Fast-Food Advertisement Analysis - Essay Example

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The advert is likely to appear in food magazines or newspapers. This is because the main goal of the advertiser is to capture the eye of the consumer at almost every turn (Nelson pp.729-754). Most people read magazines or newspapers while even watching television. It can be found in either magazines or newspapers because the advertiser can never know the probable location of a potential consumer and thus they have to get a method to be almost everywhere (Arens). This advert can be found in food magazines or newspapers because no food consumer seems to be too young and anyone is free to read newspapers and food magazines. This will allow a large audience to be captured by the advert. Another reason for this advert to be put in a newspaper or magazines is because magazines and newspapers are inclusive of the most reliable and trusted ways of advertising and since they are seriously taken by the readers, the adverts in them will also be taken seriously (Mehta pp. 67-72). The other reason is because the readers actually want the advertisements and this is from a conducted survey that showed the third reason why the readers read these newspapers and magazines is so as to get various advertisements. Research shows that influencing people read newspapers which a major group for people who are advertising (Anderson, Peter, et al. pp. 229-243). Another research shows that readers of magazines and newspapers become more aware of advertisements in them and are in a better position to better recall the brand or service being advertised which brings effectiveness when using these mediums to post this advertisement. Print media score highest in terms on media engagement and so using newspapers will ensure many people come across the advert not forgetting the newspapers can also be found online which enables the online newspaper readers to also view the advertisement.

The intended audience for this advertisement is the family setting. This is because the advertisement quotes ‘Keeping you and your children in good health makes good sense’. It motivates parents to buy the meal for their families and outlines the advantages the family will get from doing this. The pictures displayed on the advertisement are attractive to both grownups and children since they portray a very delicious meal and the bolded words in the advert are ‘More than 55% of your daily protein needs’. The advert is intended for the family setting because the pictures have also been designed to be appealing to children which in turn makes the McDonald restaurant an attractive environment for young children. The first assumption about the targeted group is that the audience love s and interesting visual storytelling thus the attractive images in the advertisement is meant to be refreshing on the diners’ eyes. The advertiser has also played around with color which ultimately also affects the behavior of the consumer. Another assumption made is that the targeted audience will believe all that is in the advertisement and thus facts are presented in the advertisement so as to build credibility. Newspaper advertisements are naturally trusted since newspapers are also trusted by the readers. The other assumption is that targeted group cares about their health and especially in terms of protein needs and the required minerals and vitamins needed in a meal. It says in the advert that the McDonald’s meal will offer these aspects more than a regular Australian meal would.

The advert suggests a standard for beauty shown by the appealing images on the advert and the organized arrangement of every detail. It also suggests a standard for parenting roles especially when it says ‘keeping you and your children in good health makes good sense’. The advert seems to reinforce good health and suggests that having that meal will give you that good health due to the many nutrients outlined in the advert. The advert represents a sociological attitude by insisting on keeping you and your family healthy by providing them with the necessary nutrients they need. This has been shown by the phrase ‘‘more than 55% of your daily protein needs and a higher level of many vitamins and minerals than the average Australian meal’. This has also been used as a persuasive strategy to the readers of this advert.

The advertisement has an emotion appeal of happiness. This can be seen from the phrase ‘Keeping you and your children in good health makes good sense’. One cannot be happy if they are not in good health and so this advert shows happiness. The brand wants an association with positivity, laughing and happy customers who are healthy which in the long run encourages engagement with the brand. The focus is in maintaining a happy family evidenced by the phrase ‘McDonald’s gives you all the nutrients you need’. The emotional appeal can also be seen from the images displayed showing a delicious looking meal. A value appeal is also seen in the advertisement from it encourages potential customers to use the services it offers based on cognitive basis rather than an emotional basis. McDonald’s company does not have to claim their service is better compared to their competitor because the potential customer already has the positive perception. This in the long run adds value to the advert. A trusted character has also been seen in the advertisement.

The trusted aspect in this advert has been incorporated together with the fact appeal since the nutritional information of the meal has been highlighted. The facts are seen in the values given such as the protein quantity of the meal being 59%. The specific fact appeals in the advert are as follows: protein is 59%, Vitamin A is 18%, vitamin C is 75%, Thiamin is 25%, Riboflavin is 44%, Niacin is 33%, Iron is 54% while Calcium is 77%. The advert has revealed these facts relating to different nutrient requirements of the Australian Allowances recommendations.

