How many spoken words do you hear in a day? More than you’d like, probably. As such, one of the attractive things about Corona beer commercials (via Cramer-Krasselt) is that nobody ever says anything. All we hear is the surf, and an occasional gull. This doesn’t just cut through the clutter of commercials. It cuts through the auditory clutter of life itself!
Of course, the approach works only if the commercials are visually inventive, and Corona’s generally are. This one starts with an aerial view of what looks like a treasure map, with an X marking The Spot. As the camera pans down to reveal it as an actual beach, we realize the X is a striped umbrella that’s shading a couple and their treasure trove of Coronas on ice. The man picks up two bottles, handing one to the woman. This may not be sufficiently action-packed to suit some viewers, but others will enjoy the idyllic serenity of the scene.
It also helps matters that the cleverness of this Corona commercial is of a piece with the cleverness of past Corona commercials. So, even an inattentive viewer will take it in and remember it as a Corona spot. The consistent style also lends the product an aura of authenticity, compared to beers whose advertising more quickly churns through a series of brand identities. For young adults who want their beer to be “real” (and thus to serve as an emblem of their own realness), this is a significant plus.–Mark Dolliver
