Visual Rhetoric

Kyle Christie

English 103

James Butts

January 31, 2011

Visual Rhetoric Assignment

Advertisements throughout the years have been an enormous point of spending for companies and corporations but at the same time have been an even bigger source of revenue.  Millions of dollars are spent on advertisements to increase sales of different product. The companies that come up with the wittiest and most touching commercials are the ones who are able to capitalize on their investments the most effectively. Commercials use the different elements of rhetoric in order to captivate potential consumers and market their products.

            Milwaukee’s Best is no exception when it comes to creative and expensive advertising being used to market a product. This beer company out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin created a set of advertisements that use the slogan, “Men should act like men. And light beer should taste like beer” in order to present their Milwaukee’s Best Light.

            One of the commercials in this series is a commercial in which there are two guys leaning on a truck outside of a convenience store and a friend of theirs comes out with some fruity alcoholic drinks. Next a giant Milwaukee’s Best Light beer can falls on him and the viewers hear the slogan.

            Upon viewing this commercial, one immediately recognizes the humor involved in the advertisement. This is due to the fact that the main element of the commercial is the humorous appeal that it has. Milwaukee’s Best is attempting to win their audience over by making the audience laugh using a stereotype in a humorous way. Humor is a very powerful motivator when it comes to how an advertisement can bring in more customers.

            One of the other elements that the commercial appeals to is the viewer’s sense that Milwaukee’s Best is a superior beer. By saying that “light beer should taste like beer,” the advertisement is basically saying that all other brewers make a form of light beer that doesn’t taste like light beer. The readers process this comment in their brains and think that if Milwaukee’s Best is so bold as to make a claim that other beer companies make inferior light beer, then they must know what they’re talking about and clearly must have a superior product. These comments project the image that Milwaukee’s Best is a bold and leading brewing company and that alone can persuade new consumers to try their product.

            Another small detail of the commercial that makes a huge impact upon the viewer is the voice of the man who states the slogan: “Men should act like men. And light beer should taste like beer.” This is stated in a voice that is profound, deep, and powerful. This instills in the viewer that Milwaukee’s Best is powerful. This voice sounds commanding, and when the viewer hears the slogan in this voice, the meaning resonates with him or her. In turn this helps to lure more people into purchasing Milwaukee’s Best Light.

            Another important visually rhetorical aspect of the advertisement is the giant beer can that crushes the actor who is holding the fruity alcoholic beverages suggesting that he wants to change up his routine. This can be interpreted in many different ways, but the main way that it appears to viewers is that Milwaukee’s Best trumps any and all other brands. Milwaukee’s Best is trying to portray itself as a juggernaut in the beer brewing industry and by enlarging the beer can and having it fall directly on the guy who chooses against Milwaukee’s Best, the company accomplishes this goal. The Brewery sends across the message that nothing and no one can stand in its way as it reigns supreme in the alcoholic beverage industry.

            Another not so obvious way that the giant beer can be interpreted by the viewers who see this commercial is that a threat to all other companies. While it may not be the biggest and richest beer company, it has the best light beer and is ready to take over as a leader in the industry. These aren’t the only ways that different viewers could conceive the giant beer can, but no matter how the individuals view this aspect of the commercial, it is still a powerful visual device that adds critical meaning to the commercial and campaign of Milwaukee’s Best.

            This commercial is available so that anyone can view it but it is designed to target a specific demographic. This demographic can be labeled as “manly men.” Nearly all men want to be classified as “manly men” so by using brawny and tough looking men in the commercial and having them lean against a tough-looking truck that has big tires on it, the advertisement portrays Milwaukee’s Best as the beverage choice of tough, manly men. This appeals to this demographic and greatly increases the chances that these men are going to go out and buy some Milwaukee’s Best Light.