Tag: Model Answer

Assignment Prompt & Instructions

Need help with a question

– ## MWP2VisualAnalysis1.pdf

– ## MWP2RoughDraft.docx

**## MWP2VisualAnalysis1.pdf**

1

Professor Stewart-Steele
English 1301

PAPER #2:
Analyzing a Visual Representation of a

Culture or Ethnic Group

Weight: 20% of Final Grade
Length and Formatting: 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, with a left-justified margin, and black
12-point Times New Roman font, utilizing APA style.

Assignment Preparation: List how the Culture or Ethnic Group that you wrote about in Paper #1
have been depicted on a billboard, on TV, or in print. What visual representations come to mind?
Complete a free write on what those representations have in common and what makes each of
those representations different. Then ask yourself: which one of those representations seems to
be the most interesting or complex?

Assignment: Select a visual representation (e.g., poster, billboard, photograph) of the culture or
ethnic group that you wrote about for Paper #1. Note: A webpage or movie will not work for
this assignment. Analyze how that representation is achieving or not achieving its creators’
desired effect. The point here is not to evaluate the representation, but to walk your readers
through the specifics of how that representation is working, or attempting to work, on a group of
viewers.

Please limit your focus to 3 key strategies that the creator of the representation uses; these
strategies should come from our reading in our course textbook “Writing Guide with Handbook”
pages 537-573.

*You will need to include the selected image in your essay and pre-writing.

Research: If you choose to obtain outside sources you are limited to 2 sources only. Do not use
Google. Resources that can be used for this assignment should only be comprised of in-class
text, Jstor, or LSC Libraries. If you choose to utilize quotes from these sources for this paper,
you will need to make sure you are introducing the quote or quotes correctly, make sure that it is
absolutely necessary to have the author's words exactly and not your own words.

You will need to cite the source both in and out of text correctly using APA format, and make
sure that you are not overusing quotes within the paper.

Note: If unapproved outside sources are used or plagiarism is found in your paper a zero will be
entered into the gradebook.

Audience: Local high school seniors who generally believe what they see on a billboard, TV, or
in print. These students are avid and usually unreflective consumers not only of products but also
of images—of ideas. Imagine that they are reading your essay as part of an extracurricular club
on exploring life and cultures.

2

Rationale: Although you will probably not write visual analyses throughout your life, you will
encounter many occasions, in and after college, when you must break down how a topic is
working, asking yourself what its key parts are and how those parts relate to each other. Paper #2
gives you practice making precisely those moves. Moreover, the level of specificity required in
Paper #1 is retained, perhaps even enhanced, here in Paper #2. Finally, by forcing you to include
a visual, this assignment acknowledges that writers may communicate not with alphabetic text
alone but sometimes—depending on the occasion, the genre, and the audience’s needs—with
alphabetic text in conjunction with other methods.

**## MWP2RoughDraft.docx**

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

October 16, 2025

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

In the current form of advertising, business enterprises tend to make use of cultural identity as a way of reaching out to a variety of groups of people. Visual media is now a formidable platform upon which culture is being sold and cultural pride fostered, through ethnic and cultural group campaigns. A good example of the application of the visual strategies to arouse the feelings of unity and belonging to a specific culture is the advertisement Coca-Cola produced to honor the time of the year, the Hispanic Heritage Month, called OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be). The advert portrays a Mexican American family having a meal together and the settings are marked by warm luminance, and vibrant colors with the bottles of Coca-Cola subtly positioned in the background. The campaign, using visual decisions, promotes the feeling of collective heritage and shared pride among the Mexican Americans as well as the inclusive message presented by the brand.

The OrgullosoDeSer advertisement addresses and promotes the idea of Mexican American identity in three major visual actions, such as the symbolism of color, composition, and focus as well as the use of bilingual writings that provide a sense of cultural pride, inclusiveness, and belonging.

**Color Symbolism**

The color plays a critical role in the communication of the cultural identity and emotional warmth of the advertisement. The prevailing Coca-Cola red is mixed with the green and white color which reflects the color of the Mexican flag. Such a visual association leads to the instant feeling of national pride and reinforces the emotional attachment of the viewer to the message. Also, warm colors such as orange and yellow make the atmosphere of family happiness and coziness. The lighting generates a friendly, warm light, which signifies the presence of inclusivity and love that helps to strengthen the message of the advertisement, which is unity and celebration.

Color is also used and relates to the symbolism in cultural representation. Color, in Mexican and Mexican American culture, can sometimes have emotional and spiritual messages, e.g. vitality, warmth and strength. The applied color red of the corporation logo of the Coca-Cola company and national colors of Mexico are deliberately matched and it can be seen, that the maker of Coca Cola is trying to be in tune with the commercial identity and the cultural identity. According to Kiyama (2010), cultural pride and manifestation is a key determinant when it comes to defining how Mexican Americans view opportunities and suitability in United States society. Through the emotional, as well as cultural signifier of color, the advertisement is exploiting these more intangible values of self identification and strength.

