JWT’s AnxietyIndex is designed as a place to discuss how brands and consumers are responding to the global recession. With daily content updates, AnxietyIndex.com includes contributions from around JWT’s network, offering a truly global perspective.
Over the past 50 years, living standards, life expectancy and material wealth have increased—the only thing that hasn’t is happiness. Numbers from the World Database of Happiness confirm this. During a recession, happiness naturally performs even worse, with consumers experiencing status anxiety more deeply: “Why do others have more than me?”
That’s one of the reasons the happiness economy becomes more important. As a brand that has been leveraging the concept of happiness for years, Coca-Cola has turned out a slew of ads during the downturn that put a creative and inspiring spin on the idea. In one of the latest spots, a university’s Coke machine becomes a “happiness machine,” dispensing everything from sunflowers to pizzas along with a bounty of Cokes.
We just wrote about the irony of multinational big-box retailer Office Depot casting its lot with the little guy in a somewhat shameless bid to tap into populist zeal. By contrast, Miller Life will run regional Super Bowl ads that showcase a more authentic effort to align with the Main Street America ethos.
“This year the brand is giving its Big Game commercial to deserving small businesses from around the country,” reads Miller High Life promotional copy. “The ad … reinforces that Miller High Life isn’t just about brewing a good, honest beer at a tasty price, it’s about helping others live the High Life as well.” Spots will highlight four businesses (Loretta’s Authentic Pralines in New Orleans, etc.).
A teaser ad cleverly positions this Super Bowl advertiser as standing apart from “those big muckety-muck companies [that] prance out those fancy-pants commercials.” The tone is spot-on, as is the approach (positioning the effort as socially responsible). And it’s the perfect time for a brand that has long cultivated a blue-collar image to play on populist sentiment.
One of the key sources of consumer anxiety during an economic crisis is the fear of unemployment. But for those who are employed, there is another one: understanding that they need to work harder and complain less. And summoning the energy to manage angry bosses, crowded commuter buses or tiny paychecks. The launch campaign for the new Coca-Cola energy drink Gladiator refers to this situation. A natural beverage made with coffee and guarana, Gladiator is positioned as a workday boost. The campaign showcases everyday types—such as the “Handsome Moto-boy” and the “Indestructible Student”—and calls them the real “gladiators” as they battle enemies such as the “Ruthless Boss,” the “Terrible Crowded Bus” and the “Negligible Salary.” See more at the Gladiator Web site.
“Coke deckt den Tisch” (“Coke sets the table”), Coca-Cola’s new campaign in Germany, brings the whole family back to the table and successfully communicates that Coca-Cola is a perfect drink to serve at mealtime.
Families tend to come together during economic downturns and uncertain times, and they’re more likely to do so at home, since people are dining out less often. A recent survey by TNS Infratest on behalf of Coca-Cola confirmed this and also found that in Germany almost half of Coca-Cola drinks are served with food. And 40 percent of these drinks are consumed at home. The survey also found that 95 percent of families want to spend more time together and more than two-thirds want to eat at home together more often, but only half do so.
There are two things about Starbuck’s first instant coffee product, Via—meant as a quick grab for people on the go—that don’t make sense to me. For one, Starbucks has suffered in the recession, with McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts challenging the chain with their cheaper coffee. Starbucks’ proposition is that customers pay more for better quality. While Via is an attempt to provide a value alternative to Starbucks’ regular options, cheap is not a value it should associate with its brand, regardless of the economy (a packet of Via, which yields one cup, costs less than a dollar).
Plus, while Via is sold in Starbucks cafes across the U.S. and Canada—as well as at Target, Costco and outdoor-gear shop REI—it doesn’t seem to belong there. Starbucks outlets are designed to be comfortable spaces where customers can relax; the brand aims to be one that people spend time with. But Via’s core idea is “on the go” (“via” means “road” in Italian), making it a sore thumb in the stores.
Interestingly, Starbucks’ site includes a Twitter feed that shows what people are saying about Via—not all of which is good (“The aroma in the cup reminds me of church coffee. That’s not a good memory”). Taste it for yourself at Starbucks locations now through Oct. 5 and get a free tall (brewed) coffee on your next visit; let us know what you think.
In this new Coca-Cola commercial from Latin America, adversity, loneliness and darkness are metaphors for the turbulent financial times we’re facing. The sun won’t come out by itself, we have to make it happen. We see a dark world in which a boy fetches a ladder, climbs it and paints a sun in the sky; everyone is awakened by it. Then we see endless ladders pointing at the sky, and the collective effort results in the sun eventually lighting every corner of the city. Coca-Cola’s optimistic message: The crisis is still here, but so is the sun; it’s just hidden, waiting to emerge through our collective efforts.
