Planters Peanut Ad

1. Planters Peanut Ad J Riddell

2. Appeals to ethos The ad appeals to ethos by featuring the well known Planters Peanut brand icon, Mr. Peanut. By placing him in the ad as well as the image of the jar of peanuts showing the Planters brand name, the ad appeals to the viewer through the Planters Peanut name and advertisement icon.

3. Appeals to logos The advertisement appeals to logos by stating “less calories”. Healthy snacks that are satisfying yet low in calories have been a big deal for quite some time. This appeal will attract an audience largely comprised of women who are trying to keep a slimmer figure, individuals trying to eat healthier, or individuals trying to lose weight.

4. Appeals to pathos The advertisement appeals to pathos most heavily of the three rhetoric appeals. The main phrase “first new taste in peanuts since you were a kid!” appeals emotionally through the happiness and worry-free age time stereotypically applied to children. It plays on this stereotype by making it seem to the viewer that the dry roasted peanuts will bring back the simple care-free joy in life that children have.

5. Appeals to pathos A second appeal to pathos is seen in the smaller text that states “more fun”. This appeals to pathos through the word “fun”. This phrase makes it seem as if the new dry roasted peanuts are more fun all around than any other peanut on the market.

6. Why pink? The advertisement is all in shades of pink because it plays on the pathos appeal to childhood. The pastel color is light and fun, which is part of the stereotype of childhood, and is also a color/shade associated with children (pastel pink being specifically to girls, which makes sense as the child pictured in the ad is a girl).

7. Why are the words “new” and “kid” underlined? The words “new” and “kid” are underlined to draw attention to the same central point, that the Planters dry roasted peanuts are a new, exciting snack product.. “New” is underlined to emphasize that the dry roasted peanuts are something different and new.; that nobody has tasted something quite like the roasted nuts before. “Kid” is underlined to make the viewer realize that the world of snack nuts hasn’t been shaken up with a new flavor or method in at least fifteen years.

8. Planters Peanut Ad This is a Planters brand ad for their dry roasted peanuts. The ad was originally published in 1962 in a magazine, and was used to promote their newest product at the time: dry roasted peanuts. Planters wanted to encourage both their new product and healthful snacking (as can be seen through the “less calories”)

9. Is the ad visually balanced? The ad is not balanced. The text in the top left corner draws attention to itself due to its large nature and dark print, and draws attention away from the actual picture of the product in the bottom right corner. Overall, the product is rather top heavy with both the text and the child on top of the peanut jar. The combination draws attention away from the details of the actual product on the bottom half.

10. What if the words were removed? Without the text, the ad would be irrelevant. All the viewer would see would be Mr. Peanut, a jar of peanuts, and a child dancing on top of the peanuts with giant peanuts orbiting around her head like moons around a planet.

11. Is the ad still effective? If this ad were to be republished to advertise Planters dry roasted peanuts, it would not be effective any more. The add is from fifty years ago and dry roasted peanuts are no longer a new and exciting adventure into a world of snacking extravagance. If republished, this ad would not stand out or draw attention to the Planters product or draw in any sort of crowd to buy these peanuts based on the ad alone.

12. Citation Planters Peanuts. Advertisement. Bamboo Trading: Vintage Period Paper. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. <http://www.bambootrading.com/proddetail.asp?prod=L307>.