Color symbolism in the ad of #OrgullosoDeSer works as the language of visual symbolism that is independent of words. The red, green, and white color scheme attracts the viewers instantly with the Mexican heritage, and the warm colors are attractive to universal human feelings of happiness and belonging. The visual approach of the Coca-Cola marketing strategy evidences the idea that the effective advertisement depends not on the promotion of a product, but on the connection with culture. With this color combination, the brand conveys the respect of their culture to the Mexican Americans and it places the brand on the same level with the values of unity and pride.

**Composition and Focus**

Other than the use of color, the layout of the ad leads one to focus on the core of this message: family. The shot focuses on a Mexican American family sitting on the circle table, eating food and laughing together. Coca-cola bottles are there but they do not overpower the picture, rather, they form part of the family set-up. Such composition helps to support the cultural idea of familismo that is characterized by the importance of loyalty, the common good, and the emotional contact between the members of the family.

The round shape brings out equality and inclusivity since no member of the frame has overruling visual significance. This composition sends an implicit message that family is not an institution with hierarchies but is a collective process where everyone plays his role in conferring the sense of belonging. The fact that the advertisement focused on people rather than on product gives the advert great strength of authenticity. Tsai, Telzer, Gonzales, and Fuligni (2015) discovered that socialization among Mexican Americans who have been taught strong commitment to family obligation values produces behaviors that promote the values of cooperation and respect towards engagement in family unity. This cultural prioritization of a family can be traced in the visual discourse of the advertisement because togetherness is the topic and the message of the piece.

A sense of intimacy is also brought due to the soft focus and close framing that enable the audience to feel involved in the moment. Coca-Cola can be seen as a true piece of everyday life, as opposed to creating a romanticised, or a far-fetched representation, of culture. The composition itself is realistic enough to imply that cultural pride is not merely celebrated through a set of festivities in society and it is also incorporated in the daily family life. When focusing on the family instead of the product, Coca-Cola transmits to the audience unobtrusively that its mark is not placed beyond the realm of cultural life but inside it.

**Bilingual Text**

The language used in the advertisement is actually bilingual which acts as an in between between the cultural heritage and the modern life in America. The phrase in the title of the ad, the hashtag #OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be), recaps the text of the ad and tells the bilingual viewers walking between the boundaries of the English and Spanish identities. This bilinguality is the embodiment of a lived experience of many Mexican Americans who preserve their cultural heritage and still participate in the life of a wider American society.

The motivation of using bilingual text is an inclusive and empowering tool. It welcomes the Spanish speaking personalities along with informing the non-Spanish speaking audiences of the cultural pride that is inherent in the phrase. Coca-cola, therefore, recognizes the role of language as a sense of identity. The issue about bilingualism is not represented as an obstacle but rather as an enhancement of the cultural diversity of America. The strategic decision in the advertisement that operates on both languages without tokenism is its efforts to apply language in the cultural setting as it is.

In addition, bilingual text is associated with general social changes of multiculturality in media. The social media usage in the campaign, using a hashtag of the company, which is referred to as OrgullosoDeSer, also attracts digital audiences by symbolizing a community and shared identity of the brand. Language in this case is more than just a text, it is a visual and interactive resource that connects or brings together people regardless of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is in line with what the advertisement aims at which is to celebrate the idea of identity and belonging as opposed to the advertisement merely promoting a drink.

**The More Cultural Implication of the Advertisement.**

The meaning of the advertisement #OrgullosoDeSer extends beyond the visual appeal of that very advertisement. It is a larger trend in the advertising industry to show ethnicities as a part of nationality rather than outsiders. To Mexican Americans, these depictions provide the recognition and presence of these characters in a media world that has tended to embrace stereotypes or be over- or underrepresented. Coca-Cola campaign balances the authenticity of culture and its mainstream by making the brand a member of cultural celebration and not an external observer.

It is also through cultural representation of advertising that psychologically and socially, the identity is intersected. According to Kiyama (2010), it is evident that cultural validation positively affects both self-perception and ambition in Mexican American youth, and therefore, the idea that positive media images can result in an increase of the perceptions of empowerment is quite likely. In a comparable manner, Tsai et al. (2015) emphasize that family and culturalization are the key aspects in the formation of values and behaviors that can be vividly seen in the family-centered imagery used in Coca-Cola. Thus, the advertisement’s visual rhetoric contributes not only to corporate branding but also to the broader discourse on inclusion and cultural appreciation.

