Hardee's has lately released a series of advertisements to promote their restaurants and new products that will be available or are currently available in them. While they are all very similar, I picked this particular ad because I believe I can analyse it with multiple Deadly Sins.
The link for the advertisment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3BA5qCOnkc
The voiceover is done by Chris Fries.
The Little Picture: The video depicts a young attractive woman in a barn/farm setting wearing a "country" or "cowgirl" outfit, although with an intentional and provocative twist on said attire. The voiceover in the video talks about what makes someone "From Texas" such as the hat or boots, but then states that it is the toast, as the woman eats a Texas Toast Bacon Cheese Thickburger (Say that 5 times fast) slowly and appears to enjoy it immensely. The sandwich itself appears large and appealing.
The ad stereotypes that all people from Texas (and the South in general) are typically farmers and live a rural lifestyle.
BIGGER PICTURE: There are two apparent sins present in the ad. The first is gluttony, as is common in food advertisements. The burger size and caloric value is unnecessary, but is still appealing because, as Americans and as people, we like food and more of it. Hardee's appeals to this through the actual appearance of the burger, as they most likely took time and effort to prepare the burger used in the ad to look as appealing as possible. They also use the human reaction of the woman; her looking satisfied after eating the burger gives the impression that it tastes as good as it looks, even though she is a paid actress.
The second sin present is lust. Hardee's creates this sin deliberately through their choice of an attractive actress and how they presented her. The use of provocative clothing and the actions in the ad, such as pouring water on herself, are meant to arouse the male (and possibly female) viewers to persuade them to go to Hardee's.
WHO is it for? The advertisement is for potential Hardee's customers, most likely middle or lower class citizens. These targeted audience members are most likely male, and are unsatisfied with the amount of food other restaurants serve them based on the emphasis of size in the ad.
I really liked your analysis of this advertisement. I've recently seen a lot of Hardee's commercials that are really downgrading women in order to increase their profits (I guess from males??). You hit several key points in your interpretation, including two prominent deadly sins. What's funny is that I didn't even think about gluttony (IN A FOOD AD), because I was so focused on the sin of lust the girl presented. All in all, I really wonder if these provocative advertisements Hardee's presents actually do increase their sales. Makes you wonder about the society we live in...
ReplyDeleteI agree with the two deadly sins you chose, but do you think that avarice, or greed could be incorporated into the advertisement in some way? It would appear she is not only enjoying the taste, but also the fact that it is hers. I liked your choice of advertisement as I believe it blatantly portrays the deadly sins you picked up on. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the sins analyzed and I find it somewhat pathetic that a food chain must resort to selling through the objectification of women, which in and of itself is entirely irrelevant to what is being sold. I also find it curious that the video incorporates the big three for most men: food, cars, and skinny women. Any yet hardly any viewers notice that they're falling into the age-old trap of commercial sinful advertising. Also, why did you put middle and lower class as the target audience, and not upper class as well? Doesn't everyone enjoy a good cheap burger every now and then?
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