What does the Meme Science approach tell us about how the Coke meme lives in the minds of the consumers?

1. Culture2 Inc. presents
Analysis of the
Coca-Cola Meme
on Twitter
A QUICK RESEARCH REPORT

2. Starting point of the analysis: 5000+ memes
collected from tweets in Aug, 2012
Somebody please tell me:
why am I suddenly in love
with the song on the cocacola
commercial?
Coca Cola supports animal
abuse! Help stop this!
Your nails would
dissolve in a cup
of Coca-Cola in
about 4 days.
I like your lips like I like my
Coca-Cola, yeah. Oh how it
pops and fizzes
World of coca cola is an
amazing museum and
entertainment.
People are using Coca-Cola
to clean their toilets and
saying it works really well.
I hate when people ask dumb questions
like "Why do you smoke kush", I usually
answer with "Why do you drink coca
cola?
Coca Cola and Ice,
admit it, no matter
what your age it's
always been one of the
best things ever.
Coca-Cola Company sponsors
100 students for a summer
entrepreneurship
That guy who found a
condom in a coke bottle,
should be thanking cocacola
for protecting him from
cancer.
Coca-Cola played both
sides during World War
Two, they supported the
American troops but also
kept making soda for the
Nazis.
Can I have a
Coca-Cola
Please? Is
Pepsi ok? Is
monopoly
money ok?
When it originally appeared in 1886 - Coca
Cola was billed as an "Esteemed Brain Tonic
and Intellectual Beverage".
my dads insane,
they say im to
blame & my
brothers on the
coca-cola.
I'm chilln like a
polar bear in a
coca-cola
commercial...

3. Culture2 methodology and results
• The following slides showcase the results of the memetic discovery and
details the perception of the Coca-Cola meme in the mind-space of the
tweeters in August, 2012.
• This is a preliminary report. The full report mapping the meme space
will include language guidelines, messaging recommendations,
communication strategy suggestions about how to build a better meme

4. Meme Dimensions of Coca Cola
• Four memetic dimensions were found that explain 62% of the variance among
the memes (this is good, textbooks say that above 60% is fine)
• All the four dimensions were quite well interpretable
• These are the drivers of the perception for Coca Cola
Cultic
Emotions
Legends – Facts
Hatred - Love
32%
9%
8%
13%
Prestige
Low – High
Sincerity
Dishonest – Honest

5. Components of the ‘Emotion’ dimension
Hatred side:
• Coca Cola conceals how it harms to the health
• Coca Cola supports animal abuse, GMO, Nazis during WWII, etc
• No rights guaranteed to workers in foreign countries
• ”The Coca Cola ads make me upset”, they are obviously fake
Love side:
• Coke and ice, it’s always been one of the best things ever
• Coke is part of life, smile, gift, it never gets boring
• Love commercials, their music
• Coca Cola is a part of American history, and appreciated all over the world
• Entertainment, Coca Cola Museum
• Coca Cola is a point of reference
The memes show that Coca Cola is more than just a beverage. It’s a part
of American pride or shame, depending on the attitudes.

6. Components of the ‘Prestige’ dimension
Low side:
• Fat girls, decayed teeth, diabetes, etc (”My body is Coca Cola shaped”)
• Lots of funny or stupid coke stories
• It’s nothing but a cheap chemical rectifier, challenged ingredients
• It propagates an unreal dream world
• It causes a kind of addiction
High side:
• Sells much, it’s a giant, the company is rich
• Originally, Coca Cola was sold as a prescription drug to cure depression
• ”Look at the world a little differently”. Enjoy.
• Coca Cola’s CSR activities are widely appreciated
Memes at the low prestige side are mostly connected to health risks
and valueless addictive ingredients.
High prestige side memes emphasize mainly the business case.

7. Components of the ‘Cultic’ dimension
Legend side:
• Don’t be surprised if we see a Coca Cola logo on the next Mars lander
• Coke ads can change my mood positively
• At the beginning, it contained cocaine – it’s still an energy drink
• Lists and stories of iconic years
• Bolivia bans Coca Cola to celebrate ”the end of capitalism”
Fact side:
• The secret recipe that is locked away in a vault in the Sun Trust Bank Building in
Atlanta
• Coke songs are extremely good, EXO-K is extremely popular a model
The memes indicate that Coca Cola indeed is a cultic part of
the American Dream.
This is supported both by legendary facts, and by true legends – it is
sometimes even impossible to tell the one from the other.

8. Components of the ‘Sincerity’ dimension
Dishonest side:
• Everything about Coca Cola is fake, even certificates
• Its ads lie, Olympic athletes don’t drink Coca Cola – that’s why they are Olympic
athletes
• Polar bears don’t drink it either
• The Coca Cola company claims all of their beverages are healthy
Honest side:
• Water infused with lemon and lime doesn't taste anywhere near as good as Coca
Cola, but it's probably better for me *sigh*
• That Coca Cola commercial where the security cameras catch people doing good
things is great
• Coca Cola and Pepsi are two competing giants, and Coke is in the upperdog
position
The Dishonest side is fully serious, humorless, while at
the Honest side, mostly ironic memes were found.

9. Weighted Statistics for Meme Dimensions
-100%
Dimension:
0
+100%
Emotions
Hatred
Love
Prestige
Low
High
Cultic
Legends
Facts
Sincerity
Dishonest
Honest
• Coca Cola is more loved than hated, in spite of the many hatred memes
• According to the Twitter memes, its prestige is relatively lower than how much it
is loved (positive emotions more influential than cognitive aspects)
• It is accompanied more by ‘legend memes’ than by ‘fact memes’
• In spite of the love, it is considered rather dishonest. This is a very real mid- to
long-term risk.

10. Major Take-Aways
The meme landscape for Coke is deeply
ambivalent and conflicted… creating
uncertainty and risk about its future
prospects as a global brand.
This snapshot reveals a brief moment in
time… need ongoing monitoring to see how
Coke memes are changing to intervene and
create positive change.

11. Our Memes Thank You for Your Attention!
B. Lazlo Karafiath
Producer
lazlo@culture2inc.com
Joe Brewer
Research Director
joe@culture2inc.com
www.culuture2inc.com
Facebook.com/culture2inc
Twitter.com/culture2inc