"Open Happpiness"

My fascination with Coca-Cola didn’t begin until I was in high school. My parents are very health conscious and would only drink a Coke product on special occasions such as a parties or while attending a Major League Baseball game. Learning from their example, I also would only consume the bubbly goodness on special occasions. This connection with Coke and special occasions emphasized the “specialness” of the globally renowned product.

            As I got older and spent more time on my own away from my parents influences I began to take part in the Coca-Cola madness. It seemed that no matter where you were at any time there was a Coke within reach. Every gas station, there was Coke, every school, shopping mall, sporting event and park, there was Coke. You could probably even go to the White House and find it. Coca-Cola is like Nadja in Nadja. It is mysterious and surreal. It draws you in and makes you crave more, driving you mad when you are unable to fulfill your desires. So what is it that makes this simple beverage so enticing? What is it that makes us crave it every day at every place we go? The answers have to do with the brainwashing abilities of marketing and advertising.

            After taking a few classes on marking I learned that the reason why I, as well as almost everyone else in the entire world,  loves Coke so much is because of the associations between Coke and happiness. The tagline for Coke is “Open Happiness” which is exactly what everyone thinks about when they open their very own Coke. In the commercials we see and through the images we examine we see people smiling with their Cokes in hand. We hear cheerful music and laughter, and we witness the magical effects that Coke has on people.

            When I open my Coke and take that first crisp, bubbly, sweet sip, I am comforted by the memories I’ve had while opening another Coke, at another place, at another time.

Make way for paradise

Blog to respond to http://jd11m.blogspot.com/

             

When I came into this world, I was welcomed into a place that was touristy with a lowercase “t”. My father had moved to Florida in this mid twenty’s in an attempt to escape the dullness of Ohio life. He settled on a beach where he bought his first home.

            This home was precious to him. He enjoyed the small town feel in a hidden piece of paradise. There was one way in, and one way out, a small two lane bridge that connected the island to the rest of the world. When I was younger this beach was a place I felt far away from the city life, when in reality I was only a few minutes drive away.

            It was on that beach where I could walk for miles and only see a handful of people. These people were like my father, living in paradise away from their frozen northwestern pasts. This was a place I felt safe. A place that was quiet and calm, where people were happy to see you and smiled as they passed by. Besides the beach there were cozy beach cottages and small independent motels that were filled with guests only during the summer and winter holiday seasons.

            When I returned to this once peaceful place, I was greeted by a city that had grown into touristy with a capital “T”. The small cottages have been replaced with multi-million dollar mansions, the independent motels bought out and bulldozed to make room for luxury apartment buildings and grand waterfront resorts. No longer do I feel safe in this now crowded space. There is no community here, no longer any smiles, only money, lights, noise and crowds. Make way for paradise.