer the curiosity, why Coca-Cola becomes the number one soft drink which is consumed the most by many people all over the world for decades. In 2013 The Coca-Cola Company published a Coca-Cola at a Glance Infographic Booklet and wrote several achievements of Coca-Cola: 1. From 2000 until 2012, it was ranked by Interbrand as the W orld‟s Most Valuable Brand, with 2012 value of 77.8B. 2. It has been the first brand page on Facebook with 71M+ likes as of August 2013. 3. In 2013, it was ranked as the Fourth Most Admired Company by Portune Business Magazine. 4. It was ranked as the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company Business Magazine in 2013. 5. It was also ranked as the Top 50 Most Diverse Companies by Diversity Inc. Online Magazine in 2013. 6. In 2013, it was ranked as Creative Marketer of the Year by Cannes Lions International Awards. 7. In 2012, The Worldwide Unit Case Volume Geographic Mix stated that the profits of Coca-Cola covered 48 Billion in net operating revenues, 9 Billion in net income, 9.1 Billion returned to shareowners in dividends and share purchases, 162 Billion in market capitalization, and it was appointed to be 51 years of consecutive annual dividend increases. Due to the facts mentioned above, the success of Coca-Cola from selected slogans during 1886-2011 deserves to be analyzed. The analysis has been based on the use of language with distinctive style on advertisements can influence the success of a certain brand. By the end of this study, the fact are revealed, that slogans are not made carelessly. They are made in certain orders and structures, with the use of lingustic features, in order to deliver the messages in it towards the readers.

B. Problem Formulation