ELI5: Why does Coca-cola still advertise?

[u/bigdubsy]

Why do companies that have seemingly maxed out on brand recognition still spend so much money on advertising? There is not a person watching TV who doesn't know about Pepsi/Coke. So it occurs to me that they cannot increase the awareness of their product or bring new customers to the product. Without creating new customers, isn't advertisement a waste of money?

I understand that they need to advertise new products, but oftentimes, it's not a new product featured in a TV commercial.

The big soda companies are the best example I can think of.

Edit: Answered. Thanks everyone!

Edit 2: Thanks again to everybody for the discussions! I learned alot more than I expected. If we weren't all strangers on the internet, I'd buy everyone a Pepsi.

[u/bigdubsy]

I like your buyers regret point, But can they really still increase their brand loyalty? People don't convert, and they already pass their preference down to their kids. There's nobody new to influence.

Edit: I was typing during your edit. I will check that out.

[u/eine_person → u/bigdubsy]

Passing preferences to your kids is not going to substitute for the full-grown ad-spectacle brands like Coca Cola pull off for you. Also, as soon as they gave this up, other brands would start to fill up this gap. So indeed, Coca Cola is doing this as some kind of preventive mind-washing.

[u/bigdubsy → u/eine_person]

I think this "filling in the gap" is the factor I didn't think of. Just because there are only 2 dominant brands, does not mean that others cannot get a share. So if Coke stopped advertising, Faygo (shoutout to my favorite regional brand) might be able to increase their ad budget and grab a higher market share. Given infinite time and money, perhaps there would eventually be as high of a demand for Faygo on store shelves as Coke.

I still doubt the ability to "convert" people away from their preferred soda. I know for a fact that I drink Pepsi because its what my parents bought my whole life. This is far more powerful than polar bears.

[u/eine_person → u/bigdubsy]

To me things I have heard so many times about Coca Cola as an employer in third world countries make up for quite a lot of polar bears. But I guess, this doesn't belong here.

[u/apollo888 → u/eine_person]

he was talking about the coke polar bear ads

[u/twdalbeck → u/apollo888]

I love those ads! I wonder if that bear moonlights for Klondike too?