What’s curious about the spot is that the track is reminiscent of a typical ’80s jingle. And in fact the entire commercial has an ’80s mood. Is this a retro gesture, like the one we saw from Coca-Cola Mexico, which used the Annie song to assure people that the sun will come out tomorrow? Is Coca-Cola subtly linking the brand with the pop naivete of the ’80s, a time that wasn’t beset by any crisis? When the future is uncertain, optimism seems to rely on nostalgia as a point of reference.
While Czech tourism was expected to decline this year, the traditional wine-growing region in the south is seeing more visitors. Some of this is due to more Czechs taking staycations (saving money by sticking to their home country instead of traveling abroad), but vintners believe that certification of wineries in the area has also helped. The certification logo—a visual pun on a tulip as a wine glass, using the colors of the Czech flag—guarantees the quality of wine cellars, accommodations in the area, restaurants with wine themes, etc. As many as 71 percent of certified facilities have noticed more tourists compared to last year.
At a time when anxiety and fear are prevalent, there’s a demand for safety and security. Cautious consumers want assurance that they’ll get a certain level of quality for their money. With a third-party guarantee of quality, they’re more likely to feel that it’s OK to treat themselves.
With “the java wars intensifying” in the U.S., as TheBoston Globe puts it, a Starbucks-McDonald’s rivalry is also heating up around the globe. In Thailand, Starbucks has run a limited-time promotion offering half-price coffee in the afternoon to customers who already bought one in the morning. Now McDonald’s McCafe is fighting back with a two-year-anniversary special: a free upsize of any cup of coffee. Customers can get extra caffeine without extra spending.
Even while running promotional offers, the McCafe brand still does well in maintaining its image as a premium coffee brand that’s available in a nice environment, complete with free Internet access and a variety of magazines. Price promotion doesn’t have to dilute brand image, as long as a brand can figure out how to talk with consumers so that the key message they take away is “It adds value to your life” rather than “You can now afford it.”
Coca-Cola Mexico has launched a commercial that positions its family of drinks as icons of optimism. For this, it turns to a cultural icon: little orphan Annie. Different people in different settings sing parts of the chorus: “The sun will come out, tomorrow/Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun …”
Once again, icons and cultural codes are used to connect with an audience that shares those codes. What’s interesting is that the spot creates a contrast between the past (Annie) and the future (discourse about tomorrow) that reflects a cultural insight: We are avoiding this difficult present by simultaneously feeling nostalgic for the past and optimistic about the future. While Coca-Cola is making a statement about the future and optimism, the spot works insofar as it turns back to the past, using nostalgia to make an impact with the audience. It’s a strategy that might be called retro-optimism. —with the contribution of Sofia Ontivero
In a global crisis, regional values become more important for consumers who are scared of and confused about globalization, a phenomenon that’s out of their control. Consumers’ trust can be gained via signifiers of their cultural heritage—e.g., small, likable local brands with a long tradition, like the Neapolitan wafer brand Manner; or a well-known local hero, like Sarah Wiener for OMV Austria; or a regional dialect.
One of the most famous local beer brands, Ottakringer, uses the local dialect Viennese and a local style of irony and humor with the claim “Mei bia hot ka krise” (”my beer has no crisis”) to fight consumer pessimism. And while beer sales have declined by 10 percent in Austria, Ottakringer is the only brand that is going against the trend, with growth of 0.6 percent in the past year.
One of the key sources of consumer anxiety during an economic crisis is the fear of unemployment. But for those who are employed, there is another one: understanding that they need to work harder and complain less. And summoning the energy to manage angry bosses, crowded commuter buses or tiny paychecks. The launch campaign for the new Coca-Cola energy drink Gladiator refers to this situation. A natural beverage made with coffee and guarana, Gladiator is positioned as a workday boost. The campaign showcases everyday types—such as the “Handsome Moto-boy” and the “Indestructible Student”—and calls them the real “gladiators” as they battle enemies such as the “Ruthless Boss,” the “Terrible Crowded Bus” and the “Negligible Salary.” See more at the 
With “the java wars intensifying” in the U.S., as The Boston Globe puts it, a Starbucks-McDonald’s rivalry is also heating up around the globe. In Thailand, 
In a global crisis, regional values become more important for consumers who are scared of and confused about globalization, a phenomenon that’s out of their control. Consumers’ trust can be gained via signifiers of their cultural heritage—e.g., small, likable local brands with a long tradition, like the Neapolitan wafer brand 
