USE OF RHETORIC IN AN ADVERTISEMENT
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Hussam Azzam
Dr. Richard Matzen
WRITT112:Essay 1
11-4-2014
Use of rhetoric in an advertisement
Advertisement is one of the most important aspects in the success of any business
since it sensitizes the intended market about the availability of the goods or services on offer
as well as their accessibility. Strategic marketing involving intensive advertisements
translates in increased sales volume and consequently higher profits (McQuarrie & Phillips,
2008). This paper analyzes a case example of the use of rhetoric in the dairy industry in
America that enhances high sales volume
In any form of advertisement, it is important that the advertiser creates some sense of
moral persuasion on the customers or otherwise convinces them of the product quality,
efficiency or other characteristics that make it outstanding among others similar commodities
offered by competitors. In order to attain competitive advantage, businesses use images or
videos that not necessarily relate to the product itself but that which identifies much with the
customers (McQuarrie & Phillips 2008). The process of using videos or pictures that not
necessarily associate with the product but rather identify with the customers is known as
rhetoric in advertisement.
A case example of the use of visual rhetoric in advertisement
USE OF RHETORIC IN AN ADVERTISMENT
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This picture is an advert creation by Goodby Silverstein & Partners intended to
encourage people to purchase and drink cow milk as a dietary requirements for good health
(Finnegan & Hope 2008). It depicts a hulk man used in the advertisement in the milk industry
especially by the Got Milk campaign. The hulk in the picture has no ideal relationship with
the milk industry but it is the image of an icon with whom a good proportion of customers
identify. The successful foster between the Hulk authority and the milk industry convinces
USE OF RHETORIC IN AN ADVERTISMENT
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the customers to purchase the milk not just, because they are willing and able to buy it but
because of the moral persuasion excited by the relationship that they attach to the hulk man.
Moreover, the hulk image is a mere creation of the computer depicting a healthy and
able-bodied man. This picture demonstrates a man in good health and is so commonplace
with the milk customers. The use of this picture allures customers to bear the perspective of
the Hulk and relate it to the milk on sale.
Milk customers are motivated to buy the milk associated to the hulk man pursuant to
the fact that hulk authority is depictive of the milk purity or personal health that has a great
bearing on customer persuasion. The hulk bears a good cultural currency, which the
customers allude to be transferred to the milk products that they purchase. The fact that a
celebrity is used to advertise the milk products is not the sole motivation for the customers’
acclaim for milk but also the ability of the icons to sometimes look ridiculous when making
adverts.
The hulk man in the milk advert stands out as a superhero since during its use in the
American Got Milk campaign, their movies thrilled a good section of the audience and
therefore a good proportion of customers inevitably identified with it. In essence, the
customers endeavor to associate with the hulk butin the process involuntarily yields to the
purchase of the milk. It is representative of a chain of transferred relationships, which lead to
increased desire to purchase and drink milk in order to attain a similar condition of health as
the hulk man. A relative movie of the hulk man that concurrently advertised the milk
campaign ended up in the slogan “want strong bones, calcium may help prevent
osteoporosis” a blend of this movie and the pictorial impression facilitated the persuasion of a
great number of Americans to drink milk. This advert has had a financial bearing in the lives
of Americans through boosting of milk sales and a proportionate improvement in the health
conditions of the inhabitants (Shimp 2010).
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Got Milk campaign depicting the hulk man primarily undertook to underscore the
significance of taking milk on human health. The hulk is used as a representative of a
physically fit and able-bodied man that results from drinking milk. Although to some
individuals, the pictures may epitomize man at the verge of fighting physical battles but
ideally, the association of the man with the milk on sale satisfactorily fosters product image
that grossly identify customers with the milk inustry and persuades the potential customers to
continually purchase and drink milk (Shimp 2010) .
In conclusion, it is undeniable that images, whether still or pictures or movies, bear a
significant r ole in communicating ideas and persuading customers in an unnoticeable means.
Strategic advertisement ensures that rhetoric is applied in a manner that ideally draws the
attention and willingness of a potential and active customer to the purchase of the goods in
question. The suitability of color use in advertisement rhetoric helps achieve a visual
impression of the product on sale as expected by the customers.
USE OF RHETORIC IN AN ADVERTISMENT
References
McQuarrie, E. F., & Phillips, B. J. (2008). Go figure! New directions in advertising
rhetoric.
Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe.
Olson, L. C., Finnegan, C. A., & Hope, D. S. (2008). Visual rhetoric: A reader in
communication
and American culture. Los Angeles: Sage.
Shimp, T. A. (2010). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated
marketing
communications. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
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