Coke Superbowl ad says: Get a life, buy soda... nerds

by Kyle Horner Feb 3rd 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, News items

What's apparently a sign of social ineptitude? Playing online games. At least according to the Coca Cola company, who last Sunday ran an avatar-themed advert that carried with it a strong message: Stop wasting your life with online games, and drink our acidic, sugar-infused soda instead.

You can find the commercial after the cut, along with some more slightly baffled commentary.

While the video itself isn't overtly mocking of online gaming (it also contains a bemusing moment where an Orc avatar is revealed as" generic hot girl #3") it's a distant echo of Coke's previous online gaming message to the Chinese just a few short years back.

Remember this little ditty?

Hey, look at that! They found a treasure chest full of the greatest thing ever: Coke.

We're wondering if Coke is aware that people who use the internet for online gaming are also likely aware of say, ads in other countries.

So what's the best way to create unreasonable disdain for your product? Pander to whatever audience you think will happen to be watching your commercial at any given moment. Great job!

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

JP said on 12:23PM 2-03-2009

Jesus, Kyle. Neither one is nearly as offensive as you're taking it. I certainly didn't get the message you got from the first. It was more of a "w/ so many people involved in online gaming (not just mmos) we get a little out of sync w/ personal touch" and honestly... its not wrong. The commrcial is a bit extreme, but it's a coke commercial. Whatdaya expect?

aenashi said on 12:35PM 2-03-2009

My god, what is wrong with you. Nothing wrong with these commercials?? they are just trying to reach out to a very large population of online gamers...

veil said on 12:39PM 2-03-2009

i know it's fun to be dramatic to drum up hits, but seriously, this commercial isn't anywhere near the level of offense you seem to be indicating. if you honestly perceived any kind of sleight from the commercial, maybe you need to step outside more often...meet a nice ogre and have a coke with them.

toucan said on 12:48PM 2-03-2009

Having a position at Massively doesn't mean you are the last word in commenting on pop-culture.

For starters, let's get the empty comments on WoW China out of the way. As the link below will reveal, The9 has or has had a marketting agreement with Coke for WoW in China. The commercial was not at all saying one was better than the other. It was saying both were great.
http://www.gamingsteve.com/archives/2005/11/with_all_the_ta.php

So I am sure Coke is very aware of people into online games.

Secondly, I am not Chinese, and this blog doesn't spend nearly enough time covering the multi-million user MMORPG world over there, so we are probably both not qualified to comment on that commercial.

Lastly, what's your thesis? That MMO pop-culture is better than junk food pop culture? Have you seen what teenagers playing the game like to pick up at the store on the way home? Probably less likely that MMOs and hard core exercise go together.

Regardless, take the commercial for what it is. MMOs are now so popular that they are worth of mention in a very popular drink's add. There wasn't any suggestion that the girl was not worth of being flirted with, even through she was an orc, so I don't think this ad critical at all.

Do a little research, and do a little thinking before sharing these interesting pieces of pop culture with us, please. It is still the best blog on the internet for overall MMO coverage, IMO, but it can avoid being a bit lax at times.

Budukahn said on 1:03PM 2-03-2009

I've just watched through the top coke advert twice now. I don't get the offensive bit. What's offensive about showing people from all walks of life involved in one degree or another as an Avatar in a virtual world?

If anything it seems inclusive suggesting that anyone can be a player of these games without it being confined as a geeky limited subculture.

Coriander said on 1:16PM 2-03-2009

I thought the ad was charming. One would have to dig deep and hard to find anything vaguely offensive about it.

P.S. "Bemusing" is not the same thing as "amusing." The moment you reference isn't bemusing at all.

Firebreak said on 1:46PM 2-03-2009

I get how the first one is negative. Everyone in the video is detached from reality and playing a game except for the main character. The 2 most striking were the mother not paying attention to her child and the person paying more attention to the game then walking into the diner.