**Conclusion**

The Coca-Cola #OrgullosoDeSer advertisement effectively celebrates Mexican American identity through deliberate visual strategies. The use of color symbolism invokes emotional warmth and national pride, composition and focus center family unity and collective well-being, and bilingual text bridges cultural and linguistic identities. These elements construct a message of inclusivity and belonging that transcends product promotion. This advertisement encourages viewers to recognize how media can affirm cultural heritage and foster positive representation. In a society increasingly defined by diversity, such portrayals are vital to promoting mutual respect and understanding.

**References**

Kiyama, J. M. (2010).
_College aspirations and limitations._ _American Educational Research Journal, 47_(2), 330–356.

Tsai, K. M., Telzer, E. H., Gonzales, N. A., & Fuligni, A. J. (2015). Parental cultural socialization of Mexican-American adolescents’ family obligation values and behaviors.
_Child Development, 86_(4), 1241–1252.

**## MWP2RoughDraft.docx**

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

October 16, 2025

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

In the current form of advertising, business enterprises tend to make use of cultural identity as a way of reaching out to a variety of groups of people. Visual media is now a formidable platform upon which culture is being sold and cultural pride fostered, through ethnic and cultural group campaigns. A good example of the application of the visual strategies to arouse the feelings of unity and belonging to a specific culture is the advertisement Coca-Cola produced to honor the time of the year, the Hispanic Heritage Month, called OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be). The advert portrays a Mexican American family having a meal together and the settings are marked by warm luminance, and vibrant colors with the bottles of Coca-Cola subtly positioned in the background. The campaign, using visual decisions, promotes the feeling of collective heritage and shared pride among the Mexican Americans as well as the inclusive message presented by the brand.

The OrgullosoDeSer advertisement addresses and promotes the idea of Mexican American identity in three major visual actions, such as the symbolism of color, composition, and focus as well as the use of bilingual writings that provide a sense of cultural pride, inclusiveness, and belonging.

**Color Symbolism**

The color plays a critical role in the communication of the cultural identity and emotional warmth of the advertisement. The prevailing Coca-Cola red is mixed with the green and white color which reflects the color of the Mexican flag. Such a visual association leads to the instant feeling of national pride and reinforces the emotional attachment of the viewer to the message. Also, warm colors such as orange and yellow make the atmosphere of family happiness and coziness. The lighting generates a friendly, warm light, which signifies the presence of inclusivity and love that helps to strengthen the message of the advertisement, which is unity and celebration.

Color is also used and relates to the symbolism in cultural representation. Color, in Mexican and Mexican American culture, can sometimes have emotional and spiritual messages, e.g. vitality, warmth and strength. The applied color red of the corporation logo of the Coca-Cola company and national colors of Mexico are deliberately matched and it can be seen, that the maker of Coca Cola is trying to be in tune with the commercial identity and the cultural identity. According to Kiyama (2010), cultural pride and manifestation is a key determinant when it comes to defining how Mexican Americans view opportunities and suitability in United States society. Through the emotional, as well as cultural signifier of color, the advertisement is exploiting these more intangible values of self identification and strength.

Color symbolism in the ad of #OrgullosoDeSer works as the language of visual symbolism that is independent of words. The red, green, and white color scheme attracts the viewers instantly with the Mexican heritage, and the warm colors are attractive to universal human feelings of happiness and belonging. The visual approach of the Coca-Cola marketing strategy evidences the idea that the effective advertisement depends not on the promotion of a product, but on the connection with culture. With this color combination, the brand conveys the respect of their culture to the Mexican Americans and it places the brand on the same level with the values of unity and pride.

**Composition and Focus**

Other than the use of color, the layout of the ad leads one to focus on the core of this message: family. The shot focuses on a Mexican American family sitting on the circle table, eating food and laughing together. Coca-cola bottles are there but they do not overpower the picture, rather, they form part of the family set-up. Such composition helps to support the cultural idea of familismo that is characterized by the importance of loyalty, the common good, and the emotional contact between the members of the family.

The round shape brings out equality and inclusivity since no member of the frame has overruling visual significance. This composition sends an implicit message that family is not an institution with hierarchies but is a collective process where everyone plays his role in conferring the sense of belonging. The fact that the advertisement focused on people rather than on product gives the advert great strength of authenticity. Tsai, Telzer, Gonzales, and Fuligni (2015) discovered that socialization among Mexican Americans who have been taught strong commitment to family obligation values produces behaviors that promote the values of cooperation and respect towards engagement in family unity. This cultural prioritization of a family can be traced in the visual discourse of the advertisement because togetherness is the topic and the message of the piece.

A sense of intimacy is also brought due to the soft focus and close framing that enable the audience to feel involved in the moment. Coca-Cola can be seen as a true piece of everyday life, as opposed to creating a romanticised, or a far-fetched representation, of culture. The composition itself is realistic enough to imply that cultural pride is not merely celebrated through a set of festivities in society and it is also incorporated in the daily family life. When focusing on the family instead of the product, Coca-Cola transmits to the audience unobtrusively that its mark is not placed beyond the realm of cultural life but inside it.

