Rhetorical Advert Analysis `A Better McNugget` by McDonald`s

RHETORICAL ADVERT ANALYSIS 1

Rhetorical Advert Analysis: ‘A Better McNugget’ by McDonald’s

Institutional Affiliations

Rhetorical Advert Analysis: ‘A Better McNugget’ by McDonald’s

In the modern business environment, companies are highly dependent ondifferent fields of science to optimize operations and drive profits.Psychology is one of the most utilized sciences whose positiveresults have been recorded in multiple cases, especially inadvertisement. In ‘A Better McNugget’ 2016 advert,McDonald’s intended to send a message that it is a people’s brandmeaning that it is ‘here to stay’. The ad insinuates that thecompany’s products will be enjoyed by a generation after the otherand is in itself, a form of inheritable culture through a mixed useof rhetoric strategies.

Summary

McDonald’s utilizes the split-screen strategy and tells the viewerabout two McNuggets eaters in the 60-second advertisement. The boy onthe left seems to be from the past based on the color mixture whilethe girl is from the present day. The boy passes different itemsincluding a bicycle, basketball and video games to the girl on theright (Wohi, 2016). At the end, the boy hands over a McNuggets mealand then moves over to the right as the girl’s father. In thebackground the ‘Time After Time’ hit by Cyndi Lauper, produced inthe 1980s plays. The commercial was created by Leo Burnett Chicagoand production directed by Story Film’s Blair Hayes. With thetagline of “I’m Lovin’ it”, the ad was particularly meant topromote the company’s McDonald`s Happy Meal and McDonald`sMcNuggets. It was aired during the 2016 Summer Olympics that ran fromAugust 5, 2016 to August 21, 2016.

Analysis

Allusion

The ad by McDonald’s is quite easy to comprehend owing to theextensive use of allusion as a rhetoric device. The use of thesplit-screen strategy makes it possible to tell this story in abetter and easier way by making the most obvious elementsidentifiable. Through the split-screen the company is able toauthenticate its story about the tradition it has created andsupports to date. It facilitates the revelation of two dimensionsthat are important in creating coherence and understanding theimplied message. The split screen also enhances the distinct natureof the two incidents despite their connection.

On one side of the split screen, the story of a boy is told while onthe other, that of a girl is narrated. Notably, the boy tends to befascinated by the story of the girl on the other side irrespective ofthe passage of time. There is a great difference between the twodimensions of the story, things tend to improve from the left toright. Also, the environment seems to have changed a great deal overthe time. However, one thing has remained the same all that time, theauthenticity of the McDonald’s chicken nuggets. The dissolution ofthe split screen makes it apparent that the story told to the leftwas that of the father and the daughter’s on the right. Theimpression created by the split-screen is that irrespective of thepassage of time, the McDonald’s brand will remain a favorite forgenerations.

Appeal to Emotion

The storytelling trait of the advert is one that appeals to theemotions of the audience and draws attention. One of the primarycharacteristics that draws emotional attention is the attachmentbetween the characters in the story. Besides the boy being quiteinterested in the life of the girl, he tends to be happy and wantsall the best for her. He is seen to give up his own happiness just tosee her smile he takes care of her. On the other hand, the girlseems to have a high degree of trust towards the boy and she feelssecure and dependent. This evokes the relationship between a parentand the child, which makes the ad quite interesting for a familyaudience. At the end, the emotions are then transferred to focus onthe role of McNuggets in creating the unique bond.

The use of music is another key psychological characteristic thatdraws the emotions of the viewer, particularly the parents in ahousehold setting. The ‘Time after Time’ hit song wasrecorded in the 1980s and around the same time, the McDonald’schicken nuggets were introduced. In this regard, the song has someembedded contextual significance and tends to serve as a reminder tothose clients who still consume the nuggets and those that haveneglected it. The song creates a direct emotional bond between theaudience and the advertised product.

Diction

Although diction is predominantly used to depict the choice of wordsin writing or speech, it can be used to analyze the rhetoricalaspects of a video. In this regard, the audio elements of the videoought to be considered carefully. The selection of the music to playalongside the video was not random and has rather been carefullyselected to bring out the correct impression. As mentioned earlier,the concept of time has been exploited to a significant extent indisplaying the correct allusion through the split-screen. Thedeveloper of the ad intended to show a transition of time, from oneto another and, as a result, the ‘Time after Time’ musicrecording tends to bring out a deeper meaning.

The audio component also tends to complement the video and overallmessage of the ad particularly with regard to the lyrics.

“Sometimes you picture me –

I`m walking too far ahead

You`re calling to me” (Lauper, n.d.).

This excerpt from the song is somehow symbolic to the relationshipbetween a child and their parent as it brings out the impressions oflove and care. On the other hand, the lyrics below fit with theoverall message of the ad – McDonald’s nuggets are here to stay.

“If you`re lost you can look – and you will find me

Time after time

If you fall I will catch you – I`ll be waiting

Time after time” (Lauper, n.d.).

Evidence of Credibility

Change is a major characteristic of the advert, and for the McNuggetsto appear credible, they have changed too. The voice note at the endof the ad clarifies that the McNuggets no longer have artificial foodpreservatives, which is a healthy improvement. The company wants toshow that it has changed over time as many other things depicted inthe ad. Nevertheless, the bond and sacrifice to the customer hasremained the same.

Conclusion

Psychology has considerably helped in capturing the attention of theconsumer when it comes to commercials. McDonald’s is one of themost popular companies when it comes to the creation and presentationof advertisement of their products and in the reviewed ad, thecompany has intensively deployed rhetoric strategies to bring out theintended meaning. Notably, the rhetoric strategies employed tend tobe interconnected, which makes the ad even more appealing to thefamily audience.

References

Lauper, C.&nbspTimeafter Time.&nbspAZLyrics. Retrieved 2 April 2017, fromhttp://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/cyndilauper/timeaftertime.html

Wohi, J. (2016).&nbspMcDonald`sNostalgic Split-Screen Love Story May Make You Feel Good AboutChicken McNuggets – Video – Creativity Online.&nbspCreativity-online.com.Retrieved 2 April 2017, fromhttp://creativity-online.com/work/mcdonalds-introducing-the-new-cleaner-chicken-mcnuggets/48446