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Mitchell De Both
Prof. DiSarro
ENG103
14 November 2010
King Kong, the King of the Jungle Beer
“A 1996 survey of children ages nine to eleven found that children were
more familiar with Budweiser’s television frogs than with Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger,
the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, or Smokey the Bear” (Leiber, par. 4).
Alcohol is one of the most advertised products worldwide. The advertisements
can be seen at least once while flipping through the television, through a
magazine, and in movies. As most Americans know, while watching the Super
Bowl, alcohol ads flood the sports new stations. But why do they choose the
advertise at the Super Bowl? Maybe advertisers choose the Super Bowl
because of the mass amounts of people watching, or maybe the general
population watching the football game is primarily men? Advertisers in general
are emotionally connecting to their audiences, using colors to support their
claims, and creating illusions that promote their service or product. But why does
this matter? Why should we care? We need to understand what advertisers are
doing to persuade us into spending our money. We fall for the illusionistic claims
we perceive as truth because the television says so. We must understand the
messages aren’t always truth and what the advertising companies fool us into
believing.

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As we take a look at the supplied Budweiser advertisement, what do your
eyes make their first connection with, maybe the text, the blimp, or the giant
gorilla known as King Kong? Whatever it may be, it has a message and strategic
placing. When taking a glance at the picture, King Kong is holding a beautiful
woman in a majestic setting (what I find humorous is that the creator decided not
to put the planes shooting hundreds of bullets at the massive gorilla). The gorilla
is a sign of power and strength, the primitive man. The text tidbit, "Nothing beats
sitting on top of the world with the love of your life and a cold beer… AAAhhh, it's
good to be the king," supports the visual and clearly states what the beer
companies want the viewer to think. Drink this beer and be strong, the king,
have the love of a lifetime. The setting in the background further aids in creating
the illusion the advertisers want the intended audience to fall for. Or maybe the
red can and blimp stick out most. Red brings text and images to the foreground.
The color red is also a color of passion, sexuality, power, and courage (QSX
Software, par. 3). The use of colors in advertising has psychological effects on
the audience to help pull out certain emotions. Pulling out the emotions
mentioned previously seems perfect for the type of advertisement. King Kong is
a gigantic, strong, feared fictional character, portrayed in this advertisement as a
“man”. Not the man in today’s day and age, busy with a desk job and whatnot.
He is the primitive man who is strong, ruthless, and in Budweiser’s depiction,
drinks beer. The advertisement has that message saying drink our beer, and
become more like King Kong. Sure it sounds silly, but that’s the message being
implied.

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When analyzing this image in context of the rhetorical triangle, King Kong
is looking pretty weak. The text can be viewed as a weak logos appeal because
the statement is claiming to be true, but there is no logical sense to it. No way
am I persuaded to believe that if I drink Budweiser beer I’ll become successful,
strong, and happy in life. It might not seem quite logical, but the idea has been
put out there. Budweiser is using its famous name to help it’s credibility. Being
able to locate the name of the “King of Beer” three times throughout the
advertisement pushes it’s credibility forward. It’s almost as if Budweiser is saying
to you, “Hey, trust me. We’re Budweiser, would we lie?” Not only do they use
Budweiser three times but it’s also written in blue which symbolizes
trustworthiness and honesty. Maybe the emotional appeal, or pathos, captivates
some viewers. The beautiful sunset, the city skyline, the woman, they all can
convince the audience to say, "Hey that looks like a good time". The movie “King
Kong” came out in the year 2005. During that time I was a freshman in high
school and it was extremely popular amongst my friends. Now when I find an
advertisement like this, it makes me wonder. Is there a connection between
using the movie “King Kong” and it’s audience who finds it most appealing to
Budweiser Beer? And the movie “King Kong” is generally more appealing to
young adults and teenagers. Again, why does this matter? Advertisers are using
subjects popular to young adults and teenagers to sell their product. They are
targeting an age group that is most susceptible to alcohol use.
There was a considerable amount of thought put behind this Budweiser
advertisement. Such as the use of colors, why use the giant ape known as King

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Kong, the brute holding onto a beautiful woman. All these concepts are used by
advertisers to sell a product, and to a specific age group. By use of the rhetorical
triangle, advertisers can fully express their messages in the most intelligent,
emotional, and credible ways. Next time an advertisement passes by, take a
look. Look for a deeper meaning, look at all the details. There’s more to the
advertisement than what is seen in a first glance.

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Works Cited
Diffen. Blue Color Vs Red Color. N.p., 23 August 2006. Web. 11 November 2010.
Leiber, L. Commercial and Character Slogan Recall by Children Aged Nine to 11
Years. Berkeley, CA: Center on Alcohol Advertising, 1996.
QSX Software. Color Wheel Pro. QSX Software, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.
Soren. Inspirational Quotes. N.p., 19 June 2007. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.