**Bilingual Text**

The language used in the advertisement is actually bilingual which acts as an in between between the cultural heritage and the modern life in America. The phrase in the title of the ad, the hashtag #OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be), recaps the text of the ad and tells the bilingual viewers walking between the boundaries of the English and Spanish identities. This bilinguality is the embodiment of a lived experience of many Mexican Americans who preserve their cultural heritage and still participate in the life of a wider American society.

The motivation of using bilingual text is an inclusive and empowering tool. It welcomes the Spanish speaking personalities along with informing the non-Spanish speaking audiences of the cultural pride that is inherent in the phrase. Coca-cola, therefore, recognizes the role of language as a sense of identity. The issue about bilingualism is not represented as an obstacle but rather as an enhancement of the cultural diversity of America. The strategic decision in the advertisement that operates on both languages without tokenism is its efforts to apply language in the cultural setting as it is.

In addition, bilingual text is associated with general social changes of multiculturality in media. The social media usage in the campaign, using a hashtag of the company, which is referred to as OrgullosoDeSer, also attracts digital audiences by symbolizing a community and shared identity of the brand. Language in this case is more than just a text, it is a visual and interactive resource that connects or brings together people regardless of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is in line with what the advertisement aims at which is to celebrate the idea of identity and belonging as opposed to the advertisement merely promoting a drink.

**The More Cultural Implication of the Advertisement.**

The meaning of the advertisement #OrgullosoDeSer extends beyond the visual appeal of that very advertisement. It is a larger trend in the advertising industry to show ethnicities as a part of nationality rather than outsiders. To Mexican Americans, these depictions provide the recognition and presence of these characters in a media world that has tended to embrace stereotypes or be over- or underrepresented. Coca-Cola campaign balances the authenticity of culture and its mainstream by making the brand a member of cultural celebration and not an external observer.

It is also through cultural representation of advertising that psychologically and socially, the identity is intersected. According to Kiyama (2010), it is evident that cultural validation positively affects both self-perception and ambition in Mexican American youth, and therefore, the idea that positive media images can result in an increase of the perceptions of empowerment is quite likely. In a comparable manner, Tsai et al. (2015) emphasize that family and culturalization are the key aspects in the formation of values and behaviors that can be vividly seen in the family-centered imagery used in Coca-Cola. Thus, the advertisement’s visual rhetoric contributes not only to corporate branding but also to the broader discourse on inclusion and cultural appreciation.

**Conclusion**

The Coca-Cola #OrgullosoDeSer advertisement effectively celebrates Mexican American identity through deliberate visual strategies. The use of color symbolism invokes emotional warmth and national pride, composition and focus center family unity and collective well-being, and bilingual text bridges cultural and linguistic identities. These elements construct a message of inclusivity and belonging that transcends product promotion. This advertisement encourages viewers to recognize how media can affirm cultural heritage and foster positive representation. In a society increasingly defined by diversity, such portrayals are vital to promoting mutual respect and understanding.

**References**

Kiyama, J. M. (2010).
_College aspirations and limitations._ _American Educational Research Journal, 47_(2), 330–356.

Tsai, K. M., Telzer, E. H., Gonzales, N. A., & Fuligni, A. J. (2015). Parental cultural socialization of Mexican-American adolescents’ family obligation values and behaviors.
_Child Development, 86_(4), 1241–1252.

**## MWP2VisualAnalysis1.pdf**

1

Professor Stewart-Steele
English 1301

PAPER #2:
Analyzing a Visual Representation of a

Culture or Ethnic Group

Weight: 20% of Final Grade
Length and Formatting: 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, with a left-justified margin, and black
12-point Times New Roman font, utilizing APA style.

Assignment Preparation: List how the Culture or Ethnic Group that you wrote about in Paper #1
have been depicted on a billboard, on TV, or in print. What visual representations come to mind?
Complete a free write on what those representations have in common and what makes each of
those representations different. Then ask yourself: which one of those representations seems to
be the most interesting or complex?

Assignment: Select a visual representation (e.g., poster, billboard, photograph) of the culture or
ethnic group that you wrote about for Paper #1. Note: A webpage or movie will not work for
this assignment. Analyze how that representation is achieving or not achieving its creators’
desired effect. The point here is not to evaluate the representation, but to walk your readers
through the specifics of how that representation is working, or attempting to work, on a group of
viewers.

Please limit your focus to 3 key strategies that the creator of the representation uses; these
strategies should come from our reading in our course textbook “Writing Guide with Handbook”
pages 537-573.

*You will need to include the selected image in your essay and pre-writing.

