Both
of the ads I chose have drastically different approaches to seducing their
potential customers. I found a
retro-style Coca-Cola poster that is fairly simply designed, and compared it
side by side with an ad for the energy drink / shot, 5 hr. Energy.
The
Coke ad is plain and simple. Its face
depicts the white silhouette of a Coke glass bottle, bursting with fizzy
bubbles, with the words “125 years,” written alongside the bottle. It then shows a very “typical,” “Classic
American Family,” that looks straight out of the 1950s, having a picnic with
doughnuts, sandwiches, potato chips, and a cooler stocked with Coca-Cola glass bottles. It aims to appeal to the audience’s pathos,
using tradition and nostalgia to convince the buyer to purchase their
product. Coca-Cola has a large number of
these retro-type ads out in restaurants nationwide.
The
Five Hour Energy ad is entirely different in its approach. It instead uses logos to entice the consumer
into financially endorsing the product.
It displays an unusually attractive woman dressed as a school teacher who
appears to have just composed a T-Chart with chalk on a blackboard explaining
the differences between “5-Hour Energy,” and “Many Energy Drinks.” It shows how 5-Hour Energy only has 4
calories, 0 sugar, and 2 ounces of liquid, as opposed to the 16 ounces, 12
teaspoons of sugar, and 200 calories that it claims many energy drinks
have. It also goes on to claim that
while many energy drinks can give you a bloated, sugary, and “fizzy” feeling,
5-Hour Energy will give you no crash and no bloated feeling whatsoever. The negation combined with the claims about
5-Hour Energy compels the reader to use logic to decide that 5-Hour Energy is
the solution to their energy-related problems.
The
two ads appeal to different types of people.
The Coca-Cola ad seems to appeal to middle class families who want to
feel like upper class traditional families like the one depicted in the ad. The 5-Hour Energy ad, on the other hand, is
more directed at young men who might need a boost in the middle of the day but
want to stay healthy and enjoy exercising.
The logos applies to young men, but pathos is more of a family
dynamic. Coca-Cola is more of a kid’s
drink and thus is consumed more by families, whereas 5-Hour Energy would never
be consumed by a family, but rather by a working person.
1. I like how you used the rhetorical analysis tools we discussed in class: logos, ethos and pathos. I agree that the coca cola ad would be considered more pathos while the five hour energy ad appeals more to logic and therefore would be considered a more logos appeal. Also I like how you brought the potato chip article into play with the use of negation words in your analysis and the use of traditional authenticity. Overall I agree with your assessment, but I do think that the coca cola ad could be considered ethos as well due to the introduction of the familial aspect.
ReplyDelete2. I think you did a good job relating what you found in the ads to what audiences they appeal too. Specifically the five hour energy ad appealing more to young men whereas the coca cola ad would appeal more to families.
3. I think that your analysis really shows how as a culture we value fitness and activity with the five hour energy ad and strong family relationships/tradition with the coca cola ad.
4. I think you did a great job. If you were to turn this in for your graded short essay you could add more analysis to the conclusion though.
1. I like how you were able to adequately analyze both ads using many different parts of each of them. I agree that they are both trying to appeal to different audiences using different techniques. The five hour energy uses logic to emphasize things like nutrition while the coke uses an appeal to a person's sense of family.
ReplyDelete2. I think you made a great connection to food values and culture through your paragraph about family and work values.
3. I think your analysis gives good insight into the way that we value food that is linked to our families and foods that claim to be good for us or help us.
4. This is a very good essay, but I feel that it could benefit from a more in depth examination with more description of the ads.