Être ou ne pas être une marque Analyse sémiotique de la fortune de Coca-Cola Zero

Abstract

Launched in 2005, Coca-Cola Zero quickly became an iconic product worldwide. However, in the years following its introduction, it underwent significant transformations that, nearly 20 years later, raise questions. Specifically, does the sugar-free Coca-Cola of the early 2020s still embody the essence of the original Coca-Cola Zero ? This is the question that this work addresses, focusing on brand identities and strategies. It aligns with post-Greimassian semiotic studies on branding, with a background rooted in Ricœurian considerations regarding the question of selfhood : does an identity remain the same as it evolves ? A broad corpus, primarily consisting of cans produced over the years and their current variations, is analyzed to examine this evolution. Finally, a renewed definition of the concept of a brand is proposed, offering broader perspectives to, firstly, reconsider the role of commercial offerings within David A. Aaker’s brand strategies, and, secondly, develop a grammar of the roles assumed by the interactant in each regime of meaning elaborated by Eric Landowski.