Eclipse Gum Ad: Good vs. Evil Rhetoric Analysis

Introduction: The Eclipse Gum Advertisement

In an ad for Eclipse gum, a human-sized hot dog grips a weapon-sized stick with nails poking out of it. He looks at the audience with a petrified expression on his face, realizing there is no escape from the powerful Eclipse gum. In the foreground, a brightly lit poster nailed to a wooden telephone pole depicts an image of a pack of Solar Eclipse gum and reads, "When we find bad breath we kill it." A sub-heading on the poster states, "Lights out bad breath." Depicting bad breath as a giant hot dog standing in a dark, abandoned alley filled with trash emphasizes the connection between junk food and halitosis. The gum is presented as a powerful antidote to the evils of bad breath caused by junk food.

However, the advertisement is not a public service ad promoting healthy lifestyles; it is a pitch for chewing gum. Therefore, the central message of the ad is that Eclipse gum can conquer bad breath like a superhero vanquishes criminals. Because the advertisement relies on the universal moral dichotomy of good versus evil, the Eclipse gum ad is an effective means to pitch what would otherwise be ordinary chewing gum.

Composition and Lighting as Moral Dichotomy

One of the ways the advertisers create the dichotomy of good versus evil is through composition and lighting. The poster of the gum is placed in the foreground on a large telephone pole that literally eclipses all the other objects in the picture. The sheer size of the pole and the relative size of the poster indicate that the gum will ultimately triumph over bad breath. Furthermore, the poster occupies the upper-right of the composition while the hot dog stands in the lower left. Traditionally, objects closer to the ground seem metaphorically "lower" — and therefore more evil — than objects that float above the ground, just as heaven is thought to reside in the sky and hell beneath the earth. The placement of the two objects hints at a David and Goliath image: a piece of gum is much smaller than a hot dog, yet it can still conquer bad breath's effects.

The designers also employ lighting techniques to illustrate the central message of the advertisement and to heighten the tension between good and evil. The hot dog is lit just enough for the viewer to see the stunned and frightened expression on his face. However, the spotlight of the ad is clearly on the Eclipse gum poster. The hot dog's legs are mired in darkness, underscoring the connection between darkness and evil. The Eclipse gum poster's predominant colors are green and white — colors associated with lightness, brightness, and minty freshness — and the words "When we find bad breath we kill it" are printed in bright white. Thus, Eclipse gum is portrayed as the force of Light and Good, while the hot dog is depicted as an element of darkness, destruction, and evil.

The designers cleverly use lines and other elements of visual perspective to illustrate how good triumphs over evil. Throughout the ad, line placement draws the eye toward the advertiser's messages. The hot dog's stick points directly toward the poster, so the viewer's eye is directed toward the Eclipse gum imagery. The hot dog also stands upright, adding a vertical element that parallels the pole; as a result, the eye is naturally drawn upward toward the Eclipse ad. An upper-level balcony sits on a diagonal line pointing toward the poster as well, paralleling the section of the poster that reads, "Lights out bad breath."

Lines, Perspective, and Visual Direction

Although sexuality is usually employed to seduce consumers, in the Eclipse gum ad sex is portrayed in a more negative light, as a symbol of primal instinct. The hot dog is an inherently phallic food object, and he stands erect next to a similarly shaped telephone pole. Moreover, the phallic hot dog appears aggressive as he brandishes his stick in anger with a wild look on his face. He is shown as a savage and primitive creature following his basic animalistic instincts. The audience is therefore cued to identify with the hot dog in this way, since most human beings at least occasionally act on their basic animal instincts. Most American consumers already purchase junk foods such as hot dogs, and the advertisers want to alert consumers to the ameliorative effects of Eclipse gum by implying that it can counteract the detrimental effects of a poor diet.