Who Are We?

Who Are We? (Rhetorical Analysis of a Commercial)

Your task in this experience is to engage in a process of observation, analysis, and synthesis in an effort to uncover what a single commercial says about American culture.

AUDIENCE

Your audience is interested in looking deeper into our experiences of the world and being shown something they didn’t initially recognize.

They have seen the commercial at least once but don’t have it memorized or anything like that.

PROCESS

1. Choose a commercial.

I’m showing my age by calling them television commercials, since they’re now viewable anywhere videos are available. A thirty-second ad is best. It gives you enough material to work with, without being overwhelmed.

2. Process the text.

You should employ my not-yet-patented ROAS (react, observe, analyze, synthesize) method, which is also discussed in the “What’s So Funny?” experience.

React: Watch the commercial. How do you respond? Is it persuasive? Do you have an emotional response to the surface text about what they’re trying to sell you? What are you reacting to?

Observe: Look more closely and make specific observations. Most commercials have a narrative element in which they’re telling a kind of story. What’s the story of your commercial? What sorts of scenes and images are shown? Who is in the ad? What do the people in the ad look like? How would you describe them in terms of demographics (age, gender, race, etc.) and personality?

You’re looking for enough material to ultimately do your analysis and synthesis, which will take the form of an argument about the subtext of the ad.

Analyze: Put these observations together in order to answer some questions. Who is the ad targeting? Why? How do you know? What is important or valuable in the world of the ad? (The “Stan” ad values a generic kind of partying fun.) What would be viewed as good and bad in the world of the ad?

Synthesize: This is what will happen as you draft. You should feel like you have a bunch of raw material, but you might not be sure how it all fits together. That’s good. Think of your synthesis like you’re

building a house and your observations and analysis are the building materials.

The only wrinkle is that you’re building the house without a full blueprint. If you’re an outliner, you might want to do some of that work here.

3. Write a discovery draft.

Using the raw material, write your synthesis, which uncovers the ad’s subtext for the benefit of the audience. While you’re writing, you should be engaging in audience analysis, asking yourself what questions they will have and then answering them at the appropriate moments.

It makes sense to start the piece with a description of the ad that helps increase the audience’s familiarity with the text. After that, what do you think you should tell them to help them appreciate your message?