Dear Carrie,
In my Rhetorical Analysis paper I really struggled with making it the required length that you asked us to make it. I do not think that the paper was challenging it just required me to think outside the box and view my piece as a critical thinker. I had trouble on elaborating and finding specific details that would add more to my paper without it being repetitive. In the 5th paragraph I had difficulty including detail on the passengers in the subway. My concern is that I did not include enough information.
On the other hand I think that I did well on my introduction and conclusion. I also think it was a good idea that I included the facts about the song in the commercial and how it was a hit. In the 7th paragraph I think I did good talking about the slogan and how it relates to the product.
Overall I would like to know what I can improve on in my paper.
Sincerely,
Maya Lipscomb
Maya Lipscomb
Carrie Sippy
English 1101
Rhetorical Analysis
See What Unfolds
Commercials are meant to catch the viewers’ attention and provide catchy information. In less than a minute, there goal is to “sum” up a product. A lot of thought goes into the process of making a commercial and the message that it sends out. While viewing the trident layers commercials all of these thought went through my head and I developed more of an understanding.
In the beginning of the trident layers gum commercial the audience is in view of the speaker and the subway. This framing sets the tone that the commercial will be focused on your everyday person. The whole time in the commercial the background does not change. The message it sends is that your average person can chew gum meaning it’s not expensive to buy. The words that were said in the beginning were “trident layers will take you on a ride to mouth fun town”. These words symbolize the ride that the people are on are to better place because one girl popped in a piece of trident layers. Most people see subways as a miserable source of transportation but once you pop in that piece of gum it becomes anything but ordinary. The colors that are seen in the commercial are very dull and boring, which is the way most subways look to anyone. After the karaoke jam session occurs and everyone gets affected by the gum there are little fruit pieces that explode from her mouth and produce colors. The colors of the fruit make the commercial less dull and boring.
The Trident Layers commercial caught my attention when it first came on because it included a well-known song. The song is “All Night Long” by Lionel Riche and it was a hit song in 1983. It became number one on three billboard charts (Wikipedia). Including a famous song in the commercial makes it stick with the audience longer because it triggers memory of the gum whenever you hear that song again and vice versa. The song livens up the commercial too by giving it life. It started off as a normal day on a subway but once the karaoke scene took effect it gave the commercial a good effect. It’s not normal for a karaoke session to break out on a subway and that point is made in the commercial. But once the girl ate the gum the impossible became true.
Once the karaoke session began on the subway it caused everybody to sing and dance. This is implying that if just one person has a piece of gum then it will spread happiness and joy to the people around them. The people on the train were not all alike either which implies anyone can enjoy this gum. It’s not restricted to a certain audience. In the commercial you will see young females, young males, older ladies, and older men. The backgrounds of these people are not all the same either varying from Asian and African American to Caucasian. The way that these people are dressed differs too. It varies from work attire to regular street wear. The connotation I got was to mean that students, parents, professionals and grandparents will all find something to like out of this product.
Imagine any other day on a subway. The passengers will more than likely be quiet, sleep, reading, minding their own business and talking to a close friend or someone they may occasionally see on the subway. In the background there will be noise from the subway itself, music from some headphones, a loud conversation taking place on a cell phone, a baby crying and so forth. So comparing an ordinary subway ride to the subway ride in the trident layers commercials, the ride with trident layers is way more pleasing.
The actions of the people on the train changed throughout the commercial. From the beginning to the end of the commercial there was a big difference in the way that the people acted. At first everyone was all quiet, reading, looking out windows and sleep but once the girl popped in the gum that all changed. There was a chain effect that happened. They all acted how the normally would on any other day in a subway but once the trident layers was added to a day in the subway it changed. It caused them to open up more and express themselves by having fun and just being carefree from a long day.
The slogan at the end of the commercial is “See what unfolds.” The trident layers gum is made to come in a package that unfolds to reveal two rows of gum. Placing this at the end of the commercial sends a hidden message of how to open the gum package by unfolding it. The slogan also sends a message that once you unravel the gum the actions that follow are mysterious because you will never know what to expect. I’m sure the subway riders were not expecting a karaoke session to happen that day. Once the viewer’s go buy the gum it is implying that they won’t be able to help what fun and new things that will go on in their day either. When you unfold something it is a mystery of what the inside may say, look like or contain. Trident layers used the slogan so that
In conclusion the trident layers karaoke commercial was very effective in the persuasive techniques it used. The framing, catchy song, sudden singing session and slogan all are rhetorical strategies that made this commercial memorable for me. Now every time that I pick up a pack of Trident Layers I will be looking forward to “see what unfolds.”
