Persuasion in Sprite Commercials

3 Ways Sprite Commercials Use Persuasion 

By: Emily Regis

During the Superbowl this year, Sprite released a commercial. The commercial opened with Lebron James sitting at a kitchen counter holding a Sprite. He states, "Let's get one thing straight, I'm not going to tell you to drink Sprite, even if I was in a commercial for Sprite, which I am, or you were watching it, which you are, I wouldn't tell you to drink it, no matter what the cue card says." The camera then pans to a cue card that says 'DRINK SPRITE.' It becomes very obvious that this is a Sprite commercial within a Sprite commercial. James then goes on to state multiple examples in which he should tell you to drink Sprite but states he still would not tell you to. The last example is a bunch of 'cool kids' and he states, "Even if a bunch of cool kids were drinking Sprite, I wouldn't tell you to drink it, I'd ask you, do you want to drink Sprite?" Then the commercial ends. This Sprite Commercial used 3 types of persuasion which include humor appeal, brand personality, and

1. Sprite Commercials use Humor Appeal:

Humor appeal is the use of messages to gain and hold audience attention as well as create a receptive mood that can be translated as a positive opinion of the product (Woodward, 281). In "LeBron James Does Not Tell Fans to Drink Sprite in New Ads" by E.J. Schultz, Danielle Henry, a group director-integrated marketing content at Coca-Cola, described the thought process behind the commercial as, "We created this whole campaign to have a bit of dun with the idea of endorsements." This shows that although their intent is still to sell the product, they wanted the commercial and ad to come off with a sense of humor and playfulness in order to seem more appealing to consumers. This is one of the most effective forms of appeals in persuasion.

2. Sprite Commercials use Brand Personality:

Brand Personality communicates specified attributes, values, personality and emotional benefits (Woodward, 269). There are five different types of brand personality and these include, excitement, sincerity, ruggedness, competence, and sophistication. On Twitter, Sprite tweeted on , "We know a thing or two about #freshing duos, but we still gotta ask: What's your favorite hip hop collab?" This is an example of Sprites overall brand personality. Sprite's brand personality would be an example of excitement which is carefree, youthful, and spirited. Sprite also showcases these traits during the LeBron James commercial because it is carefree, youthful, and spirited. According to the article, "Brand Personality Appeal: Conceptualizationand Empirical Validation" written by Traci H. Freling, Jody L. Crosno and David H. Henard, "An attribute that is perceived as satisfying will be viewed more favorably and will result in a more positive attitude toward the object. Conversely, an attribute that is not perceived as satisfying will be regarded as unfavorable and will result in a more negative attitude toward the object."

3. Sprite Commercials use Meaning:

Meaning is he representation between a symbol and the thing it represents (Woodward, 52). In "#ObeyYourVerse is Back: Sprite Unveils Cans Featuring Lyrics From Hip-Hop Legends," by Amanda Costa, Sprite releases a new brand of Sprite drinks that have Hip-Hop lyrics on them. This is an example of meaning because Sprite taps into the desires of the youth by using hip-hop lyrics. The use of the lyrics makes people who enjoy hip-hop want and ultimately feel they need this product because it speaks to them. Sprite also does this in the LeBron James commercial by using him as the main spokesman. He is a well known MBA player and many fans will see that and correlate their joy of basketball with their joy of Sprite.

Being apart of the consumer world, we make choices and decisions everyday based on what we see when it comes to making purchases. It may seem like an easy task most of the time but can occasionally be difficult. Have you ever wondered why you choose one product over the other? This can be because of advertising whether it includes meaning, brand personality, or appeal. Next time ask yourself how one product caught your attention over another product of similar quality and why the other product did not grab your attention. You will be surprised by your decision.