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Mitchell De Both
ENG103
Dr. Disarro
4 October 2010
Rhetorical Analysis
A 1996 survey of children ages nine to 11 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). 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 the Super Bowl, there is much more than what
meets the eye. Advertisers in general are emotionally connecting to their
audiences, using colors to support their claims, and creating illusions that
promote their service or product.
As we take a look at the supplied Budweiser advertisement (Soren), 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 an overview glance at the picture, you see King
Kong 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
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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 you to think. If you drink this beer,
you will be strong, the king, and you will have love in your life. The setting in the
background further aids in creating that illusion the advertisers want you to fall
for. Or maybe the red can and blimp stick out most. Red brings text and images
to the foreground (OSX). The color red is also a color of passion, sexuality,
power, and courage. 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.
When analyzing this image in context of the rhetorical triangle, King King
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
and happy in life. And since I’m not logically connected to this advertisement,
how can it hold reliability and credibility. When looking at the advertisement, I
see no credibility. This ad needs a lesson from an infomercial. But 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 advertisement in general is weak, but has some thought behind it, as I
compared it to the rhetorical triangle and personal opinion. The persuasive
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messages did a poor job appealing to my senses. At first I thought it was clever,
but after further analyzing I realized it was just a cool movie-related
advertisement.
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Works Cited
Leiber, L. Commercial and Character Slogan Recall by Children Aged Nine to 11 Years.
Berkeley, CA: Center on Alcohol Advertising, 1996.
Soren. Inspirational Quotes. N.p., 19 June 2007. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.
QSX Software. Color Wheel Pro. QSX Software, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.