In Toulmin terms, the advert is first using a claim that the meal offers ‘more than 55% of your daily protein needs and a higher level of many vitamins and minerals than the average Australian meal’. McDonald’s wants the potential customers to accept this as true. Since a claim is not enough to make a consumer agree to what you are saying, grounds have to be used to back up the claim. In this advert, the grounds can be seen from the hard facts presented in the advert plus the reasoning to support the claim. For example, the recommended nutrients and the actual nutrients in the McDonalds meal have been shown in the advert. It has been said that ‘the meal provides more than 55% of your total body requirements’. Such information will enable those that are logical or dogmatic to be convinced by this factual data. The warrant in this advert is the meal is good for the customers and it is also a good one to eat. This warrant can be supported by the facts presented of the meal providing more than 55% of the total body’s requirements. The backing for the argument or claim in the advert has been given by the nutritional values in the advert and the phrase ‘if you would like further information about McDonald’s food, ask at any McDonald’s restaurant for our Nutritional Look at McDonald’s leaflet. Further counter arguments to support the claim has also been seen in the advert by the phrase ‘we want you to enjoy our good food and enjoy it in good health’ and below this statement is the nutritional information which has included the values of every nutrient present in the meal.

There are fallacies in this advert. The first one is generalization which is associated with reasoning that is inductive and is a result of very few given examples to certify the generalization. For example, the advert has claimed than the meal will offer more than 55% of the daily protein needs and a higher level of many vitamins and minerals and has even gone ahead to include the nutritional information of each contained nutrient. This has a positive effect on the advertisement because the readers can actually relate to the claims being said in the advert. This has produced a very strong warrant. The advert has also used the fallacy of false cause which involves an argument or claimed that has been backed by insufficient evidence. There is a statement in the advert that ‘a meal at McDonald’s gives you the nutrients you need’ yet in real sense these nutrients might not be what the body of a consumer needs. Another fallacy used in this advert is slippery slope which involves arguing that a specific action will lead to other series of actions. In this advert it has been said that taking the meal will result to a higher nutritional value and good health yet this might not really be the case. Bandwagon fallacy has also been used in this advert to persuade by claiming that the meal will offer more proteins and a higher level of vitamins and minerals than the average Australian meal and also just because McDonald’s is popular does not directly mean that it is good or offers healthy food. False dilemma fallacy has also been used when McDonald’s food has been said to be better when compared to the average Australian meals in terms of nutritional value. Critical thinkers will know that there cannot be only just one restaurant with that quality of food but many potential customers actually depend on these oversimplifications to make arguments or decisions.

The first figurative used in this advert is the attractive images of the McDonald’s hamburger, chips and strawberry milk which look very appetizing to the viewer. They look so delicious that one can only wish they were real. This figurative language has been used to describe to the reader how delicious the meal is especially for those that have not dined at McDonald’s. The goal of this is to build a positive impression to potential consumers of the product. Another figurative language in this advert is personalized service. The statement ‘McDonald’s meal gives you all the nutrients you need’ gives the potential customer the impression that the service was created specifically for them and this shows that McDonald’s focuses its entire customer service delivery efforts for the reader of this advertisement. Another figurative language in the advert is the impression that other people have daily conversations that talk about the benefits the product or service has. This is supported by the statement ‘it is true that a meal of Big Mac provides a substantial proportion of your daily requirements of many nutrients’. Fantasy has also been used when it has been said that the meal at McDonald’s offers more than 55% of your daily protein needs and a higher level of other nutrients than the average Australian meal and keeping the consumer healthy suggests that having the meal will be responsible for the health benefits the consumer will have.

This advertisement is effective firstly because the advert is relevant. This is because the advert has stuck to exactly what it wants to advertise and that is the meal that McDonald’s offers and has not deviated to give information which is not in line with the topic of discussion. Another reason is because the headline itself is effective because it clearly shows what sets McDonald’s products part from the product of other similar companies. For example the phrase ‘More than 55% of your daily protein needs and a higher level of many vitamins and minerals than the average Australian meals’ shows this. This advert is also effective because the language of the customer has been used. This is in relation to the audience’s age group or gender. The writing tone and the words used will probably attract adults reading the advert and their children. Also, the customers have been addressed directly with the use of a statement like ‘We think our food is good for you’. Also the advert will give a reader a reason to read to read it due to the impressive aspect it has. The massage has used direct and simple language and also made sure that the product information is provided and accurate.