Transcreation 1
Target Audience:
All students studying in Great Britain who are environmentally conscious. The aim of the ad is to highlight fritz-kola as a more environmentally friendly option compared to other soft-drink alternatives.
Image and Colour
Though this ad deviates slightly from the more neutral, stripped-back fritz-kola ads seen in Germany, to really make a splash as a new product entering the British market and help the product to stand out and emphasise its sustainability factor, this ad features a lot of green, as well as the typical black, white, and brown found in their German ads. “Color has strong emotional loading, able to prompt a swifter response to packaging than either the written work or imagery (Tutssel, 2000, cited in Singh 2006, p. 786).” Green, then, being emblematic of nature, serves to highlight fritz-kola‘s sustainability factor and make the brand’s commitment to sustainability more obvious. What’s more, the advertisement depicts a vine-like plant wrapped around a bottle of the beverage in order to emphasise the unity between the environment and the brand. The gushing waterfalls in the background will serve to trigger the idea that the product is refreshing, making this a perfect advertisement for the summer months.
Text
As well as the use of colour to drive home the sustainability factor, the wordplay used in “kolaborate” (German for cola + collaborate) serves to suggest that by consuming this product, you’re taking action to help save the environment. In effect, the consumer and fritz-kola are a team, working together for the sake of the environment. The original slogan “Trink aus Glas” required transcreation, as translation would render the slogan “Drink from glass” in English which not only doesn’t pack a punch, but also could be misinterpreted as though the drink were somehow made from glass. “Outta the glass or pass” also rhymes and as De Mooij notes, “English speakers rely primarily on phonological representations (..) to facilitate memory recall” (2001: 188). In addition, “outta” gives the slogan a casual, laid-back, youth factor, which is perfect when advertising to students.
Transcreation 2
Target Audience: British students specifically, especially those who consume caffeinated beverages in order to fuel their studies. The aim is to showcase the product’s high caffeine content and engage with consumers in a meaningful way.
Image and Colour
Transcreation 2 was intended to have a Guerrilla marketing effect and is designed for Instagram, so it can be shared rapidly. The advertisement harnesses a moment in British politics which went viral on the internet at the end of 2019: when Jacob Rees-Mogg apparently fell asleep in Parliament during “one of the most consequential debates in parliamentary history” (Rawlinson, 2019). In the real ad, the image would be a sketch, just like in the original, “Mensch, wach auf!” advertisement. Black and white were used as they’re emblematic of the fritz-kola brand.
Text
In order to showcase the drink’s high caffeine content, a comparison is used between a typical cup of English Breakfast Tea and fritz-kola. The original slogan “Mensch, wach auf” (Wake up, man!) has been transcreated to a clever double-entendre in English. “Wake up call” can be both a physical wake from sleeping and a figurative wake up to face all of the issues which are present at the current time. The advert suggests that Jacob Rees-Mogg needs both. In this way, as well as showcasing the brand’s high caffeine content, this ad exemplifies the brand’s commitment to being engaged in the important political questions of our time. A really effective time to release this ad would be around the time of local elections in May 2022, while there is even more talk of politics.
fritz-kola’s strapline “vielviel koffein” (“lots and lots of caffeine”) was preserved in order to present the brand’s country-of-origin (COO), as a strong COO can act “as a signal of product quality and directly affects the likelihood of purchase” (Aichner, 2013). By showcasing fritz-kola‘s COO in this way, it is anticipated that this will give further credibility to the drink’s high caffeine claims, as Germany is associated with aspects such as “precision” and even “perfectionism”. (Zimmerman, 2018).