Visual Rhetoric - Research Paper Example

Visual Rhetoric

• Introduction

The research paper comprises of visual rhetoric analysis of three different artifacts. Three different categories of visual artifacts are chosen for rhetorical analysis in details such as a movie trailer and two video advertisements. Rhetorical analysis is applied to any virtual text, speech, image, video, web page, poem, advertisement, and photograph. It is also used in literary works which considers the piece of work as an instrument of artistically structured. It is a form of criticism or close reading that uses rhetorical devices for examining the interactions of figures, texts, symbols with target audiences. Rhetorical appeals of ethos pathos logos are analyzed elaborately in the research paper for the three artifacts. Many visual devices, tone, effectiveness of the artifacts are mentioned in the study while explaining the rhetorical situation of the three artifacts. Rhetorical analysis of the three artifacts reflects the success of the picture or video in conveying the message to their target audience.

• Artifact1
  • Author

The short video chosen for analysis of the visual rhetoric is “Nike Better for it inner thoughts” advertisement campaign. The artifact belongs to Nike. Nike is a multinational company which is responsible for worldwide marketing, manufacturing, development, designing and sales of apparel, footwear, accessories, equipments, etc. Nike is one of the largest manufacturer of sports equipment and suppliers of apparels and athletic shoes. There are many brands of Nike such as Nike Pro, Nike Blazers, Nike Golf, Air Max, Converse, Nike Dunk, etc. Nike is famous for its creative advertisement campaign. The advertisement of Nike includes many famous sports athletes, sports teams, etc. The famous trademarks of Nike are its “Swoosh logo” and “Just Do It”. Advertisement campaigns of Nike are of different genres that are based on different themes which will hit the mind of the targeted customers (Alvaro Salcedo).

• • Purpose

The company powers women for becoming better. Hard work, motivation and commitment are the features targeted in the advertisement. Nike is taking initiative in order to inspire women for conquering personal goals, becoming active and taking new challenges. Rather the video is a call for embracing, promoting and sharing fitness of women. The “better for it” campaign consists of many short films. It encourages sharing of the personal goals and missions of the famous female athletes in the initiative of Nike for women. The video harnesses the voice of women and is responsible for addressing the dynamic world of fitness and sports with a tone of humor. The “inner thoughts” video of better for it campaign represents the latent desire, wishes of women around the world who aspire success if they want to succeed in life.

• • Target Audience

The advertisement campaign of Nike’s “Better for it” is targeted towards women. The video of “Inner thoughts of Better for it” campaign emphasizes power of women to the world. Through this video, Nike wants to inspire women in fulfilling their latent aspirations. However, the company also put emphasis on sports, yoga, meditation, exercises, and work outs. Nike focuses on fitness as a positive addition in women’s life which is far better than weight loss activities. Inspirational interviews from famous female sports athlete regarding easy exercise tips will inspire and motivate female customers to become fit. Nike not only targets selling of its new sports accessories for women but also it tries to create a positive image of the brand in the minds of people. Nike targeted women for taking goals in their workouts outside their comfort zone.

• • Forms of Rhetoric

Ethos pathos and logos are three forms of rhetoric that are used in advertisements, picture, videos, etc, for targeting the customers. These forms of rhetoric are used to attract the customers in order to view the video which will reinforce the brand in their minds. In the “Inner thoughts” video of Nike, the emotional or latent aspirations of women are pointed out by the company. Among the three forms of rhetoric, pathos is used in this video. Pathos refers to the emotions of the audience. Nike is specialized in formulating emotional commercial advertisements. The advertisements of Nike using pathos aim in making target audiences insecure about their social acceptability and attractiveness and then it offers remedy for the problem in the form of motivation and products of the company. Emotional appeal and passions are very effective in advertisements.

• • Overall Tone

The tone of advertising makes a difference in the perception of consumer. Normally videos of Nike advertisement use friendly tone to the users. Tone and mood of the video is negative in the beginning. Women in the video think that they can’t do the exercises. But seeing other active and fit women performing the exercises they feel motivated and they try to do the exercises and marathon races. The types of tone used in the video are use of tenses, mood, age group, and products and services. Young women are targeted in the video. The video portrays that fit and active women are more confident and are close to their success. Two types of moods are used in the video. At first, when the women are less confident they feel depressed. In the next moment, after motivated from activities of other women, they become happy.

