IMAGES: MILO-https://worldvectorlogo.com/logo/milo-1 COCO POPS- google.co.uk
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Today there is a massive amount of cereal options the family can choose from. Many of these range as a product addressed towards Children as consumers but the Parents as. Buyers. I will be analysing the Category Cereals with the Product Category being Chocolate based Cereals. Associating two different brands as to how they advertise such products to children/parents with different semiotic tactics. The brands chosen are Kellogg’s Coco pops, a global brand (American) with a negative representation and Nestle Milo, a global band (Australian) with a positive representation.
IMAGES: MILO- https://m.news24.com/MoveMag/Sponsored-Content/win-with-move-milo-20180821 COCO POPS-lightfarmbrasil.com
THE ADVERTISEMENTS Both Advertisements feature a similar creative approach with the cereal being manipulated to ‘come out’ of its packaging and coinciding with the milk product. However, the creative meaning behind both adverts, portray different meanings… Kellogg’s Coco pop’s implores a ‘creative, imaginative energy’ whereas Nestle’s Milo depicts an ‘active energy’. Both advertisements target children and in another sense their parents, as they will be the ones buying and investing in the product and brand at the end of the day. Milo aims to target and also promote the ideology of active, nutritious energy. Whereas Coco Pops aims to target and promote the ideology of creative, fun driven energy.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS Seobek contends that Semiotics is a theory that observes signs and how signs work . In Regards to Barthe’s theory of the signifier and signified, connotation and myth… The Milo advert signifier’s a green background, the. Milk and cereal being swept up and finally the product itself surrounded by a gold halo. This. Signifies through the green and the product, the brands distinctive colour ‘green’ but with the gold halo around the product itself in contrast to the green depicts the Australian heritage of the brand itself. The product also features a young boy kicking what we think would be a soccer ball, the myth by doing this it not only makes the product distinctly features its audience of ‘young, active kids’ but through the connotation of how the milk and cereal creative works, makes the cereal out to be the explosive kick featured. Whereas the Coco pops advert signifier’s a yellow background, a crane made out of coco pops reaching towards a milk bottle, and the product itself. This signifies the brands colourings and also mascot through the product shot and also the backdrop to further reiterate the branding. The crane holding the milk, is Kellogg’s fun connotation to show the myth of the fun, creative side the brand/ product tries to target their audience of children with.
IDEALOGY FROM THE ADVERTISEMENT Through the semiotic analysis above both Nestle MILO and Kellogg’s Coco Pops deplore the cereal product category, both with chocolate-based products targeted at an audience of children however with two different messages. MILO explores the idea of ‘active energy’, it’s a brand that is well known and loved in Australia dating back to 1934 as a. gap in the market for malnourished children, a cure and positive outlook pushed towards Kids to be active and healthy, a cereal and brand a mother can recommend ,‘I love that is Milo, a well-respected brand. Not only tasty but has some nutrition as well’ and cross-culturally this image of nutrition of low sugars and sodium without comprising taste is seen globally. Coco Pops promotes the idea of ‘creative energy’, however it derives from the brand Kellogg’s which in the past has fallen from claims of failing to meet advertising clothes considering it’s a product filled with high sugar and can’t be promoted on relevant ‘children tv time’. The Cereal itself from a marketing point of view has gone through challenges of creative from many different mascots over the years (Tusk the elephant, Oga the caveman’ to many different slogans also.Also from a nutritional value point of view, Kellogg’s coco pops in the US and Hong Kong have 38.7g of sugar within 100g… whereas in comparison cross culturally in Belgium, Italy, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain with 8g of sugar per 100g. However, although the brand appears to be in a lot of trouble, the overall contention of the cereal being a fun, imagination driven breakfast cereal has remained the same of ‘childhood dreams’.
CONCLUSION To conclude the Roland Barthe’s theory of semiotics reveals meaning behind the simplistic advertising imagery used in Milo cereal versus Coco pops cereal. Through two similar approaches, it’s funny that two chocolate-based cereals can advertise two complete different meanings towards the same audience. Targeting two very different groups of kids the. Sporty/active versus the imaginative/creative. This. Ideology further cements the brand and products core purpose and also in a more subtle consensus gives a hint at the brands positioning to what the parents see and either recommend or demote towards. Therefore through all of this analysis I prefer the brand narrative belonging to Nestle Milo, as it’s ultimatum encourages a healthier brand image and momentum for their target audience of children to lead more active and positive minded lifestyles
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IMAGE- http://www.dailymirror.lk/other/Milo-wins-Most-Outstanding-Junior-Sports-Promoter-of-the-Year-/117-129618
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