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The ad in question
Brief Summary |
I was scrolling through my twitter feed a couple of weeks ago and someone had decided to retweet this advertisement for Metlife life insurance. The caption of the tweet, I believe, was something along the lines of “watch this without crying”. I decided might as well watch, and i’ll be honest i struggled mention my composure, for it truly was a very emotional advertisent. Then I realized that this ad would be perfect to rhetorically analyze. In this blog we will disect this advertisement, looking much closer than its superficial aspects. We will discover the true message behind this ad, who it hopes to convince of buying Metlife, and how it does this so convincingly. In doing so I hope that you guys (high school students) will be able to understand that advertisemt is inherently deceptive and make better decisions when you purchase products in the future.
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Here I will provide a brief summary of the ad for your convenience. The is told from the perspective of a daughter who wrote a letter to her father, and the father is now reading the letter as they walk, presumably to school. The letter begins by describing how amazing the father is, simultaneously the ad shows what is being said. It seems like a normal enough letter, until she writes “he lies”. At this point she writes how her father lies about being, happy, having a job, having everything, not being hungry, etc…. She then says “he lies for me” and we understand how proud she is of him. They embrace and it is all very emotional. The ad ends by saying “A child’s future is worth every sacrifice” “pursue more form life” and then it shows the mettle logo.
Intended Audience
Quintissential Consumer
Name: Andrew Chen Age:42 Marital Status: Widower Born: Shanghai, China Occupation: In search of work |
Lets look at who the presumed target audience is. To do this, first, we should consider the product being sold (Life Insurance). The purpose of life insurance is to provide family, generally children compensation should you pass away prematurely. Because life insurance is the product being sold it can be assumed that this ad is aimed at older parents most likely from ages forty to fifty with younger children who would be unable to take care of themselves should their parents pass away. Now lets delve farther into this target audience and see what we can learn from the advertisement itself. The family in the advertisement is a father and a daughter, this indicates that the advertisement looks at single parents. Finally, lets consider the gender of the the people in the advertisement. Everyone is oriental in appearance, indicating that the setting is in an asian country. This leads us to believe that the audience is meant to be of oriental origin. Using these methods we can conclude that the ideal consumer would be single parents ages 40-50 located in countries in Asia. By understanding how corporations target certain demographics it is my hope that you guys will be able to evade these marketing ploys.
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Underlying Message
Most advertisements are trying to sell something more than the obvious product, as is the case with this ad. The superficial product that is being sold is obviously life insurance but they do so by delivering a very subtle message that without looking at closely would be overlooked. That message is fear. Casting away the superficial attitude most people take up when watching tv and seeing these sorts of ads for a minute we discover the true meaning of this ad. We see the hard work of this single dad striving with all his might to raise his child correctly. He wishes the absolute best for his child, which should resonate for most parents. After going through the journey this ad takes you on, one is left with the Metlife logo at the end, it is at this point, I believe that Metlife intends for you to have a sudden revelation. What good is all of this hard work, this blood, sweat, and tears if you were to suddenly pass away leaving your child with nothing. It is this realization that causes fear, and this realization that persuades people to buy Metlife insurance for the good of their children. Call it cruel, I believe this technique is incredibly effective in raising sales, but for you my high school friends I advise you to look at all ads with this sort of discerning eye so that you aren't sucked into the manipulation that is presented in this ad and is represented in most other ads. Like I said, the method of fear mongering as persuasion is incredibly prevalent in advertising. In an article titled The four letter word in Advertising: Fear by the Art Institute it is told that it is not only sex that sells but also fear, something to keep in mind when you are about to buy that unnecessary item.
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Understanding these Claims
Two main elements of persuasion are utilized to understand the above message, those of pathos and logos, but within these two tools there are multiple elements. Lets look at the role of pathos in this ad first. You can tell that it will be a very emotional ad simply from the title, “My Dad is a Liar- Emotional Commercial”. But what makes it emotional? For one the content is heart wrenching, the tale of a single father bent on working day in day out with the only reward beings daughters happiness, who doesn't love that? Another interesting element that increases emotional response to this ad is the use of music. Music can play a a vital role in appealing to ones emotions, and this ad capitalizes on that fact impeccably. The music is timed perfectly to the script so that the most dramatic music plays when we hear about the struggles of the father, and culminates when the daughter and father embrace. This is the centerpiece of the advert, where emotional upheaval is maximized. The effectiveness of music is in fact discussed in the article The Psychology of Advertising. The author of the article argues that the use of music appeals specifically to individuals. This distinction further narrows down the intended audience for this advertisement. The use of logos is also prevalent, by appealing to the logical individual we are persuaded to my Metlife. One understands that death can be premature and without a method of compensation in place our children would be in a severe amount of trouble. The combination of the two proves to be an incredibly persuasive duo, which is why this ad is so successful.
Conclusion
By utilizing a rhetorical analysis we are able to successfully understand the purpose of this advertisement. We figured out who the target audience was, single parents between the ages of 40-50 in Asian countries. Furthermore, we learned that there was a message behind the advertisement larger than the product they were selling. This was an element of fear. By inducing fear in their customers, Metlife, is likely to produce more customers. The most important aspect of this blog is for you, high school students, to understand the methods of the advertising industry. Corporations are constantly trying to persuade you to buy unnecessary items and it is your duty to understand and evade their methods of persuasion. Doing so will make you much more fiscally responsible in upcoming years. I hope you were able to take away a lot from this blog as it was intended to help you.
About MeHi! I'm Miles Brooks, I"m a student at the University of New Mexico. While I don't currently have a major I have a kee interest in advertising, which is partially while I decided to start this blog, and becasue it's for a grade haha. On the weekends I like being with friends, being outside, and of course blogging. I hope you enjoy all my blog has to offer
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