Pingles said on 1:21PM 2-03-2009

Hate to pile on but totally agree. I found both commercials very clever, charming and well-done. No offense taken, here.

Shogun said on 1:30PM 2-03-2009

If anything as mentioned above, the advert sugests that gaming (it doesn't specify online gaming or MMO's, see the PSP racing driver, could be SP) in general is increasing to the point where we're even doing it on the move, and not interacting with people "IRL"

csavarda said on 1:50PM 2-03-2009

Blogger is mental. You got a sick and twisted world perspective.

THAC0 said on 2:04PM 2-03-2009

I think the author is off his rocker on this one. If anything the Coke commercial showed how socially acceptable it is to be a gamer now days. If the entire population is taking part in some form of avatar based game then why would there be a stigma attached to it?

I thought that going AFK and having a Coke with the Ork in IRL was cute and showed that, that Ork in your guild might really be the cute girl at the diner next to you. If that's not a clear sign that gamers are OK in cokes book i dunno what is.

Ripper McGee said on 2:29PM 2-03-2009

I didn't think the ad was either offensive or mean spirited, but I think it was a miss, in terms of concept. It was basically a modern take on the "stop and smell the roses" theme. As a gamer, I got it, but a lot of people were probably left scratching their heads.

I much preferred the Coke "Heist" commercial set to a variation of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf". That was a great commercial...

~Ripper

Psychotic Storm said on 2:37PM 2-03-2009

I think the commercial had lots of potential, but didn't get executed well.

quite a few "avatars" seem to be detached from reality and needing the intervention of the grounded to reality hero to assist them, the hero looks like everything around him is abnormal and the finale were the hero grounds to reality the "ork" turning it to a cute girl, can be interpreted in many ways.

like it or not the commercial can be interpreted either way and that makes it a bad commercial.

jdtrue66 said on 3:29PM 2-03-2009

I liked the ad and thought it showed that coke knows us better. They even showed the one guy with a bad signal fading in and out. They also showed that we come from different worlds.

Mike said on 4:30PM 2-03-2009

Geez, I didn't find anything remotely offensive in that ad on the Super Bowl. The message I took from it was that lots of people are into online worlds, and you're bumping into them in real life everyday, and you have something in common and you don't even know it.

Coke's been advertising on the notion of bringing people together over fizzy refreshment for decades ... this just seems to bring the notion into the 21st Century.

If I may, chill out and stop taking offense. Geeks have pretty much taken over the world, anyway.

subdigit said on 4:41PM 2-03-2009

For the flip side, go take a look here: http://eightbar.co.uk/2009/02/02/coca-cola-avatars-in-the-real-world/ That's the understanding I have. Kyle's reaction is a little too tainted with corporate disdain coupled with too much fanboyism.

Mo Hax said on 4:42PM 2-03-2009

I completely disagree with this assessment. As an active avatar, developer, and mentor for Second Life and OpenSim, some of the most mischaracterized virtual worlds that exist, I found this ad a pleasant, perfect walk down the fine line of showing how avatars are becoming mainstream virtual representations of ourselves and the importance of staying logged into real life.

Marsh said on 4:57PM 2-03-2009

Wow... a bit insecure about your online gaming?

I didn't see anything wrong with this ad...

CindyL said on 5:43PM 2-03-2009

The first ad reminds me of Chobits o.o It's an old anime about people becoming enamoured with their personal computers; really cute robot people that love you no matter what, with internets!! I know right? ^^ Anyway, in the anime people are getting detached from each other and don't 'connect' with humans but with computers. Coke says, here drink this an socialize again! Weee. That said, it is a cute ad.

The second ad is awesome, I don't like coke though.

Ada said on 10:04PM 2-03-2009

I have to say that I agree with the commenters, disagree with the blogger. The US ad just says to me, go game in the cafe, drink a coke, meet a hot orc, i mean, girl. And the Asian one was gorgeous and... gorgeous?

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