Coke began using the polar bear to sell soda late in 1993. Here's the first ad:
Later ads added penguins:
While I suspect many people understand that penguins live in the Antarctic, and that polar bears live in the Arctic, I also suspect many people don't. These clips are from Coca Cola Polar Bears Party with Penguins at Duncan's TV Ad Land. This post links to several other ads featuring polar bears, penguins, walrus, and seals.
The original polar bear ad was the brainchild of Ken Stewart (Polar Bears -- Advertising Case History):
When asked to develop an innovative commercial for Coca-Cola, creator Ken Stewart thought about drinking Coke at the movies. As a puppy, Mr. Stewart's Labrador Retriever had resembled a polar bear. Mr. Stewart saw his dog, thought about polar bears and how they would go to the movies, and the idea for "Northern Lights" was born. In the commercial, the polar bears watch the aurora borealis (the "movie") and drink from bottles of Coca-Cola.
Most of this short history is about the technical details of the animation. It does explain a little of the emotional resonance Coke hoped for from the ad:
...To maintain the magical and ethereal quality of the world of the bears, Mr. Stewart kept the music to a minimum....
"That's really what we were trying to do - create a character that's innocent, fun and reflects the best attributes we like to call 'human'," said Mr. Stewart. "The bears are cute, mischievous, playful and filled with fun."
Bartolomeo Mecánico analyzes the use of the bear in European print advertising at his web site Animals in Advertizing Bear 2. The polar bear is used to symbolize strength, nature or the environment, purity, serenity ("The Polar Bear is king in the immense blue and whiteness of the arctic. He symbolizes for Tryba uncompromized power and serenity. In this world of pure air and water where everything stands for beauty and perfection, he is life itself." reads one French ad), and winter.
I can see the purity and serenity - I think a lot of people daydream about a cold, simple, white, pure Arctic in contrast to their complex, dirty, lives and environments. In this regard, the white polar bear is part of a - inaccurate - vision of the whole Arctic experience.
Julia Duin emphasises the importance of catching bears in situations that appear to illustrate human traits: Grin and bear it: ursine images have become ubiquitous in advertizing campaigns and elsewhere.
Jeremy Hance says they remind us of babies (neoteny): Cuteness determines whether the public will support saving species from extinction. Relatively prominent babylike eyes and relatively large heads translate into cuteness, and a public willingness to pay to protect it. The eyes strike me as small themselves, but they stand out strongly against the white faces. A very interesting post, drawing on research by Dr. Berta Martin on the determinants of willingness to pay to protect biodiversity.
Gawker posts on an energy ad using polar bears: Cute Polar Bear Solves Energy Crisis. I thought this one was a little disturbing - the bears are so realistic and integrated with the video so well, my first gut reaction was that a child was in danger (I looked at it without the sound):
Propeller Communications in London thinks the polar bear is in danger of being overused: Polar Bears, Melting Ice Caps and Flowers: Advertisers Risk Cliche Meltodwn in Rush to Go Green.
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