Research: If you choose to obtain outside sources you are limited to 2 sources only. Do not use
Google. Resources that can be used for this assignment should only be comprised of in-class
text, Jstor, or LSC Libraries. If you choose to utilize quotes from these sources for this paper,
you will need to make sure you are introducing the quote or quotes correctly, make sure that it is
absolutely necessary to have the author's words exactly and not your own words.

You will need to cite the source both in and out of text correctly using APA format, and make
sure that you are not overusing quotes within the paper.

Note: If unapproved outside sources are used or plagiarism is found in your paper a zero will be
entered into the gradebook.

Audience: Local high school seniors who generally believe what they see on a billboard, TV, or
in print. These students are avid and usually unreflective consumers not only of products but also
of images—of ideas. Imagine that they are reading your essay as part of an extracurricular club
on exploring life and cultures.

2

Rationale: Although you will probably not write visual analyses throughout your life, you will
encounter many occasions, in and after college, when you must break down how a topic is
working, asking yourself what its key parts are and how those parts relate to each other. Paper #2
gives you practice making precisely those moves. Moreover, the level of specificity required in
Paper #1 is retained, perhaps even enhanced, here in Paper #2. Finally, by forcing you to include
a visual, this assignment acknowledges that writers may communicate not with alphabetic text
alone but sometimes—depending on the occasion, the genre, and the audience’s needs—with
alphabetic text in conjunction with other methods.

**## MWP2RoughDraft.docx**

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

October 16, 2025

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

In the current form of advertising, business enterprises tend to make use of cultural identity as a way of reaching out to a variety of groups of people. Visual media is now a formidable platform upon which culture is being sold and cultural pride fostered, through ethnic and cultural group campaigns. A good example of the application of the visual strategies to arouse the feelings of unity and belonging to a specific culture is the advertisement Coca-Cola produced to honor the time of the year, the Hispanic Heritage Month, called OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be). The advert portrays a Mexican American family having a meal together and the settings are marked by warm luminance, and vibrant colors with the bottles of Coca-Cola subtly positioned in the background. The campaign, using visual decisions, promotes the feeling of collective heritage and shared pride among the Mexican Americans as well as the inclusive message presented by the brand.

The OrgullosoDeSer advertisement addresses and promotes the idea of Mexican American identity in three major visual actions, such as the symbolism of color, composition, and focus as well as the use of bilingual writings that provide a sense of cultural pride, inclusiveness, and belonging.

**Color Symbolism**

The color plays a critical role in the communication of the cultural identity and emotional warmth of the advertisement. The prevailing Coca-Cola red is mixed with the green and white color which reflects the color of the Mexican flag. Such a visual association leads to the instant feeling of national pride and reinforces the emotional attachment of the viewer to the message. Also, warm colors such as orange and yellow make the atmosphere of family happiness and coziness. The lighting generates a friendly, warm light, which signifies the presence of inclusivity and love that helps to strengthen the message of the advertisement, which is unity and celebration.

Color is also used and relates to the symbolism in cultural representation. Color, in Mexican and Mexican American culture, can sometimes have emotional and spiritual messages, e.g. vitality, warmth and strength. The applied color red of the corporation logo of the Coca-Cola company and national colors of Mexico are deliberately matched and it can be seen, that the maker of Coca Cola is trying to be in tune with the commercial identity and the cultural identity. According to Kiyama (2010), cultural pride and manifestation is a key determinant when it comes to defining how Mexican Americans view opportunities and suitability in United States society. Through the emotional, as well as cultural signifier of color, the advertisement is exploiting these more intangible values of self identification and strength.

Color symbolism in the ad of #OrgullosoDeSer works as the language of visual symbolism that is independent of words. The red, green, and white color scheme attracts the viewers instantly with the Mexican heritage, and the warm colors are attractive to universal human feelings of happiness and belonging. The visual approach of the Coca-Cola marketing strategy evidences the idea that the effective advertisement depends not on the promotion of a product, but on the connection with culture. With this color combination, the brand conveys the respect of their culture to the Mexican Americans and it places the brand on the same level with the values of unity and pride.

**Composition and Focus**

Other than the use of color, the layout of the ad leads one to focus on the core of this message: family. The shot focuses on a Mexican American family sitting on the circle table, eating food and laughing together. Coca-cola bottles are there but they do not overpower the picture, rather, they form part of the family set-up. Such composition helps to support the cultural idea of familismo that is characterized by the importance of loyalty, the common good, and the emotional contact between the members of the family.

The round shape brings out equality and inclusivity since no member of the frame has overruling visual significance. This composition sends an implicit message that family is not an institution with hierarchies but is a collective process where everyone plays his role in conferring the sense of belonging. The fact that the advertisement focused on people rather than on product gives the advert great strength of authenticity. Tsai, Telzer, Gonzales, and Fuligni (2015) discovered that socialization among Mexican Americans who have been taught strong commitment to family obligation values produces behaviors that promote the values of cooperation and respect towards engagement in family unity. This cultural prioritization of a family can be traced in the visual discourse of the advertisement because togetherness is the topic and the message of the piece.

