#adanalysis

Advertisement analysis ✨✨

Advertisement 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFtFJIUKq24

Advertisement 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4GRnl7Gzow

The car insurance market in the United States is competitive. Every driver in all 50 states must have an insurance plan in order to drive their vehicle legally. However, drawing buyers to an insurance company can be difficult and requires compelling and memorable marketing that works within the dull nature of what is being sold and appeals to its audience. While being one of the largest insurance companies on the market, Progressive Corporation has chosen notably effective marketing campaigns. In 2008, Progressive Corporation began an ad campaign using comedian Stephanie Courtney acting as “Flo”, the company’s now famous mascot. This brought the company attention and today over 100 commercials have been made by Progressive Corporation using this character. However, as markets began to change with the maturation of the millennial generation, Progressive Corporation changed its advertising strategy in 2014, choosing to begin the Apron Project. This campaign was less about using promoting certain amenities provided by the insurance company and more about giving the company a moral and reliable appearance to appeal to its target audience. Although their differences are clear, the rhetorical devices used in both of these ads have been profitable for Progressive Corporation.

As an example of the Flo marketing campaign, above is a link labeled Advertisement 1. As an example of the Apron Project campaign, also above is a link labeled Advertisement 2.

Purpose

Both of these ads were produced by Progressive Corporation to persuade car insurance buyers to purchase insurance plans from their company over those of their competitors. While the purposes of these two ads coincide, their audiences and related rhetorical devices differ.

Audience

In Advertisement 1, Progressive Corporation makes an apolitical appeal to all people looking to buy or change their car insurance. This ad is catchy in its use of humor and a well-known character. Certain rhetorical devices used in it, specifically logos appeals, would be effective to a wide range of audience members looking for a cost-effective car insurance plan. Other audiences for this advertisement, although unintended, are people watching the online and television programs on which this commercial is being played and other insurance companies looking to compete with Progressive Corporation’s marketing.

However, Advertisement 2 aims at a much more specific audience, that of the millennial generation. This commercial makes mostly pathos appeals relating to issues prominent in the politics of millennials. Additional audiences for this advertisement are, again, people watching the online and television programs on which this commercial is being played and other insurance companies looking to compete with Progressive Corporation’s marketing.

Ethos

Advertisement 1 bases its ethos appeal in the character of Flo. At the time of this advertisement’s production, 2012, this character had been a marketing tool used by Progressive Corporation for four years, making her an iconic figure related to the company. Given Flo’s status at this time, her appeal as a reliable figure for information was high, creating a valid appeal to ethos in the commercial.

Advertisement 2 uses characters that, although they are not well-known to the audience, are relatable and whose actions are honorable enough to make them trustworthy to the audience. The ways in which they portray good character is through their actions that are most agreeable to the millennial audience, making them suitable figures for effectual ethos appeal in this commercial.

Pathos

Flo’s character, while also being informative, relies heavily on humor in order to appeal to pathos. For example, in Advertisement 1 Flo appears to create an awkward rhyme at the end of her descriptive speech about Progressive Corporation’s loyalty program. This charming and relatable instance is humorously paired with both the preconceived notion of the familiar audience that Flo is a comical character and the uncomfortable, yet likeable, expressions made by the character. This instance is effectively comical and creates a successful pathos appeal in the advertisement.

The Apron Project campaign ad appeals to a different type of pathos from that of the Flo commercial. In Advertisement 2, the audience is introduced to working class characters of marginalized identities trying to better their communities through honest work growing healthy food. These characters work to evoke empathy from an audience that is expected to care about social issues, such as obesity and poverty. This calling to pathos is compelling in this advertisement and creates a valid appeal to its target audience.

Logos

In Advertisement 1, additional logical appeals are made to the audience, unlike the purely emotional appeals made in Advertisement 2. Advertisement 1 begins with Flo explaining the economical benefits of choosing Progressive Corporation’s insurance, especially as a long-term plan, while Advertisement 2 gives no such explanation of the company’s actual policies or perks. These appeals given in Advertisement 1 make perfect sense for an audience whose interest is most likely saving money on insurance, an asset that can be costly to most buyers, making them ideal given the target audience.

