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Herbert's Diary Of A Harlem School Teacher

1025 Words5 Pages

In their 1970 correspondence, Coca Cola Vice President Ira C. Herbert and Grove Press representative Richard Seaver argue over the use of the phrase “It’s the Real Thing” in marketing two separate items: Coca Cola and the book, Diary of a Harlem School Teacher. Whereas Herbert’s purpose is to ask Seaver to eliminate the contested phrase from advertisements, Seaver’s purpose is to sarcastically mock the absurdity of Herbert’s suggestion that the public would confuse cola with a book in order to keep using the phrase as a marketing tool, and because of the ease in which Seaver dismantles Herbert’s argument, his letter is more persuasive.
The letter from the Coca Cola Corporation reflects the seriousness of the matter of the use of the “It’s …show more content…

In response to the Herbert’s appeals to reason, Grove Press’ Richard Seaver begins his retort by mentioning that Herbert’s letter must have been delayed because of the “mail strike.” Herbert’s letter is dated March 25; Seaver’s is dated March 31, so any delay was inconsequential, just as he feels that Herbert’s request for the small publishing company to stop using the slogan is inconsequential. This establishes his irreverent, sarcastic tone that mocks Herbert’s irritation and demands.
Seaver refutes the arguments presented by Herbert. While Herbert fears that the public will confuse Coca Cola and Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher, Seaver contests this and illustrates how silly this concern actually is while joking that he will ask salespeople to “make sure…the customer wants...the book” and not a Coke. By doing this, he pokes holes in Herbert’s primary concern. Seaver then mocks the formal, corporate-based tone of Herbert’s letter by joking that after an “executive committee” and a “vote,” they will keep using the phrase, even if it benefits Coca Cola. By making this comment, he continues to reveal that the public probably never would make any connections between an advertisement for a book and Coca Cola, and if anyone did, Seaver mockingly hints that …show more content…

He points out that the publishing company has had its successful book Games People Played imitated by other books, which is far worse than a coincidental phrase being used in an advertisement, and mentions nothing about having asked those imitations to stop. His longest paragraph contains this information and is a break from Seaver’s usual mocking tone. This break in style helps give credibility to Seaver and shows that he is aware of copyright issues surrounding publications and that Grove Press is well within its rights as a company and the Coca-Cola company is overreacting and acting

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