Advertisement Analysis of TV Advertisement:

Advertisement Analysis of TV Advertisement: Wendy's Fearsome 'Baconator' If you talk the talk, shouldn't you walk the walk?" This sort of confrontational bit of dialogue might seem to come, out of context, from a provocative car or jeans advertisement -- or a trash-talking street fight! But instead it is ripped from the headlines of Wendy's latest television commercial for its new hamburger, the "Spicy Baconator." Considering that the fast food industry has recently come under criticism for its promotion of unhealthy food and lifestyles, promoting the Baconator would seem to be as potentially suicidal for a company as someone with a heart condition ingesting the two juicy square patties of beef, Monterey Jack cheese, and heaps of slices of jalapeno pepper.

However, one problem for fast food companies is that although people might say that they wish to consume healthier food, the average frequent fast food consumer rarely orders such healthier fare.

"Even now, the overwhelming choice of fast-food customers are burgers, fries, and soda -- or rather, cholesterol-laden burgers, fatty fries, and sugary soda -- just as they've always been...That's a truth not lost on the menu developers who work for McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and the rest" to try to continue to hold its market base against its major burger competitors, Wendy's "Baconator" ignores wise dietary advice, and tries to portray eating its creation as a kind of a walk on the wild side, without apology.

The recent Baconater advertisement suggests that by eating meaty, manly food, a Wendy's consumer can inject a wild, hedonistic spirit of unfettered consumption into his (and the ad's targets are very clearly male) boring office life, and throw such feminine concerns as calories, heart attacks, and good nutrition to the winds. The advertisement portrays two extremely slim men in business suits and ties, one evidently the boss, the other a lowly employee.

"It has a kick but it gets the job done," observes the rather geeky employee, as both men unwrap the sandwich from shiny silver paper. The geeky employee continues to describe the creation after he takes a tasty bite: "Spicy but a team player," and notes that the Baconater deserves a raise. In other words, because the employee has ingested the Baconater, he is able to broach the subject of the raise with his boss.

The boss is nonplussed, and advises the sandwich to get back to him in several months. However, the implication, however humorous, is that as staid as one's life may be, eating Wendy's food enables a kind of fun escapism, as opposed to eating a turkey sandwich brought from home at one's desk, and can embolden even the shiest of men.

Wendy's new corporate slogan: "it is way better than fast food" suggests that Wendy's is somehow different, and more unexpected in its flavor profile than the other major fast food brands. But the emphasis is not on improved health, but on flavor. As a company, it attempts a kind of quirky persona, which manifests itself in off-beat look of its advertisements and the rather discordant music in the background. The people in the advertisements are ordinary-looking individuals, not idealistically thin or attractive.

This is in contrast to some other campaigns deployed by fast food companies in the past, such as McDonald's, which have attempted to create an association between their product and healthy sporting events, like the Olympics. The indulgence of the burger, although it is obvious, is not stressed, nor is any of the consequences of eating the burger beyond the fact that it tastes better and even more decadent than generic fast food, presumably McDonald's.

Rather the fun of eating it, and the fact that eating a Baconater provides relief from the grind and mundane nature of the average stultifying office day is featured in the ad. The sandwich, especially in its new spicy incarnation, establishes a subliminal connection with happy, indulgent, manly meat, cheese, and pepper consumption and tries to lure the consumer, probably an office worker very much like the individuals profiled in the ad, to buy the sandwich.

The target audience is fairly clearly those of non-health conscious males, looking for a convenient lunch that provides something different -- but taste, rather than value is stressed (the price of the sandwich, which although not expensive compared to eating at a sit-down place, is higher than that of smaller burgers). Why would someone want to live in such a bacon-laden advertised world, one might ask? It has been observed that, to be effective, an advertisement must grab the viewer's attention.

To do so, it must make a quick and arresting appeal. The most appealing strategies are usually appeals to emotions, fear, love, pleasure, or vanity. For alimentary pleasures like food, drink, and cigarettes, quite often the most effective strategy is to stress the fun of using the product. According to the self-perception theory of fun advertising, a consumer would identify the behavior of eating the hamburger as being a person with a "fun loving" attitude.

The ad, it should be noted, strictly speaking, does not begin with the two men, but with a logo, the famous Wendy's girl with the upturned braids. Unremarkable, you might state.

However, "One way to help ensure viewers catch the brand is by using a logo...While viewers engaged in visual processing won't take the time to read a word, a logo allows them to process the brand without having to switch to verbal processing" In terms of the associations created by the text of the specifically 'Baconater' section of the advertisement, despite the indulgence of the burger, the slenderness of the men conspire to play down the health consequences of the spicy indulgence of the meal.

While it might seem to be in keeping with the spirit of the Baconater to show large men hungrily chowing down, this could inadvertently turn people away, even though it might draw their attention to the ad. In fact, the extremity of the burger, if anything, is played down, rather than 'up' in the structure of the ad -- the men do not mention that they are ingesting two hamburger patties, two slices of cheese, and two slices of bacon in one meal.

This may seem odd, given the monstrosity of the burger would seem to be part of its appeal. When asked if the advertisement would motivate them to purchase the Baconater, or the "Spicy Baconator," most friends and family members said that it did look like a 'heart attack on a bun.' However, some male friends did note that although they would not make it a regular order, they might consider ordering it 'once' just to see what it tasted like, for experience's sake.

And perhaps that is the real appeal of such monster-burgers -- people, even die-hard fast food consumers do not order them regularly, but the challenge of eating one occasionally lures many people in, which establishes.