Exigence

The first advertisement, featuring Flo, was created at a time when advertising for the company had become monotonous and unamusing. Other insurance companies, such as Geico, had entertaining commercials with jingles and mascots that buyers could remember while looking for an insurance plan. This made it an optimal time for Progressive Corporation to come out with their own memorable marketing tool in order to compete. The company was able to do this with their large budget for the commercial’s production and successfully was able to create an ad campaign that was simple enough to jam into minute long filmed commercials and to be posted on picture ad featured on billboards and in magazines.

The second advertisement was created as the millennial generation came of insurance-buying age. The marketers for Progressive Corporation clearly did their research on the interests of millennials and were able to create an ad campaign catering to those interests. Like in the first Progressive Corporation ad campaign, the second was fueled by the large budget of the company to spend on advertising and was successful in its ability to create an ad that could both be impactful and fit into a minute long commercial or be simplified as an image to be used on  billboards and in magazines.

Effectiveness

Advertisement 1 was lucrative in its marketing effectiveness. It produced a cult marketing campaign that has withstood 10 years of use. Flo proved to be a popular figure among audience members and was able to utilize ethos, pathos, and logos appeals to create a convincing advertisement for Progressive Corporation.

Advertisement 2 was also an effective marketing campaign. Although it did not become as widely known as the Flo campaigns, the Apron Project campaigns employed the resources of Progressive Corporation at an ideal time to create advertisements tastefully appealing to the millennial generation.

What Does the Meta Ads Library Not Show You?

“The Wonder of Us” – 2018:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPi9nTE70aA

“American The Beautiful” – 2014:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiMMpFcy-HU

“The Wonder of Us” – 2018:

Coca-Cola’s latest advertisement, titled The Wonder of Us, was released in February 2018 during the Super Bowl for a targeted audience of liberal young adults including members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community, the disabled community, those of Islamic faith, and other identities that are often and unfortunately marginalized in the Kairos of a post-Trump America.

It presents a montage of different people from various backgrounds and lifestyles; although this is practically very simple to create, the overall quality is professional and decent enough. Perhaps the simplicity of the editing enables their message of solidarity to appear clearer.

Despite the ad’s positive message of inclusivity, which I do support, it is fair for one to be critical of Coca-Cola for their polarizing history of exploiting workers in the Global South and for utilizing the Kairos of LGBTQ+ representation only now that it is profitable.

The purpose of the ad is to appear inclusive of as many marginalized groups of people (LGBTQ+, disabled, Muslim, etc.) as possible in order to attract a larger audience. “No one has lived the life you live,” is the primary point of the advertisement; every single person is unique, and that is something that Coca-Cola claims to value rather than discriminate against. It supports this argument by presenting various shots of people who often go unrecognized in our society, such as a non-binary transgender person who uses neutral pronouns, a happy Muslim mother and child, an athlete in a wheelchair, and a lesbian couple, under a monologue read by various people who all highlight the importance of diversity. This commercial appeals to Coca-Cola’s credibility by presenting them as a culturally-competent corporation who champions diversity. The statement that we are all unique and live different lives from one another is a logical one, that even an outright bigoted person cannot disprove. But more than anything, the ad appeals to emotion by preaching a positive message of inclusivity.

Overall, Coca-Cola successfully makes themselves look like a company that is competent with modern LGBTQ+ communities by including a non-binary gendered person and a lesbian couple, as well as a company that is accepting of other cultures, backgrounds, and ranges of mobility. Though they have a history of problematic practices that contradict these messages, the general liberal public will likely praise and support them for using their Super Bowl commercial slot to generate awareness for marginalized communities.

