Since the advertising landscape is a noisy and cluttered one, most consumers are not interested in paying attention to every single marketing message or advertisement they come in contact with (Ferris, 2004). Advertising schemas, therefore, allow consumers to sort and filter through the messages more efficiently: these structures and patterns of knowledge provide short-cuts in evaluating an ad we see on TV, online, or in a magazine within seconds. Ad schemas explain why we “skip” some commercials and focus on others.

Ferris (2004) states that, “[s]chemas develop when exposure to a knowledge structure is repeated and consistent,” which is generally what advertisements are, communications we are exposed to both consistently and repeatedly. Goodstein (1993) argues that while several different types of ad schemas likely exist, consumers will often create schemas that are structured around product classes (e.g., alcohol, cars, insurance, and toys). Most product and service categories advertise in similar ways (I’m looking at you, realtors) which means their advertisements are shown “frequently and employ similar semantic, physical, and structural features” (Stoltman, 1991) enabling consumers to activate their schema (they know if they’re going to want to see the ad or not based on its similarity to other brands’ ads).

Advertising schemas, therefore, show us how generalization is being applied and helping us to organize, store, and act on information in a short period of time.

The encoding process is influenced by the type of meaning we experience from a stimulus. Sometimes we process a stimulus simply in terms of its sensory meaning, such as the literal color or shape of a package. We may experience a feeling of familiarity when, for example, we see an ad for a new snack food we have recently tasted. In many cases, though, we encode meanings at a more abstract level. Semantic meaning refers to symbolic associations, such as the idea that minimalists avoid plastic bags or that athletes drink Gatorade.

Advertisers often communicate these kinds of meanings through a narrative, or story. For example, in 2006 New York-based creative agency SS+K developed television spots for the New York Knicks basketball team that featured some of the biggest Knicks fans, including film director Spike Lee, talking about the current state of the team, as well as lifelong Knicks fans who share fond memories of past glories. Starting in 2014, Procter & Gamble began airing commercials entitled, “Thank you mom”—an ad campaign featuring a heartfelt narrative about mom’s supporting their future Olympians starting at a young age.

Much of the social information we acquire gets represented in memory in story form, so constructing ads in the form of a narrative can be a very effective technique to connect with consumers. Narratives persuade people to construct mental representations of the information they view. Pictures aid in this construction and allow for a more developed and detailed mental representation (Escalas, 2004; Adaval & Wyer, 1998).

Semantic advertising, on the other hand, applies semantic analysis techniques to web pages. The process is meant to accurately interpret and classify the meaning and/or main subject of the page and then populate it with targeted advertising spots. By closely linking content to advertising, it is assumed that the viewer will be more likely to show an interest (i.e., through engagement) in the advertised product or service.

Finally, perhaps there is no better symbol that represents the times, struggles, and stories of what living through the  Coronavirus pandemic has been like, than the face mask. From journalists to cultural psychologists, many have published articles on how the symbol of the mask has evolved to carry different layers of meaning. In most western cultures, mask wearing in public was rare, to say the least. Since the pandemic, mask-wearing has proven to be life saving, prompting even the biggest critic to reevaluate the science and shift from prioritizing one’s own health to the health of the collective. And while some people still see the mask as an invasive detractor of their personal rights and freedoms, many others have adopted it as a symbol of respect, care, and a new reality.

What began as a brain tonic in a small pharmaceutical shop, has now become a multinational soda company widely regarded as the most recognizable brand in the world. Coca-Cola, now approaching its 128^th year of business, has seen a lot of change over the years, most notably during “The Cola Wars” (Angelico, The Cola Conquest Episode 01—The Big Sell, 1998). Coca-Cola’s ability to successfully use nostalgia and salience tactics, help them differentiate themselves from other cola brands (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015). Salience refers to the level of activation or prominence something may have in memory, whereas “the term Nostalgia is described as a bittersweet emotion in which the past is viewed with both sadness and longing” (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015). This presents an opportunity for companies to draw on those feelings to stand out.

For many years, Coca-Cola was instructed to avoid directly targeting children with their advertisement. No product wants to be perceived as the root cause of health issues in the younger generation. In 1984 when Pepsi aired their hit commercial, with a cast full of very youthful looking children featuring Michael Jackson, they showed little regard for what Coca-Cola had been trying to avoid all this time. Coke had already taken a big hit before the advertisement, and then had to quickly figure out a way to bounce back. “Coca-Cola’s response was a middle-aged version of its most successful advertisement ever, ‘Hilltop, I’d like to buy the world a Coke (1971)’. It may not have been as cool as Michael Jackson but, it sold” (Angelico, 1998). By using a memory marker, such as the 1971 advertisement, Coke understood that the ad would appeal to consumers because of the emotional effects associated with nostalgia (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015). Consumers who grew up on Coke were eager to relive all those feelings alongside their own families (Angelico, 1998) (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015).

After hastily changing the Coca-Cola formula and receiving immense backlash, they released “Coke Classic” using the original formula only three months later (Angelico, The Cola Conquest Episode 02—Cola War And Peace, 1998). Although the original Coke formula was only gone for a few months, the return triggered an effect similar to that of a retro band. There happens to be a large niche of consumers who prefer nostalgic brands and according to research, that feeling is boiled down to the need for “belongingness” (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015). The return of the formula brought all of Coca-Cola’s history with it creating a path for new consumers to follow. Working hand in hand with nostalgia is salience (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015). Coca- Cola happens to have a very high salience due to its distinctive red packaging that has remained the same over the years. This is known as the Von Restorff effect. Because the packaging endured for over 128 years, this prompts consumers not only in brand recall, but it also creates a sense of nostalgia with regards to anything they may have done with Coca-Cola in their lives. A prominent colour such as red, their brand image, causes consumers’ visual memory to think of Coca-Cola throughout the day (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015).

I believe that Coca-Cola has utilized nostalgia and salience in a way that no other brand has ever been able to do. It is the most efficient and powerful method to attract consumers, old or new. Solomon, White and Dahl explained that an indirect effect of memory markers is that retro happened to be very cool with younger audiences who were going through self-identification periods and were looking to differentiate themselves from others (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015). All it took was a little competition for Coca-Cola to demonstrate the power of memories in the world of advertisement. With the help of memory markers, retro band, and the Von Restorff effect, salience and nostalgia tactics truly did help Coke stand-alone from the competition (Solomon, White, & Dahl, 2015).