The Evolution of TV Commercials from the 1950s to the 2020s: a Multimodal, Contrastive Analysis of the Coca-Cola TV Commercials in Italy and in the USA

Abstract

My Master’s Degree dissertation concerns the multimodal diachronic analysis of the Coca-Cola TV commercials broadcasted in Italy and in the USA between the 1950s and the 2020s. The aim of this research project is to compare the selected advertisements in order to highlight the main differences and similarities mostly in terms of visuals and soundscape. Some socio-cultural issues are also framed within the results of this research. This multimodal analysis is based on two main theoretical models: the van Leeuwen’s soundscape model (1999) and the Visual Grammar model (2006) published by Kress and van Leeuwen. These two models are deepened in the first two chapters, along with some other theoretical information related to the Coca-Coca Company and its marketing strategies. After considering these aspects, the last two chapters of this dissertation present a more pragmatic approach to the actual study. As a matter of fact, the third one points out the methodology, the list of the thirty-four advertisements selected for the analysis, as well as the aims of the study. The last chapter is the core of the whole dissertation, as it focuses on the actual analysis. It is structured in paragraphs, and it is carried out in chronological order, a decade at a time. Every TV commercial is examined on the basis of the theoretical models previously indicated. Each paragraph ends with some final considerations on the main differences and/or similarities found in the analysis of American and Italian advertising broadcast in that decade, also including some socio-cultural aspects.