“America The Beautiful” – 2014:

Coca-Cola’s America The Beautiful advertisement was released during the Super Bowl in 2014, four years prior to The Wonder of US. This ad also has a similar message and targeted demographic: a message of inclusivity towards all directed to moderate-to-liberal adults in the United States. However, there is an important distinction, for this ad is a lot more nationalistic with its visuals and pathos. A montage of many people from different ethnicities and countries enjoying various activities is shown, while a multilingual version of America The Beautiful is played throughout the ad.

The quality of this advertisement is on par with that of The Wonder of Us; both are simple montages of various people leisurely engaging in activities they enjoy. America The Beautiful’s use of nationalistic imagery and music has the potential of leaving a strong impact on patriotic American citizens, but I personally cannot confirm that. Both ads do a decent enough job at presentation, but in the end, there is nothing too special that makes either stand out, especially at a time when millions of viewers are tuning in to look for creative commercials.

The purpose of this is to attract a patriotic American audience and promote a message supporting worldwide tolerance and equity. Since the only audio in the ad is the multilingual version of the song American The Beautiful, there are no verbally made claims but the video still makes many points. The most blatant one being that America is beautiful, as the hashtag at the end fully spells it out. However, it is hard to say Coca-Cola supports this point fully since a large amount of their footage is not shot in America, rather in many other countries. I would argue that there is something intrinsic about this imagery as if Coca-Cola is asserting that all of these other nations fall under America’s reign; this would certainly reflect their exploitative practices with other companies like Nestlé in the Global South. In regards to credibility, Coca-Cola does manage to make themselves appear fairly moderate here, for they are presenting themselves as tolerant and inclusive, as well as patriotic and nationalistic. It certainly aims to evoke strong emotions of pride from those who identify with the American imagery, and perhaps those from the other countries presented but not as actively (it is at least my opinion, as a Brazilian immigrant, that the few seconds of the young kids playing soccer in Brazil didn’t feel genuine or memorable to me).

Because of that, I believe that this advertisement is only effective in persuading a politically moderate American audience that strongly identifies with patriotic imagery. I do not mean this as a fault since that is still a very large audience, but it appeared that they also wanted to appeal to non-Americans and that I believe is where they performed poorly.

In a way, these two advertisements are simultaneously very similar and very different in regards to presentation. Both focus on inclusivity, one through a speech, the other through multiple languages, and both through visual depictions of diversity. The biggest difference is the inclusion of a staunchly nationalistic and patriotic message in the earlier ad. It successfully conveys this message with the song America The Beautiful, the patriotic visuals, and the hashtag #AmericaIsBeautiful, however, I believe that this results in an ad that fewer people can connect with, at least in comparison to The Wonder of Us.

Works Cited

“Coca-Cola | The Wonder of Us :60.” YouTube, uploaded by Coca-Cola. 1 Feb 2018.

“Coke Super Bowl Commercial 2014 ‘America The Beautiful’ [HD] Coca Cola.” YouTube, uploaded by Vassar Drive Music. 4 Feb 2014.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Advertisement 1: https://youtu.be/irYluSTChIY

Advertisement 2: https://youtu.be/fm0niWTJRDs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For my rhetorical analysis, I decided to analyze Wix Editor: an online service that allows user-friendly methods for those with even minimal computer knowledge to create aesthetically pleasing websites for a variety of purposes. There were actually a number of Wix advertisement videos that I wanted to analyze (including one featuring the characters from Kung Fu Panda) but for the sake of this assignment I settled for these two videos that effectively depicts significant contrast in terms of intended audience, message, graphics, while simultaneously advertising the same product and service.

 Advertisement 1 (broadcasted as a YouTube Ad): In the first video, we are introduced to a young woman who addresses the audience directly and is eager to show us her new Wix Editor website and all of its features. Those who don’t know this woman can infer that she is quite technologically savvy, seeing as how there is a set of speakers, a pair of headphones, and a microphone on her desk in addition to the large Mac desktop that she is using to demonstrate her website on. In the background, we see another set of speakers on a shelf along with a drone looking device, and to the right of the frame, there is a camera and lighting area set up. This may hint to the audience that she is a creator of some sort. Eventually, we see that she is indeed a content creator and YouTube influencer: Justine Ezarik, also known by her handle, iJustine. Her channel features videos of her trying out and reviewing digital devices, cooking, and collaborating with other YouTube influencers.