• • Visual Devices

There are many visual devices that are found in the video of “Inner thoughts” of Nike such as color, consistency, contrast and grouping. In the video, bright colors are used in the apparels and sport shoes of Nike. The vibrant colors of the apparels and shoes will bring positive energy to the users. The viewers of the video will also gain positive vibes from the color of the apparels. The visual elements of apparels, sports shoes, and equipments are repeated frequently. Apart from that, the moods of the women are also repeated in different situations. The visual elements of apparels, exercise methods, gyms, marathon, change of moods of women, work-out apparels, shoes, etc. are distinguishable from one another. One can easily point out these visual elements separately and understand their significance. Grouping of these elements is present in the video. The elements are related to one another.

• • Effectiveness

“Inner thoughts” of Nike in the “Better for it” campaign is a very successful commercial of Nike. The advertisement is meant for women. Nike targets those women who are introvert, shy and having doubts in their mind of doing things. Many women think that they cannot work out in the gym. The video is ideal for this category of women. This video will definitely motivate these women to become active and fit. However, it is also an inspirational video for all gym going ladies who are aiming to become fit and active. The rhetorical forms, visual elements are used in a balanced way for reinforcing the message of the video to its target audiences.

• Artifact 2
  • Author

The visual artifact analyzed in this section is the commercial video of Coke Mini (Hulk vs. ant man). The commercial video is humorous in nature. Coca Cola launches its super bowl ads of Coke Mini that kicks off virtual hunt for various themed Coca Cola Mini cans. The mini cans of Coca Cola are themed with Marvel’s world famous superheroes such as Ant Man, Hulk, Captain America, Falcon, Iron Man, and Hulk. It is the first initiative of The Coca Cola Company sharing their screen with Paul Rudd in the advertisement. Coke Mini is the new initiative of one brand strategy (i.e. “Taste the feeling”) of Coca Cola (Coca Cola).

• • Purpose

The purpose of the commercial video of Coca-Cola is making aware about the new Coke Mini can to the audiences. The smallest package of Coca Cola is launched by the company debuted with Marvel superheroes namely Hulk and Ant Man. In the video of Coke Mini, it is forecasted that some big people have the need of mini refreshments in some moments. The purpose of the company is to use the stage of Big Game in the launching of 7.5-oz Coke Mini can. It is the strategy applied by the company for its brand new product in the market. In every commercial video, Coca-Cola showcased a new story to its brand fans. It is applied to this video also.

• • Target Audience

Video of Coke Mini is targeted for the people of all age groups all over the world. Coca-Cola is a refreshing drink which is enjoyed by people of all age groups across the world. The creative video of Coke Mini is targeted for the youths mainly. The youth segment is addicted to social media. Popularity of Coke Mini will be increased if the message of this video hit the viewers of this video. A message is conveyed by the two characters used in the video (Hulk and Ant Man). The virtual hunt in the social media sites will encourage the fans of Coke in watching the video again and again.

• • Forms of Rhetoric

In the creative video of Coke, rhetorical form Ethos is used. Ethos is the rhetorical form which signifies characters or images. Ethos is the first thing which is noticed by the viewers for the first time while watching the video. The rhetoric of ethos is the common form of rhetoric used in advertisements or commercials of products. In this video, the mini can of Coke, the characters of Hulk and Ant man are the most visible characters and things. These characters and the adventures related to the can mostly attract the viewers to watch the video. Focus on ethos is the best thing done by the company for making this video.

• • Overall Tone

Usage of proper tone in the commercial video signifies the quality of video. Tones used in advertisement commercials are mood, use of tenses, age group, products and services. The tone of the advertisement depends on the type of products the company is selling. Coke Mini Can used the normal tone of adventure and thrill. The age of the market is very old and is already targeted by Coke earlier. Strategy of Coca-Cola while launching new product line is telling a new story related to the new product. The mini can use humor and adventure in the video. The mood in the video is very light.

• • Visual Devices

The visual devices used in the video are color, contrast, consistency, grouping, balance. The vivid colors of the characters of Hulk and Ant Man and the can of Coke Mini attract the viewers. The warm colors are very catchy to the eyes of the viewers. The distribution of visual effects in the video is properly arranged and the video is not tacky at all. All visual characters and elements of the video can be distinguished properly. Overlapping of elements is not there in the video. The colors and actions of the characters in the video are very interesting which will draw the attention of the viewers. The consistency of visual elements is repeated in a way so that the new product is reinforced in the minds of the viewers.