A sense of intimacy is also brought due to the soft focus and close framing that enable the audience to feel involved in the moment. Coca-Cola can be seen as a true piece of everyday life, as opposed to creating a romanticised, or a far-fetched representation, of culture. The composition itself is realistic enough to imply that cultural pride is not merely celebrated through a set of festivities in society and it is also incorporated in the daily family life. When focusing on the family instead of the product, Coca-Cola transmits to the audience unobtrusively that its mark is not placed beyond the realm of cultural life but inside it.

**Bilingual Text**

The language used in the advertisement is actually bilingual which acts as an in between between the cultural heritage and the modern life in America. The phrase in the title of the ad, the hashtag #OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be), recaps the text of the ad and tells the bilingual viewers walking between the boundaries of the English and Spanish identities. This bilinguality is the embodiment of a lived experience of many Mexican Americans who preserve their cultural heritage and still participate in the life of a wider American society.

The motivation of using bilingual text is an inclusive and empowering tool. It welcomes the Spanish speaking personalities along with informing the non-Spanish speaking audiences of the cultural pride that is inherent in the phrase. Coca-cola, therefore, recognizes the role of language as a sense of identity. The issue about bilingualism is not represented as an obstacle but rather as an enhancement of the cultural diversity of America. The strategic decision in the advertisement that operates on both languages without tokenism is its efforts to apply language in the cultural setting as it is.

In addition, bilingual text is associated with general social changes of multiculturality in media. The social media usage in the campaign, using a hashtag of the company, which is referred to as OrgullosoDeSer, also attracts digital audiences by symbolizing a community and shared identity of the brand. Language in this case is more than just a text, it is a visual and interactive resource that connects or brings together people regardless of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is in line with what the advertisement aims at which is to celebrate the idea of identity and belonging as opposed to the advertisement merely promoting a drink.

**The More Cultural Implication of the Advertisement.**

The meaning of the advertisement #OrgullosoDeSer extends beyond the visual appeal of that very advertisement. It is a larger trend in the advertising industry to show ethnicities as a part of nationality rather than outsiders. To Mexican Americans, these depictions provide the recognition and presence of these characters in a media world that has tended to embrace stereotypes or be over- or underrepresented. Coca-Cola campaign balances the authenticity of culture and its mainstream by making the brand a member of cultural celebration and not an external observer.

It is also through cultural representation of advertising that psychologically and socially, the identity is intersected. According to Kiyama (2010), it is evident that cultural validation positively affects both self-perception and ambition in Mexican American youth, and therefore, the idea that positive media images can result in an increase of the perceptions of empowerment is quite likely. In a comparable manner, Tsai et al. (2015) emphasize that family and culturalization are the key aspects in the formation of values and behaviors that can be vividly seen in the family-centered imagery used in Coca-Cola. Thus, the advertisement’s visual rhetoric contributes not only to corporate branding but also to the broader discourse on inclusion and cultural appreciation.

**Conclusion**

The Coca-Cola #OrgullosoDeSer advertisement effectively celebrates Mexican American identity through deliberate visual strategies. The use of color symbolism invokes emotional warmth and national pride, composition and focus center family unity and collective well-being, and bilingual text bridges cultural and linguistic identities. These elements construct a message of inclusivity and belonging that transcends product promotion. This advertisement encourages viewers to recognize how media can affirm cultural heritage and foster positive representation. In a society increasingly defined by diversity, such portrayals are vital to promoting mutual respect and understanding.

**References**

Kiyama, J. M. (2010).
_College aspirations and limitations._ _American Educational Research Journal, 47_(2), 330–356.

Tsai, K. M., Telzer, E. H., Gonzales, N. A., & Fuligni, A. J. (2015). Parental cultural socialization of Mexican-American adolescents’ family obligation values and behaviors.
_Child Development, 86_(4), 1241–1252.

**## MWP2VisualAnalysis1.pdf**

1

Professor Stewart-Steele
English 1301

PAPER #2:
Analyzing a Visual Representation of a

Culture or Ethnic Group

Weight: 20% of Final Grade
Length and Formatting: 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, with a left-justified margin, and black
12-point Times New Roman font, utilizing APA style.

Assignment Preparation: List how the Culture or Ethnic Group that you wrote about in Paper #1
have been depicted on a billboard, on TV, or in print. What visual representations come to mind?
Complete a free write on what those representations have in common and what makes each of
those representations different. Then ask yourself: which one of those representations seems to
be the most interesting or complex?