 Continuing with her demonstration of Wix Editor features, Justine specifies that photos appear in “an amazing high resolution” emphasizing that everything must look “professional”. This helps create an important connection with the audience using logos and ethos. Although being a YouTube influencer is somewhat unconventional, Justine is still an entrepreneur and business owner in her own right and still requires platforms in order to share content in a way that new audiences and employers can easily access. This is a logical appeal since it applies to the majority of the general population who are also generating and transporting content digitally now. If Wix is as easy and simple to use as claimed then why shouldn’t other entrepreneurs and businesses take advantage of such minimal efforts that produce such visually pleasing and rewarding results?

 Ethos is also used in this advertisement. As a well-known tech enthusiast, and trusted icon who built a large following, Justine has a great deal of credibility that strengthens the claim and argument of why one should purchase and use Wix Editor. Those that already know of her would be familiar with her character, and the integrity of her work. If those are both respectable and positive then what she chooses to endorse and associate with her brand would also have to be of the same quality.

 The language of this advertisement is very clear and straightforward. Justine instructs the audience, describing simple methods in which they can choose templates, change fonts, pictures, add social media links, and web page structure using easy vernacular. The corresponding graphics are also very simple and visually show just how easy it would be to create a website from scratch using the tools and resources provided by Wix.

Advertisement 2 (Director’s Cut- broadcasted on TV during the 2017 Super Bowl): The second video is noticeably more cinematic, likely due to the fact that it was broadcasted on TV during the Super Bowl and anticipated a larger audience. For this advertisement, Wix recruited three figures: Chez Felix who is a gourmet chef, Gal Gadot who is best known for her role in Wonder Woman and Jason Statham who is notorious for his roles in action blockbusters. We start the video with Felix in a kitchen creating a website for his restaurant while outside, all of the tables are packed with customers enjoying their meals. Suddenly a group of men comes in seemingly looking for trouble and get into a fight with Gal and Jason who are each dining at different tables. This causes the restaurant to go into flames but gives Felix the idea to become a “to-go” establishment, then adjusting his website and opening up a food truck company. This food establishment is then once again taken over by Gal and Jason on another mission to get away from enemies, leading the food truck to be driven off the side of a cliff and into the water. This leads to the conversion of Felix’s food truck to a yacht restaurant.

 The tone and purpose of this advertisement are different than the previous video. Whereas the ad with Justine was very straight-forward, light, simple, yet entertaining and effective, this video has a narrative and a plot line with characters, complex settings, and circumstances. This was likely meant to keep the viewers’ attention. In addition, the creators of this ad probably took into account that their intended audience would be those who enjoy characteristics and themes relating to football since they planned to broadcast during the Super Bowl.  These traits include excitement, suspense, and action which are all themes that the second ad encompasses.

 That being said, pathos plays a pretty huge role in this advertisement. This is built upon through the language, graphics, and humor.  While there is less dialogue in this ad than the previous one, the graphics make up for it. The video, the framing, and the pacing all created a sense of urgency, suspense, and action. The actors themselves embody physical ability, empowerment, and dominance. All of which are emotions that the advertisement is trying to associate with their product and communicate to the audience.

  The message of this ad is best said by the voiceover at the end, “To succeed in a disruptive world, Wix makes it easy to create your own stunning website”. While the message in the first ad was to demonstrate how easy and nice Wix Editor was to use, the message of this second advertisement is more so along the lines of how Wix is going to help you get ahead and adapt to whatever changes and obstacles come your way.

 In the end, with the first ad, the intended audience is people on the internet who also have the potential and possible desire to create, upload, and display content in an easy, efficient, and user-friendly manner. With the second ad, the intended audience is/was people watching the Super Bowl. The Wix company had to figure out a way to appeal to a wider range of audience who associated with football. This led to a less talking and more doing approach and execution of the ad. Both ads also featured select endorsers who fell into specific niches in regard to connecting and relating back to the with the audience. Overall, both commercials were interesting to be and were effective enough that I myself, went to go check out Wix and its services.

