McDonalds Video Advertisement Essay

This paper analyzes the rhetorical features of one particular telly advertisement (2010 see Reference arguing for details) that was issued on the internet by the multinational burger company McDonalds. It now circulates on the internet with and without the English subtitles. The subtitled text edition of the advert is a real sketch nine lines long, followed by the single tag line scratch as You atomic number 18 and the full text is given below at App abrogateix 1. Hill and Helmers (2008, pp. 51-53) draw off how a video uses a particular type of persuasion c all tolded visual argument which is rhetorical rather than logical or dialectical.The medium is very compressed and this does not allow full exposition of claim, argument, re alonetal, etc but on the other fade the visual aspect l abrogates a sense of immediacy which written text does not have. They warn, however, that the apparent advantage of seeing rather than reading is partly illusory, since the images presented are highly unified and filtered so as to present a particular viewpoint. In their terminology the McDonalds advert would fall into the kin of didactic narrative.The target market for McDonalds products is generally youthful families and teenagers. The opening shots set a stab which is familiar to this group a meddling and noisy McDonalds restaurant with many smiling faces. A spawn waits to be served while a son sits at a formica table and talks on his mobile telephone while looking at a photograph. Across the world, in France as healthful as in other countries, this is a regular occurrence and will resonate with both older and younger viewers who see themselves in the father or son role.The determinecode in the video is occasional and cool as evidenced by the beanie hat wearied by a customer, and the hoodie worn by the boy who talks. This is typical of styles popular with young urban males. At first it looks interchangeable a mainstream father and son, where the son talks t o someone romantically on his cellphone. The person on the other end of the telephone is neither seen nor heard and one just assumes out of habit that this person is female. Lines 1-4 are intercommunicate by the boy. The father arrives and lines 5-9 are spoken by the father.As the father quizzes the boy and makes a parity with himself, the facial expression of the boy makes it clear that the father is not aware of a crucial difference between them the boy is homo. The Tag line which is presented on a plain screen at the end just before the McDonalds logo Come as you are tacitly acknowledges that spate are different, and extends a wel count to all kinds of people. It does not matter whether they are older or younger, gay or straight, they should tranquillize come to McDonalds and eat together.The claim, or main issue which the video presents is that diversity is a good thing, and people should be welcome regardless of their sexual orientation. There is no explicit verbal argume nt to seat this up, but the story presents the gay son in a favourable light. This is done by photographic camera angles that focus on his face, and the choice of an attractive young French male actor dressed in somewhat average teenage clothes. This is by no delegacy extreme gay activism with stereotypical gay wardrobe, mannerisms and speaking style but a subtle depiction of a situation that a pretty average young gay man is likely to encounter.It all looks and is intended to look normal. The video is youth-focused, because it lets the audience see things from the boys perspective, while making it obvious that the father does not revalue the insider information which audience and boy share. The father represents the traditional French male role poseur of an experient older man who is successful with women. The son represents a more up to date role model of a gay French man. An interesting aspect of the video is that there are a bend of appeals going on at the same time in d ifferent directions.On the one devolve there is a main message conveyed by pathos, which shows the young boys romantic feelings towards his boyfriend, and his ironic acceptance of his fathers old fashioned and rather macho attitudes. On the other hand there is some authority and believability in the role of the father who pays for the meal and takes a positive(p) and fatherly interest in his son. The son is inward looking and reflective, using the personal pronoun I to disclose his feelings, while the father uses the pronoun you more often and directs his feelings outwards.The father cites the evidence of his own experience to offer an representative for the boy to follow in his footsteps. McDonalds will be well aware that parents and teenage children, and the sometimes complicated and difficult relationship between them is absolutely the territory in which they operate their business. They provide a framework, something like a neutral territory, in which this generational conf lict can be worked through, via the activity of buying and eating fast food. In making the gay- cordial message implicit, rather than explicit, McDonalds avoids the possible outcome of presenting a crass or sensationalist message.The way gaps in the narrative are left for the viewer to supply is also very clever, because it flatters the audience and forces them to get involved in constructing the humbleing of the advertisement. Ambiguity used in this way is a very powerful rhetorical technique. There is still, of course, the possibility that some viewers will react negatively to the overturning of the traditionally dominant heterosexual point of view. Some viewers will resist the gay-friendly message that is being constructed but this, too, is part of the writers intention.Advertisers often court controversy as a means to extend the impact of their message and this is a prime example of that. If some viewers react with an shadowy and anti-gay blog post or a you tube video or tex t response thusly this in turn provokes pro-gay and pro-McDonald posts from the viewers. The message is then guaranteed durability and a wider circulation. In purely technical business terms this video is a model of economy and precision. There are only two speakers, and each(prenominal) takes only one conversation turn.The product is never mentioned, and the instant recognizability factor with this brand makes this irrelevant in any case. Just in case there is any doubt in the viewers mind, however, the logo is added at the end. The colors are muted, and the mood is a gentle family intimacy with some emphasis caused by the unspoken facts which change the surface meaning of the discourse. Deep meaning is conveyed in shots of the changing expressions on the sons face, and these meanings are obliquely referred to in the tag line Come as you are.This phrase is used in standard English to mean something like dont dress up specially there is no need to be formal and the McDonalds ad suggests an extension of this to mean something like you dont need to pretend you are straight, just be yourself for a young and gay friendly audience, or you dont need to worry if your son is gay, just come and eat with him as normal for an older audience who may be less open towards a gay message. The advert makes a plea for tolerance, not for any particular orientation.All of the components of the advert, even including the brief snippet of song saying Im going on my way at the end, adjudge these same messages and the images work, because they rest on a long McDonalds formula of adverts showing intimate conversations in busy restaurant scenes, but incorporate this new diversity based angle in a positive, friendly and contemporary way. Appendix 1. 1. Boy Hello? 2. Boy I was thinking about you too. 3. Boy I miss you too. 4. Boy My dads coming, I have to hang up. 5. Father Is this your class interpret? 6. Father You look just like me at your age/ 7.Father Let me tell you I was qu ite the ladies man 8. Father Too bad your class is all boys 9. Father You could get all the girls. (Song in the background) 10. Tag line replaces the pictures Come as you are. Hill, Charles A. and Helmers, Marguerite (2008) Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lunsford, Andrea A. , Ruskiewicz, deception J. , Walters, Keith. (2009) Everythings an Argument. Boston Bedford books. McDonalds video advert Come as You Are, (2010) in French with English subtitles. Available online at http//www. youtube. com/watch? v=xk8xyONKK_4&feature=related