• • Effectiveness

The new commercial video of Coke Mini can is a very successful advertisement campaign of The Coca-Cola Company. The numbers of viewers of this new video is increasing day by day. The aim of the company in increasing brand awareness is fulfilled by the video. The rhetorical analysis and the visual elements of the video are perfect in their consistency in drawing attention of viewers to the new Coke Mini. However, the two Marvel themed characters are one of the reasons of popularity of the video. It seemed that the company is focused on ethos properly. The limited themed cans of Coke Mini are the prize set by the company for their contests in the social media that result into more viewership of the new video.

• Artifact 3
  • Author

The movie Jurassic World is the fourth sequel of Jurassic series which previously named as Jurassic Park, The Lost World and Jurassic Park 3. This movie has been directed by Colin Trevorrow who took special advice from the previous director in order to make this a hit too.

The trailer provides with the first look of the actor Chris Pratt who tries to control velociraptors and again the look of the villain hybrid which they named Indominus Rex. The part has been opened after 22 years and the place has been modified to a huge extend until something goes wrong and release the beast (Universal Pictures).

• • Purpose

This movie is from the genre of adventure, action and sci-fi and the trailer also has made the audience fan of this movie beforehand the releasing date of the same. The main theme over here was to send chills to the audience with the creation of the new hybrid dinosaur with a terrifying look.

The trailer mainly features the manipulation of the nature by the humans by creating a hybrid carnivorous dinosaur by genetically modified the DNA of other animals. The beast is depicted as an intelligent animal which is on a killing spree and is finding its place in the food chain.

• • Target Audience

Jurassic World is a movie which connects many people where the kids were supposed to enjoy watching dinosaur but for the adults it is thrilling. This movie has imprinted its legacy from the year 1991 with the release of Jurassic Park and same has continued to amaze the audience who has always been fan of the series. This movie has made the people of different age experience the thrill.

The target audiences are the ones who have been die-hart fan of this series along with the kids of new generation. The trailer got millions of views which suggest that the people were going crazy for the release of the movie. The movie was made for everyone irrespective of the age as it could be enjoyed by anyone across the globe.

• • Forms of Rhetoric

The trailer has mainly provided the audience with the superstar like Chris Pratt and again it has focused on the various types of dinosaurs which have been created using high graphics to look like real. The Jurassic World being one of the parts of the series also gather huge fan following across the globe.

On the other side, the trailer also depicted the scenes which were quite related to the first part of the series. It showed children who are being terrified by the huge Indominus Rex which depicts similarity with the scene where the kids in the first parts were hiding from Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was done intentionally to create the thrills in the people who saw the first part and were very excited during that scene.

• • Overall Tone

The movie trailer of Jurassic World is adventurous in nature. The trailer is full of thrill and adventure. The tone of trailer of the movie hits the emotional quotient of the viewers. By seeing the trailer of this movie, a sense of incompleteness will develop in the mind of people. The strategy adopted by director of Jurassic World is keeping the tone and mood in the trailer in perfect place. Emotional appeal is also used in the trailer. The acts of dinosaurs in the trailer to the small children and the mass destruction definitely hit the emotional quotient of the viewers.

• • Visual Devices

The visual device of color is used properly in the trailer of the movie. Green color of forests creates a soothing effect in the minds of viewers. While the other colors of nature and dark nights creates a sensation of thrill and adventure in the mind of people. The consistency of characters and other visual elements is repeated in the trailer. But they are not repeated within a small interval of time. The visual elements of the trailer are distinguished clearly. One can easily identify the visual elements with an ease. The arrangements of visual elements are done perfectly in a way to make the video successful.

• • Effectiveness

The trailer has gained huge popularity within a day of its release. The trailer till date has gained over 28 million views which are great in it. The people who commented on the same sounds very excited about the movie and more excited about the new hybrid as well as the Mosasaur, the water dinosaur. The audiences as per the comments were trying to compare it with other parts and are even waiting eagerly for the movie to release. Some of the new concepts were also introduce where the actor tries to control the velociraptor is also appreciated.

• Conclusion

The three videos of “Nike Better for It”, Coke Mini (Hulk vs. Ant Man) and the movie trailer of Jurassic World are rhetorically analyzed. The visual elements of these videos are described in the study which suggests that these videos are successful in their mission. The effectiveness and purpose of the videos are also explained which clearly reflects the success of these videos. However, analysis of these videos portrays that the makers of the videos are creative enough in understanding the emotional psyche of the target audiences. Apart from that, the moods, tone of the three videos are different from one another which make the nature of these videos different.