Visual Rhetorical Analysis: Poo-Pourri

here are many reasons that an advertisement can be memorable. Some advertisements make a mark for themselves by being romantically-themed, or comedic, or a little bit gross. However, Poo-Pourri, the "'Before-You-Go' Toilet Spray" managed to include all three of those elements into their genius advertising campaign. As the tagline suggests, Poo-Pourri is a liquid that can be spritzed onto the surface of the toilet water inside the bowl before one uses the restroom, and the film the liquid creates keeps in the odor. I personally do not know anybody who owns a bottle of Pou-Pourri, however, I have seen it in several office buildings, and know that it actually works very well. This is bizarre, as the advertisements are so ridiculous that the product appears to be fake (and if it did exist, it would not work as well as the advertisements lead consumers to believe). In this analysis, I will be looking at two advertisements for Poo-Pourri from the perspective of somebody who has, in fact, used the product and knows of its effectiveness. I will be identifying metadata, including the context, timeliness, and expected audience. In doing that, I will make an arguable claim about the quality of the advertisements by analyzing what makes them effective, and determine the persuasiveness of the advertisement.

In the first advertisement, "Girls Don't Poop", we open up with a posh upper-class looking British woman (clothed in a pretty blue dress) sitting in a bathroom stall. In a proper British accent, she immediately says, "You would not believe the mother-lode I just dropped." This already sets the general tone of the advertising campaign for Poo-Pourri. The woman, in extremely and unnecessarily colorful language, explains how difficult it can be to use the restroom in public or shared spaces. This is a concept that many people can understand and relate to. There are plenty of times where somebody may be uncomfortable using the bathroom due to embarrassment regarding the odors created. While remaining seated on the toilet, she continues to describe her bathroom habits, and giving examples about where one may be able to relate about smells (at work, at a party, or a significant others' residence). Most people can relate to those examples, and think "Oh yes, I would be embarrassed if I stank up the office bathroom" or, "I would be a social pariah if I made the restroom at a party smell" and possibly "My significant other would drop me like a bad habit if I destroyed the lovely lavender scent of the restroom". Perhaps these would not be the literal thoughts of consumers, however, many of us can relate to these thoughts in one way or another. The context derives itself from the problem presented: What happens if you do not want to stink up the bathroom? The woman dashes away all other possible solutions by saying "Of course, flushing removes the graphic evidence. Maybe two or three flushes if your skid marks are as tenacious as mine" and "Aerosol air fresheners aren't the most effective option, or the healthiest, trying to mask the stench, giving you a nice blend of chem-lab carnations with just a touch of feces?" Once again the language is extremely colorful, but the point made is an excellent one. Many consumers have used spray air fresheners, and many consumers know that they are not one-hundred percent effective.Then comes the clincher of the advertisement: Poo-Pourri (which is a play on potpourri, which are aromatic dried flowers). The advertisement continues as any would, explaining how the product works and how it is used, which I have already done. One line that I find to be very funny is that late in the commercial, she says "Yes, it is a real product." This brings a certain self-awareness to the commercial, commenting on its outrageous nature.