Assignment: Select a visual representation (e.g., poster, billboard, photograph) of the culture or
ethnic group that you wrote about for Paper #1. Note: A webpage or movie will not work for
this assignment. Analyze how that representation is achieving or not achieving its creators’
desired effect. The point here is not to evaluate the representation, but to walk your readers
through the specifics of how that representation is working, or attempting to work, on a group of
viewers.

Please limit your focus to 3 key strategies that the creator of the representation uses; these
strategies should come from our reading in our course textbook “Writing Guide with Handbook”
pages 537-573.

*You will need to include the selected image in your essay and pre-writing.

Research: If you choose to obtain outside sources you are limited to 2 sources only. Do not use
Google. Resources that can be used for this assignment should only be comprised of in-class
text, Jstor, or LSC Libraries. If you choose to utilize quotes from these sources for this paper,
you will need to make sure you are introducing the quote or quotes correctly, make sure that it is
absolutely necessary to have the author's words exactly and not your own words.

You will need to cite the source both in and out of text correctly using APA format, and make
sure that you are not overusing quotes within the paper.

Note: If unapproved outside sources are used or plagiarism is found in your paper a zero will be
entered into the gradebook.

Audience: Local high school seniors who generally believe what they see on a billboard, TV, or
in print. These students are avid and usually unreflective consumers not only of products but also
of images—of ideas. Imagine that they are reading your essay as part of an extracurricular club
on exploring life and cultures.

2

Rationale: Although you will probably not write visual analyses throughout your life, you will
encounter many occasions, in and after college, when you must break down how a topic is
working, asking yourself what its key parts are and how those parts relate to each other. Paper #2
gives you practice making precisely those moves. Moreover, the level of specificity required in
Paper #1 is retained, perhaps even enhanced, here in Paper #2. Finally, by forcing you to include
a visual, this assignment acknowledges that writers may communicate not with alphabetic text
alone but sometimes—depending on the occasion, the genre, and the audience’s needs—with
alphabetic text in conjunction with other methods.

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**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

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October 16, 2025

**Visual Analysis of Mexican American Representation: Coca-Cola’s #OrgullosoDeSer Advertisement**

In the current form of advertising, business enterprises tend to make use of cultural identity as a way of reaching out to a variety of groups of people. Visual media is now a formidable platform upon which culture is being sold and cultural pride fostered, through ethnic and cultural group campaigns. A good example of the application of the visual strategies to arouse the feelings of unity and belonging to a specific culture is the advertisement Coca-Cola produced to honor the time of the year, the Hispanic Heritage Month, called OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be). The advert portrays a Mexican American family having a meal together and the settings are marked by warm luminance, and vibrant colors with the bottles of Coca-Cola subtly positioned in the background. The campaign, using visual decisions, promotes the feeling of collective heritage and shared pride among the Mexican Americans as well as the inclusive message presented by the brand.

The OrgullosoDeSer advertisement addresses and promotes the idea of Mexican American identity in three major visual actions, such as the symbolism of color, composition, and focus as well as the use of bilingual writings that provide a sense of cultural pride, inclusiveness, and belonging.

**Color Symbolism**

The color plays a critical role in the communication of the cultural identity and emotional warmth of the advertisement. The prevailing Coca-Cola red is mixed with the green and white color which reflects the color of the Mexican flag. Such a visual association leads to the instant feeling of national pride and reinforces the emotional attachment of the viewer to the message. Also, warm colors such as orange and yellow make the atmosphere of family happiness and coziness. The lighting generates a friendly, warm light, which signifies the presence of inclusivity and love that helps to strengthen the message of the advertisement, which is unity and celebration.

Color is also used and relates to the symbolism in cultural representation. Color, in Mexican and Mexican American culture, can sometimes have emotional and spiritual messages, e.g. vitality, warmth and strength. The applied color red of the corporation logo of the Coca-Cola company and national colors of Mexico are deliberately matched and it can be seen, that the maker of Coca Cola is trying to be in tune with the commercial identity and the cultural identity. According to Kiyama (2010), cultural pride and manifestation is a key determinant when it comes to defining how Mexican Americans view opportunities and suitability in United States society. Through the emotional, as well as cultural signifier of color, the advertisement is exploiting these more intangible values of self identification and strength.

Color symbolism in the ad of #OrgullosoDeSer works as the language of visual symbolism that is independent of words. The red, green, and white color scheme attracts the viewers instantly with the Mexican heritage, and the warm colors are attractive to universal human feelings of happiness and belonging. The visual approach of the Coca-Cola marketing strategy evidences the idea that the effective advertisement depends not on the promotion of a product, but on the connection with culture. With this color combination, the brand conveys the respect of their culture to the Mexican Americans and it places the brand on the same level with the values of unity and pride.

