Supersize That!
This advertisement was created by Mcdonalds, years ago when they offered supersized meals. This ad would be placed on a billboard to be viewed by the public.
Denotative: This item is promoting a super-size upgrade when purchasing a meal for any Mcdonald's restaurant. The outcome of this is getting a better value, i.e., more food and drink for a better price per unit. Featured in this advertisement are Mcdonald's famous fries and their choice of soft drink, Coca-Cola. The creator of this image used images to appeal to the audience. The intended audience for this picture is to all Mcdonald's customers and those who always look for the best value when purchasing meals. Also, due to the low price, Mcdonald's customers are often from low income or low social class areas.
Connotative: This ad represents one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony. Gluttony can be defined as habitual green or excessive eating. The image promotes more food and drink for a better price, influencing customers to order more food than what they might want. This results in eating more food than you should (gluttony). Gluttony is a problem for many Americans as we have adopted a "normal" portion size that is way larger than sizes in other countries. Problems associated with this are childhood obesity and an immense amount of spending on food.
I like how you compared this add to gluttony and transferred the topic of super sizing food to the effect that it has on childhood obesity. I think that the purpose of this ad is to promote people into super sizing their meals, but it kind of makes me not want to go to McDonalds at all. I think that while it is advertising the new super sized meal, it's interesting that they included a Coco-Cola drink because it is also promoting their sponsor at the same time. Now I've been looking at this ad for too long so I kind of want fries.
ReplyDeleteI like how you related the ad's portrayal or portion size to the food culture in America. I think your ad can also represent the deadly sin of greed. McDonalds as a company is so driven to make millions of dollars that it is willing to risk the poor health of children (and adults) in America. This just shows how capitalism drives everything, and you should be careful when you make consumer choices based off of advertisements.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog post was very nice as it highlighted the gluttony present in western culture. Your analyzation of the ad also connects to troubles in the real world, which is part of what made it enjoyable to read. Finding advertisements as a reflection of society is an important skill to develop, and one which is very well depicted in your post. I also liked how your post brought attention to the problem of obesity in America, as we accept portions that are far bigger than how much we should be consuming.
ReplyDeleteYou explained gluttony really well here, this ad is a very good example of it because even after the McDonald's supersize me campaign, the intake of McDonald's food has increased, which you wouldn't think would be the case because of the consequences of eating all of that unhealthy food. The french question we learned about was "Eat to live or leave to eat" which I think could be related back to this because in this ad, McDonald's is trying to persuade people to get the cheaper meal for more food rather than seriously thinking about what food would be the most healthy or cost effective. McDonald's is only focused on their personal benefit here. Gluttony might be the cause of death for America!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog. One thing I would add if this was my post is a concluding paragraph summarizing or connecting all the things throughout the post. But all in all, it was well organized and easy on the eyes. I especially enjoyed your analysis of gluttony and the connection and comparison you made from the medieval translation to a twenty first century issue.
ReplyDeleteI slightly disagree with your comment that McDonald's specific intended audience was for low class citizens. This is because this ad looks like it was created sometime previous to the 2000s, and McDonald's was somewhere that working businessmen and people all classes of income ate in the 70's 80's and 90's. Fast food for a low price may have attracted lower income people but I do not believe it was their main focus.
Ryan, this is a great post. First, your example of Gluttony is perfect because it completely fits the scheme of sin. For example, super sizing is completely unnecessary and is solely for the purpose of over feeding people. People who super size consume too much food and they will eventually become over weight if they eat this too much. Also, I like your analysis of the other logical problems in the big picture, such as childhood obesity and spending problems. Not only is super sizing unhealthy, it also can put a large dent in one's wallet. Anyways, I enjoyed reading your blog post Mr. Bush, until next time, sir.
ReplyDeleteSome good thought here, and I appreciated that you considered the context of the ad, but I would suggest you review and use specific literary terms and devices in your analysis. It will make your response stronger- always start with the what and then move to the so what. Also, think about how you structure your analysis- the bare bones are there, but does this show depth of thought?
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