The second commercial to be analyzed is the "Even Santa Poops" advertisement. This is a Christmas-themed commercial, and declares a specific timeliness. This advertisement is meant to be aired and viewed around Christmastime, but the twist is that it definitely lacks in Christmas cheer. Santa is shown delivering presents, but he then runs to the house's restroom. Santa Claus lets out a series of gurgles and grunts as he relieves himself. Like the last commercial, this one creates a paradox between the charming (the pretty British woman/Santa) and the disgusting (human excrement), creating a very funny scene. Soon, the children of the household file in, discovering Santa on the toilet, saying that they found him because of the stench he was making. Unlike the last commercial, this one seems to be telling a story of the problem, rather than hypothetical problems being presented. Instead of the woman explaining to us the problems of making a smell in the bathroom, we are shown an example of how embarrassing it can be. This is accentuated by the quips the children give, such as "I was dreaming of sugar plums, then along came the ghost of Christmas ass". As the other children file in to discover Santa on the toilet, he becomes more embarrassed and irritated, mirroring the real world embarrassment and irritation one might experience if their bathroom excursion becomes exceedingly noticeable. As the stress comes to a head, the children tell Santa about the miracle that is Poo-Pourri, which could have caused the entire crisis to be averted. A consumer might think, "Wow! I am not Santa Claus, however, I can only imagine the embarrassment I could experience if I did not have Poo-Pourri! I will buy some to avoid terrible situations, like the one Santa is in". Again, these may not be the literal thoughts, but a consumer might think something along those lines. At the end, the British woman returns to explain where to buy the product by singing the information, keeping with the Christmas theme.

Before commenting on the obvious messages being communicated through these advertisements, there is a detail that I think is worth pointing out. One being that the spokeswoman is wearing a blue dress. Blue reminds consumers of cleanliness, and when this spotless blue dress is clashed on dull colors, there is a subconscious message of Poo-Pourri equaling the one thing to make your bathroom cleaner.

The context of both advertisements is essentially this: You are an average consumer, and you want to make your bathroom not smell bad after you use the toilet, what should you do? This context for Poo-Pourri seems to make it a living necessity. Both advertisements seem to still be relevant with the modern era, despite "Girls Don't Poop" being about four years old, and "Even Santa Poops" being about three years old. They have kept their comedy relatively timeless, by being somewhat dirty under a guise of posh linguistics. However, the Christmas advertisement, as I mentioned before, seems the most applicable to Christmastime. The expected audience is most likely adults who want their home bathrooms, or business bathrooms to smell better. As I mentioned, I personally have seen bottles of Poo-Pourri dotted around business bathrooms, in place of aerosol air fresheners. However, the target audience can be narrowed down to woman as well, due to the fact that the product is small enough to fit in handbags. The name of the first commercial, "Girls Don't Poop", alludes to the idea that if women carried Poo-Pourri with them everywhere they went, nobody would ever know they used the restroom due to the lack of a stench.

I think that the quality of these commercials is very high. The humor is quick-witted and fast-moving, so that the audience never has a second to realize that every single joke spoken is essentially a poop joke. The fancy British woman does an excellent job, being very tongue-and-cheek with her dialogue and selling the product effectively. As I mentioned, there is a juxtaposition of a proper British woman looking very well put together, talking about her feces. This paradox is extremely funny, and so funny that she has to confirm that the commercial is real, and the product exists. This juxtaposition is also present in the Christmas ad, as Santa Claus is supposed to be a pure and wholesome icon, yet he also is using the toilet and needs Poo-Pourri. The commercial does a good job explaining how the product works, and why a consumer should let it solve their problems.

I have analyzed both commercials above, but a brief summary seems necessary. The purpose of the advertisements are to generate buzz about the product, and they accomplish it due to their outrageous nature. The main points and claims of the advertisements are that Poo-Pourri can solve the issue of a smelly bathroom, post-use. These points are substantiated through an easy-to-understand explanation on how the product works. The argument type utilized is almost entirely emotion, along with some logic and a small amount of credibility. Poo-Pourri was (and still is) a fairly new product, so other than offering a money-back guarantee, there was no way for customers to know the credibility of the product. However, the explanations on why it works appeals to the logic in consumers, and the wacky humor takes up the lion's share of the commercials (especially "Girls Don't Poop").

To conclude, I find this commercial to be extremely persuasive. Some brands utilize an easy-to-recognize logo to help consumers remember their products. Some brands utilize slogans or jingles to keep the brand name floating in people's heads. Poo-Pourri does not need either of those, the advertising campaign itself is so unique and funny, that Poo-Pourri will be remembered for a long time.