Rhetorical Analysis – Minute Maid Commercial

Our class was given the opportunity to select any form of advertised media, and analyze the author’s use of rhetorical devices.  When the choice of media was completely in our hands, I immediately thought of a commercial I saw on TV that had stuck in my head for weeks after I had seen it.  To begin the project, I had watched the video once and tried to interpret everything I could from that one view, trying to take the point of view of most first time viewers.  I also then watched the video many times after to catch the details that the directors and producers had to throw together to make such a long lasting and effective commercial.  It was crucial for me to portray the background information as well as parts of the script of the commercial in order for the audience of my paper to understand what I was talking about even if they had not seen the commercial themselves. I feel as though it was somewhat of a challenge to appropriately incorporate the dialogue into the writing without flooding the paper with quotes while also making sure there was enough, but I feel as though I balanced this successfully.

I had felt enjoyment and excitement throughout the entire process while writing this paper to an immensely broad audience of those who may have come across this commercial on TV, or still might in the near future.  The commercial had effectively put a glistening smile on my face, and I had hoped that audience members would develop an interest to view this commercial in hopes to brighten up their day.  Such a simple commercial that lasts no longer then a half-minute had long lasting effects on me personally and hopefully now many more viewers.

A quality commercial is one that catches the audience’s attention, makes them think about the product being discussed, as well as remaining an easily obtainable and vividly recollected picture for the audience member minutes to hours after the presentation.  One commercial in particular goes above and beyond these features necessary in making a commercial one of quality, and uses: music, colors, diction, and the replay effect to make their commercial stick like putty in the viewers mind.  I recently saw a commercial for Minute Maid fruit juice and couldn’t stop replaying the video in my head.  Many features mashed into a quick half-minute commercial make such a simple escalator ride into an unforgettable and exciting experience; as well as expressing the effects of the juice on one’s mind by an emotion no person enjoys, embarrassment.  In using rhetorical devices this commercial is certainly one of tremendous quality and possesses the necessary features in making a commercial one to be remembered.

Such a simple experience as riding down an escalator has been used by Minute Maid to promote their newest product.  The commercial is one that keeps its viewers smiling, laughing, and sometimes even has them reenacting the dialogue after being viewed.  As the ad begins the video displays a young female who taps the shoulder of the male figure in front of her on the escalator.  She approaches him mid sentence saying, “excuse me, I think you’re the father of one of my kids.”  This statement is one that can obviously be interpreted in multiple ways.  The male figure who this statement was directed towards turns his attention to the woman, pauses a moment and replies by saying, “no… oh! Cancun… Spring break… ’99;” leading the viewer to believe that the two strangers had mistakenly conceived a child during their spring break trip years ago.  The dialog is finished out as the lady taken aback replies, “no,” as she appears confused and mildly disgusted.  The narrator of the commercial quickly interrupts by yelling, “OOPS! Looks like someone forgot to boost.”  This interruption shows that the way the man had interpreted the statement that he may be the father of one of her kids was opposite of what she intended and led to an awkward, embarrassing moment on the escalator.  The narrators statement also portrays the purpose of the juice which is to boost your brain, showing that this embarrassing situation could have been easily avoided had the man drank Minute Maid’s new fruit juice.  The audience’s common reactions to this commercial are due in large part to the pathos or emotional effects the commercial has on its viewers.  The surface features such as bright colors, flashes of ripened fruit blends, and the smooth juice itself certainly help in causing certain effects on its viewers such as a sudden craving for the product as well as a desire to enhance their brain, but another feature that has an immense significance in this clip is the music.  The music may have been limited to the last three seconds of this thirty second video, however it shows the uplifting effects of the juice as well as adds an overall feeling of pleasure to the video.  Due to the video ending with the singing voice raising and then cutting out, that uplifting voice is easily remembered and compared to the juice itself and gives a positive quality to Minute Maid fruit juice.  The commercial itself relies on the humorous script to catch the viewer’s attention, and certainly it succeeds in doing so.  The overall emotions of the viewer during and after the video remain positive, happy, and overall pleased with the product being advertised.

Minute maid has made a name for itself over the past few years as one of the world’s most superior juice suppliers.  This commercial does not need to express how many people chose Minute Maid over Welch’s to prove the quality of the company.  This is why Minute Maid’s reliability is proven as the commercial replays itself displaying the same scene under the same conditions other than the man is shown enjoying a taste of the new Minute Maid enhanced fruit juice before being approached by the woman.  This time, since his brain has been boosted by the fruit juice blend the man’s response to the same proposed statement is now, “oh, my daughters in your art class. Sister Mary Catherine.”  The man’s correct response to the statement can be interpreted as a direct result of drinking the new fruit blend.  The general idea of credibility of the juice is also interpreted as the label of the company is displayed four times within the thirty seconds.  Most viewers are expected to already know what Minute Maid is and can then see what effects their new brand of juice has on people brains.  Though the ethos of this commercial is not directly stated and must be assumed or interpreted, it is still evident and sufficient enough that it does not need to be overly supported by facts or statistics to get the point across to the viewers.

Another rhetorical device used in the overall appearance and activities in the video is logos.  The new claim that Minute Maid is making about their new fruit juice is that it “boosts” the brain of anyone who consumes this product.  The logic of this commercial is one that was evidently well thought out and predetermined to be more appealing to the viewer then factual.  The bottle of fruit juice is flashed upon the screen twice in full view, but is displayed too rapidly each time to make it evident to the viewer that it states, “Omega-3/DHA,” “Help nourish your brain,” and “5 nutrients to support brain and body.”  These three statements make up a large part of the label on the new fruit juice bottles, as well as a claim that this new juice is, “enhanced juice.” However, the creators of the commercial knew that the video needed to be more appealing to the viewers and less scientific. By simply stating that a fruit juice will support your brain due to its enhanced ingredients will not necessarily have a large effect on the viewer, which is why humor was the main focal point in the ad and is logistically expressed and well portrayed throughout the video.  Minute Maid realized that the typical American, be it a teenager or adult, gets pleasure out of other people’s embarrassment, so it was incorporated into the script that the juice will prevent you from complete embarrassment by enhancing your brain activity.  Though logically the juice may not have helped the man in this particular situation, it can still be trusted that these ingredients do have positive effects in “boosting” your brain and body due to the claim being made by such a trusted company, Minute Maid.

After this brand new commercial was released to the public in 2009, Minute Maid had made an even bigger name for itself then it had in previous years.  Though Minute Maid had previously been portrayed as a reliable and well known company, this commercial did nothing but add to the extensive credibility Minute Maid had developed years before and tacked on humorous, funny and enjoyable to their name as well.  Using rhetorical devices and focusing on the audience’s interests, Minute Maid can now credited as makers of a quality commercial.  This commercial is certainly one that sticks in the viewers mind and is capable of flipping a grin in just thirty seconds.  Pathos, ethos and logos were clearly displayed throughout the commercial and added to the quality of the ad itself.  Minute Maid did an excellent job in going above and beyond the features necessary in making a commercial one of quality, and released a commercial that will certainly be remembered by any and everyone that has the opportunity to view this thirty second masterpiece.