The radio advertisement for Nando's restaurant uses a stereotypical Mexican accent and jokes. It promotes the restaurant's "Spirit of Nando's" slogan by having an enthusiastic male voice assure listeners that whatever food they choose at Nando's is "OK". While meant in good humor, the advertisement's heavy use of a foreign accent and racial stereotypes risks offending some listeners. However, the accent is relevant to Nando's menu of South American dishes. Overall the ad aims to promote the Nando's brand generally rather than specific products, though it may not fully convey the restaurant's offerings or be easily understandable by some audiences.

1. Radio Advert Analysis
As part of my analysis into radio advertisements, I listened to one advertising the Nando’s restaurant
chain. The name of the campaign is entitled “The Spirit Of Nando’s”. This slogan is mentioned twice
during the advert, once at the beginning and once at the end. The first is used as an introduction and
the second to reiterate that you can choose whatever you want from the restaurant, be it a salad,
chips or a dessert.
The advert is in a very humorous style, parodying stereotypical Mexican people: A woman having a
unibrow and the enthusiastic approach to life. The male presenter of the advert is a very loud, happy
individual who is heavily putting on an accent. A phrase that is commonly repeated throughout the
advert is “It’s OK”. The accent of the man puts emphasis on the words and results in a highly
stereotypical Mexican sound. “It’s OK” was a response to make feel better no matter who they are,
as they can still enjoy the various things on offer at the restaurant. Some things that the man said
was “OK” were “If you have eyebrows that join in the middle” and “if you’re a grown man that cries
at bambi”. I believe that the advert is aimed at teenagers till early thirties, as I think that these ages
are more likely to find the humorous content of the advert more entertaining and appealing.
The voice is quite funny and in a time where parodies are very popular, I think the use of his in the
advert is good. It reminded me of the “Plenty” kitchen roll television advert. That also included a
stereotypical foreign male and a tagline to match “It’s OK”- “One sheet does plenty”. It is also very
jokey tone of voice as it isn’t a serious Mexican accent, but is instead heavily put on. The man is also
very informal, addressing the listening audience in a way that makes them feel relaxed. The voice is
quite annoying however, though this could work to its advantage as it would remain in people’s
head long after they have listened to it. The music in the background is in the style of a mariachi
band and provides an entertaining sound for pauses within the advert. This is another stereotype of
Mexican people, which is why it has been included within the advert.
The brand identity is very prominent within the advert, as Nando’s is mentioned three times- once at
the beginning, once in the middle and once at the end. This will be to make people aware of what
they are listening to, no matter when they tune into the advert. Even if they haven’t heard the
majority of the advert, simply hearing the name: “Nando’s” will make people aware of the brand.
The voice and the descriptions of food within the advert may also point people in the general
direction of the restaurant, through general foreign food association. Twice when the brand is
mentioned is when it is part of the phrase “Spirit of Nando’s”. This is the name of the advertising
campaign, with the spirit meant to capture the essence of the food and its culture. I believe this is
why the advert is in the style it is (voice-over, sound effects).
The main purpose of the advert is to promote the brand in general, as they do not advertise any
products in particular. Though they mention various foods on offer- salad, chips and dessert- they
are part of the food that is “OK” to eat. I don’t believe the brand has a large enough mainstream
awareness for them to advertise individual products, which is why they have elected to advertise the
restaurant on a whole.

2. I looked into the use of the heavy foreign accent on the Radio Advertising Clearing Centre (RACC).
Under a section entitled ‘Racial Minorities, the RACC covers the use of foreign accents in radio
adverts:
Jokes about different races, light-hearted scenarios involving racial stereotypes and the use of foreign
accents in advertisements have the potential to offend.
Extreme care is needed to make sure that such creative treatments will not be perceived as being
unkind or hurtful to ethnic minorities, and that they do not reinforce racial stereotypes in a negative
way.
A fine line can be drawn, for example, between the use of a foreign accent in a relevant manner and
one which is being used to denigrate or mock. While the mere use of a foreign accent is not precluded
in advertisements, it needs to be borne in mind that humour in advertisements does not necessarily
get round the potential to offend.
I believe that the advert is done in a light-hearted jokey way and isn’t in any way meant to offend,
but is rather picking out some entertaining stereotypes. People will most likely be offended
however, most likely the race in-question. The race that is being light-heartedly mocked is Mexicans.
There is a perfectly good reason for the use of the accent however, as the restaurant serves South -
America style dishes, so I don’t believe that it should be taken wrongly.
Overall, the advert was quite funny and entertaining, though the voice quickly becomes annoying
and irritating. As they don’t advertise individual foods they aren’t able to describe them in a good
way, which other food adverts may do. So, the advert doesn’t offer any outstanding aspects of the
restaurant, which is something I think that they should have covered. I personally did not fully hear
what was being said by the man, as his accent heavily shrouded words. Though this may not affect
everyone, someone concentrating on driving or another activity may have to strain to fully
understand what is being said.