Advertising Analysis

10/9/14

The advertisement, "Silver Dollar" has a grandfather telling the story of a silver dollar that has been passed down in his family for many generations. He is about to pass it on to the next person in line, but he sees a taco bell and decides it is better to spend it there. "Get with the times" has a man that is "stuck in the 80s". He still possesses all his old clothes, memorabilia and eats at McDonald's for breakfast. He sees Taco Bell's new breakfast menu on TV and decides to modernize his life and get a wardrobe makeover and switch to the Taco Bell breakfast. Of the two Taco Bell advertisements, "Get with the Times" is more effective, because it has a clearer purpose, a more specific audience, and better uses the rhetorical strategy of pathos to generate feelings of emotions and humor.

Any fast food chain's main goal is to outsell their competitors and earn a large profit, but the purposes of these two advertisements are completely different.

Taco Bell Grande's Logo

English: Original design for Taco Bell restaurants...

English: Taco Bell crunchy shell beef tacos

In the "Silver Dollar" advertisement, the elderly man has the opportunity to pass on a family heirloom to the next successor. Instead of doing this, he spends it on Taco Bell. They are telling you that their food is superior and worthy of such actions. In turn, people will feel as if they can spend any amount at Taco Bell and it will be worth it. The 80s commercial is specifically selling Taco Bell's new breakfast menu. McDonald's has controlled a vast majority of the fast food breakfast market. Getting a piece of the market could be very difficult, but Taco Bell goes after their biggest competitor with a very bold statement. They are saying that McDonald's breakfast is bland, boring, and out of style.