The Thing You Want When You Order A Salad
Video Link
Script + Written Part Link
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eGn0xk36C17KYLkquf6VhpInJ8qBe3IAKziglz47niA/edit?usp=sharing
Breakdown
For my Leap 2 assignment, I decided to analyze the harmfulness of fast food restaurants advertising techniques. The first example I saw was a McDonald’s Ad Poster that showed three unrealistic images of three products that they sell. While that example was already taken by another classmate, I decided to find another example of propaganda from fast food companies advertising. In our day and age the battle of advertising between various fast food restaurants is more than likely the most prominent and relevant. They all use tactics to manipulate us to come and purchase food from their establishments. Whether it is testimonials from celebrities, bolstering their food images to make it look better, or trying to make you believe that their food is healthy enough to eat on a daily basis. All establishments use some form of manipulation to spark emotion in us that makes us want to go get a ‘Big Mac’ or a ‘Whopper”. The specific example that I analyzed for my project was a McDonald’s Ad Poster with a bolstered picture of a whopper that reads “The Thing You Want When You Order a Salad”. While I have probably come across thousands of advertisements such as this one in my lifetime, I had never realized how truly harmful and manipulative these advertisements were until I started doing this project. Especially with obesity being a huge problem in the United States, it really is surprising to me that advertisements supporting unhealthy eating are so prominent.
When developing ideas for my screencast video, I wanted to make sure that I was clearly showing the harmful effects that this specific advertisement had on American society. While also effectively showing how advertisements become propaganda in the first place. So I decided to start with a brief definition of propaganda in advertising according to our readings with historical examples that we have all most likely seen before. One of the concepts I grabbed was from Vance Packard’s “The Hidden Persuaders” which introduced the general public to the “systematic manipulation used by advertisers”. After laying the groundwork, I connected to contemporary examples of fast food advertising while ending with the specific example that I was analyzing. After breaking down why the ad was a piece of propaganda, I really wanted to successfully show why this ad was harmful to viewers. So I decided to do some research and found a study that connected obesity specifically to McDonald’s. Main points from this study really exemplified how McDonald’s advertisements can be tied to which items are being purchased. In this case it is all of the unhealthier options.
I think the main struggle I had while making this video was how to best tell the story of why this ad was manipulative while also including content from the course itself. I had an idea of which content I wanted to include but was not quite sure of how to do it most effectively. I found the best way to do it was to first introduce ideas from the course to get the viewer the necessary background information. Then we can analyze the example I chose to more effectively show why it was harmful and answer the essential question for the assignment.
References
Packard, Vance. The Hidden Persuaders. Penguin Books, 1968.
Saltman Quarterly·January 17, 2013·10 min read. “Fast Food and Obesity: A Study in a Local McDonald’s.” SQ Online, 12 Feb. 2014, https://sqonline.ucsd.edu/2013/01/fast-food-and-obesity/.
