Glocal advertising within the frame of consumerist culture: The case of Coca-Cola

New tendencies created by the postmodern consumerist culture bring transformation of advertisement strategies with them. Consumers value sentimental and symbolic benefits beyond the rational benefit of a product and this new phenomenon defines the ways through which brands appeal to consumers. In this context, various global brands use adaptation strategies which take different states and cultural differences into consideration and make necessary adaptations. The notion of glocalization, based on the assumption that presentation of global products and services by adapting them to local features is more efficient, has been shaped in the frame of these adaptation strategies. Minimizing the gap between glocal campaigns and the culture in which the global brand functions and presenting a product of as a part of that specific local culture is the purpose. This strategy, which is essentially based on the catchword of "think global, act local", is based on the creation of a local image which is shaped on the basis of specific, local cultural codes. Commercials, which are the processes of creating a meaning, are established and formed on the basis of implicit ideologies. When carefully analyzed, it can be claimed that these strategies aren't solely made for selling a product and making profit; at the same time, they are significant modern instruments for making cultural transformations. The basic focus of this study is to analyze the forms of cultural indicators in advertising copies, and how they are perceived by audiences. For this purpose, commercial films of Coca-Cola, one of the leader brands in the world, are analyzed in this study through semiotic analysis method. One of the most important reasons why Coca-Cola is selected is that it not only has a brand value, but also involves cultural and ideological values. Besides, focus group discussions involving Turkish and foreign participators are held; it is attempted to determine and analyze the differences in the perception of individuals with different cultural background about advertising copies of the brand and cultural codes they involve.