The company that never advertised. ZARA

The common belief underlines how the most relevant Spanish brand, the fashion business that revolutionised the industry in our country, has never spent one euro in advertising.

This is a controversial statement.

We should agree on this: Zara does not use the traditional media in advertising (we cannot find its ads printed in female magazines, aired on TV or broadcast in the radio).

But we cannot give either all the credit to word of mouth.

Marketing (questions such as defining the retail experience and carrying on a strong PR and communication strategy) has always been a key point for this brand.
Lately, through a very consistent and powerful online strategy  and because of its very smart use of the social networks, Zara (in Nov, 2011, Zara has almost 10.500.000 fans in Facebook) is not so far away from the persuasive communication.

What is Zara´s unique selling proposition? Low cost and fast fashion for any kind of woman or man of any age, babies and kids included (perhaps slighly more mature than other brands such as H&M, perhaps more stylish and versatile than brands such as Sfera).

Easy to wear, easy to combine clothing which looks specially appealing since, most of the time, is simply replicating high fashion designs. Low cost replicas -made in China, Morocco or Tunisia most of the times- is Zara most distinctive characteristic.


Rythm is another brand value: short collections are one of Zara´s features. Every two days the stores receive new products that are constantly being evolved and redesigned to fit client´s tastes and new trends.

Zara itself is sporadically introducing new sub-brands such as Zara Home, Zara Kids, Maternity and so on...

Lately, the brand has introduced a new concept of interaction with its publics. Zara People. The trick -one of the biggest trends in social media nowadays: autogenerated content by users-

Zara People mechanics are simple: Users should take a picture of themselves wearing and combining with taste and attitude Zara clothings and the most atonishing looks will get a prize in money (300 euros) to spend in one of the almost 2.000 Zara stores around the world.

Coca-Cola on joy, hopes, family and optimism

Probably the most valuable brand of the world and one of the longest-lasting, Coca-Cola has a strong personality supported by a very coherent Advertising Strategy.

Focusing on values such as the power of optimism and the importance of solidarity, Coca-Cola has been speaking during the last 125 years about freedom, joy, youth, love, the power of team-building and the blissful feeling of belonging to a community. 

And it has done so in almost every language spoken within the 200 nations in which Coca-Cola offers, nowadays, one of its 60 different flavors and varieties (Coca-cola portfolio of beverages includes more than 3.500 sub-brands). 

Since the iconic commercial aired from the top of a hill in 1971, "I´ld like to teach the world to sing", in which a multiethnic chorus of young hippies was singing about how nice could it be to get a coke for every human being  (every nationality and color of the skin represented, every language printed in each can of the sodas). Since this ad (which song was plagiated by Oasis in Shakermaker)... one commercial repeated through the years....

to another chorus, this time of children, singing, an Oasis cover -nice coincidence-, while finding reasons to believe, to keep believing in our grieving universe...

Coca-cola has given hopes to newborns in Spain (-MacCann Erickson. 2008-) allowing Aitana, for instance, to meet and directly receive the wisdom of the oldest, and so wisest, man in the country... Moral: we are lucky to be here, alive in this world, since our main purpose while living is to be happy.

Coca-cola has given hopes to the ugliest in Argentina, because it´s all about attitude after all...And there´s always a winner inside every person (particularly if it´s young and corageous)

Perhaps because of the red color of the logo, it seems that every day is Christmas if you drink this joyful santaclausesque soda.

Life isn´t pink (la vie n'est pas rose) but as red a our heart, our blood, our passions and whims and our tremendous will to make the most of every situation.

Coca-Cola is a smiling, easily-loving, contagious, sparkling, cheerful, flirtatious company, naif but commited, somehow childish but coherently happy and optimistic about the world around us..  That´s the personality Coca-Cola shows in its ads.

And if the one singing is Louis Prima (like in this ad.. you need to smile too...

Bonus: this is the Oasis rip off (Gallagher´s brothers recognized I´ld like to teach the world to sing was their main inspiration)