**Composition and Focus**

Other than the use of color, the layout of the ad leads one to focus on the core of this message: family. The shot focuses on a Mexican American family sitting on the circle table, eating food and laughing together. Coca-cola bottles are there but they do not overpower the picture, rather, they form part of the family set-up. Such composition helps to support the cultural idea of familismo that is characterized by the importance of loyalty, the common good, and the emotional contact between the members of the family.

The round shape brings out equality and inclusivity since no member of the frame has overruling visual significance. This composition sends an implicit message that family is not an institution with hierarchies but is a collective process where everyone plays his role in conferring the sense of belonging. The fact that the advertisement focused on people rather than on product gives the advert great strength of authenticity. Tsai, Telzer, Gonzales, and Fuligni (2015) discovered that socialization among Mexican Americans who have been taught strong commitment to family obligation values produces behaviors that promote the values of cooperation and respect towards engagement in family unity. This cultural prioritization of a family can be traced in the visual discourse of the advertisement because togetherness is the topic and the message of the piece.

A sense of intimacy is also brought due to the soft focus and close framing that enable the audience to feel involved in the moment. Coca-Cola can be seen as a true piece of everyday life, as opposed to creating a romanticised, or a far-fetched representation, of culture. The composition itself is realistic enough to imply that cultural pride is not merely celebrated through a set of festivities in society and it is also incorporated in the daily family life. When focusing on the family instead of the product, Coca-Cola transmits to the audience unobtrusively that its mark is not placed beyond the realm of cultural life but inside it.

**Bilingual Text**

The language used in the advertisement is actually bilingual which acts as an in between between the cultural heritage and the modern life in America. The phrase in the title of the ad, the hashtag #OrgullosoDeSer (Pride to Be), recaps the text of the ad and tells the bilingual viewers walking between the boundaries of the English and Spanish identities. This bilinguality is the embodiment of a lived experience of many Mexican Americans who preserve their cultural heritage and still participate in the life of a wider American society.

The motivation of using bilingual text is an inclusive and empowering tool. It welcomes the Spanish speaking personalities along with informing the non-Spanish speaking audiences of the cultural pride that is inherent in the phrase. Coca-cola, therefore, recognizes the role of language as a sense of identity. The issue about bilingualism is not represented as an obstacle but rather as an enhancement of the cultural diversity of America. The strategic decision in the advertisement that operates on both languages without tokenism is its efforts to apply language in the cultural setting as it is.

In addition, bilingual text is associated with general social changes of multiculturality in media. The social media usage in the campaign, using a hashtag of the company, which is referred to as OrgullosoDeSer, also attracts digital audiences by symbolizing a community and shared identity of the brand. Language in this case is more than just a text, it is a visual and interactive resource that connects or brings together people regardless of their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is in line with what the advertisement aims at which is to celebrate the idea of identity and belonging as opposed to the advertisement merely promoting a drink.

**The More Cultural Implication of the Advertisement.**

The meaning of the advertisement #OrgullosoDeSer extends beyond the visual appeal of that very advertisement. It is a larger trend in the advertising industry to show ethnicities as a part of nationality rather than outsiders. To Mexican Americans, these depictions provide the recognition and presence of these characters in a media world that has tended to embrace stereotypes or be over- or underrepresented. Coca-Cola campaign balances the authenticity of culture and its mainstream by making the brand a member of cultural celebration and not an external observer.

It is also through cultural representation of advertising that psychologically and socially, the identity is intersected. According to Kiyama (2010), it is evident that cultural validation positively affects both self-perception and ambition in Mexican American youth, and therefore, the idea that positive media images can result in an increase of the perceptions of empowerment is quite likely. In a comparable manner, Tsai et al. (2015) emphasize that family and culturalization are the key aspects in the formation of values and behaviors that can be vividly seen in the family-centered imagery used in Coca-Cola. Thus, the advertisement’s visual rhetoric contributes not only to corporate branding but also to the broader discourse on inclusion and cultural appreciation.

**Conclusion**

The Coca-Cola #OrgullosoDeSer advertisement effectively celebrates Mexican American identity through deliberate visual strategies. The use of color symbolism invokes emotional warmth and national pride, composition and focus center family unity and collective well-being, and bilingual text bridges cultural and linguistic identities. These elements construct a message of inclusivity and belonging that transcends product promotion. This advertisement encourages viewers to recognize how media can affirm cultural heritage and foster positive representation. In a society increasingly defined by diversity, such portrayals are vital to promoting mutual respect and understanding.

**References**

Kiyama, J. M. (2010).
_College aspirations and limitations._ _American Educational Research Journal, 47_(2), 330–356.

Tsai, K. M., Telzer, E. H., Gonzales, N. A., & Fuligni, A. J. (2015). Parental cultural socialization of Mexican-American adolescents’ family obligation values and behaviors.
_Child Development, 86_(4), 1241–1252.

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