Fun in Your Favorite Snacks

Sydney N. Caplinger

Mr. Pell        

English 105

February 17, 2016

                                                     Fun in Your Favorite Snacks

              Hundreds of advertisements are plastered all over the media. This includes social media, television, magazines, and more. The goal of the companies putting these advertisements out are to sell their product(s) and make money. Companies are constantly in battle with one another to sell their product. They are consistently updating and improving their products, or so they say. The advertisements that the companies make and put out are to make sure that everyone is aware of how amazing their product is and why they should be buying it. Each company claims their products are the best of them all. I dissected two different ads with the same topic: Fun and happy. What is it that makes a product happy and fun? I read and dissected two advertisements to find out.  

               A Lunchables advertisement was the first one I chose, and it reads “Every box is bursting with fun.” In the ad, a little girl wearing a light blue shirt is sitting in a room that appears to be dull, dark, and gloomy. The girl is staring cheerfully at colorful items bursting out of the box. It appears as if light is coming from the explosion itself. The colorful items includes the packaged food, animals playing instruments, stars, fireworks, and more. The box in which the food is packaged is very colorful, including stars and curvy stripes. This advertisement is very colorful and it seems the purpose of it is to bring happiness or joy to whomever may be purchasing and consuming this product.

            I believe that this advertisement is entirely misleading. First, it is a vague claim. The advertisement uses words like “bursting” and “fun.” These words are meaningless to the ad because there are not items bursting from the box and there is not anything inside that makes it fun. Second, the words are white and bolded. I feel like they are both white and bold because they wanted to make sure it got attention because the pictures on the ad are so busy and colorful that it immediately draws the attention of the viewer away from the description. They added an assortment of colors and I believe this was done because they knew it would attract a younger crowd. Children generally pick out items that are popping with colors and pictures which is more than likely why they put so much color in this ad. The box that is seen in the store is light green with curvy stripes around it. The green color indicates that it is healthy and contains health food products. This is false advertisement because inside the box there is crackers with turkey and cheese, gummy worms, and a Capri Sun. This Lunchables, and all Lunchables, are in no way a nutritious meal for developing children. I feel like the happy little girl is placed there to make others think it will make them feel as happy and excited as she is. It could possibly anger people who do not get as happy when they open a Lunchables box. The little girl is wearing a dull, light blue shirt and it almost seems as if she is wearing that shirt to make the colors coming from the box pop out more. Though the little girl seems happy, I believe that this is a phony ad with a lot of false advertisement.

     The second advertisement I chose was for Pistachios, and it reads “Let yourself go snack-happy with The Wonderful Nut. This fun, unique, crunchy treat is both healthy and tasty. That alone is enough to make anyone smile. And the shell even looks like it is smiling right back at you.”  and ‘Wonderful Pistachios.” The background is black with an attractive male who appears to be cheerful and dancing. He is wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. At the bottom of the ad it also reads “The Skinny Nut, The Fit Nut, The Mindful Nut, The Colorful Nut, and The Happy Nut.

       After analyzing the advertisement, I believe that this is a “We’re different and unique claim.” What is it that makes the pistachio unique from other nuts? This nut does not differentiate much from the other types of nuts. They may look different, but they taste nearly the same. Is it different because it makes people “happy?” Or that it is so “fun?” Do people smile and dance around when they eat it? I do not think so. It may be crunchy, healthy, and tasty, but the characteristics of the food does not make it fun nor happy by any means. The next thing I want to talk about is the man on the advertisement. I feel like whoever designed this ad decided to put someone on there who is attractive and obviously fit because that will attract a lot of people to the ad. It may even cause people to look at the ad even longer. He looks happy, so does that mean it will make whoever eats the nuts happy and smiley? It even says in the ad that the nuts can make anyone smile and that the nut looks like it is smiling back at you. The nut is known as the happy nut and I feel like it is misleading because the nut itself is not happy. The nut will not make you happy. It is known as the wonderful nut. Who said that? Who named it the wonderful nut? The company named it the wonderful nut because they believe their nut is wonderful and best above all, not because all their buyers believe so. A few more words that are included are skinny, fit, mindful, colorful, and happy. Is the nut any of these? Whomever created this advertisement added these words to add personality and characteristics to the snack. They do this to make it seem relatable and likeable, which will make people buy it more often. The words are white, green, and bolded. The green indicates that it is healthy and the bold font is there because it is trying to get an important message across.  It is all an attempt to sell their food product.