Diana Cruz, Dana Fischetti, Ryan Sylvester, Aaron Tejada

COM 275-80

Professor Victoria Reid

9 May 2017

Final Team Paper

Super Bowls Super Advertisements

The Super Bowl is an American tradition that can be a very personal aspect to the lives of

millions. Although it focuses on the intensity of the football game, what many people do not notice is

how impactful commercialized advertisements can actually be during these moments. All

advertisements serve one purpose: to persuade the viewer to conform to a specific desired action or

mindset.. By becoming aware of how exactly this is executed, viewers may be able to identify the true

intentions of the company and if it is really in ones best interest to conform. Because the Super Bowl

has such a large viewing audience, various companies within the advertising industry benefit as they

are given the opportunity to target billions of consumers while simultaneously conforming them to be

loyal and attentive customers through the means of effective persuasive principles and techniques. By

researching the theories of Gass and Seiter in Persuasion, Social Influence, and Compliance Gaining,

as well as a number of other online credible journals and articles, we were able to identify and examine

how effective advertisements were at persuading their audience. To do so, we will first describe the

2017 KIA Car commercial starring Melissa McCarthy and how it is an effective example of persuasion

in super bowl advertising. We will then examine the effectiveness of the 2017 Honda CR-V

commercial along with its motivational appeal and how it emphatically affects ones view and

connection to specific brands.Third, we will discuss the persuasive tactics of the 2016 NO MORE
public service announcement commercial. Finally, we will evaluate Romance, a Skittles commercial

that accentuated its humorous appeals as well as their credibility to persuade its audience.

Because the Super Bowl has such a large viewing audience, various companies within the

advertising industry benefit as they are given the opportunity to target billions of consumers while

simultaneously conforming them to be loyal and attentive customers through the means of effective

persuasive principles and techniques. . The 2017 KIA car commercial starring Melissa McCarthy uses

humor and emotional ties through the attachment theory as well as the meaning transfer theory to

persuade viewers to take initiative- in this case, to be an active member in helping our ecosystem. The

commercial begins with actress, Melissa McCarthy driving down the road in a KIA vehicle and getting

a call over the Bluetooth car phone. A male's voice says The whales need your help to which she

replies, I love whales! The next scene is McCarthy riding out into the ocean in a small boat when

suddenly a beluga whale comes out of the water and slams down on her boat, sending her into the side

of the ocean tanker she road out on. Again, driving down the road she gets another call to save the

trees. The next scene shows her just finishing putting up a save the trees banner when a man cuts

down the tree she is in with a chainsaw. The tree falls over a cliff and then cuts her back into the car

getting another call to help save the ice caps. After yet again getting screwed by nature, she takes one

last ride in the car and doesnt answer the next call that comes into the car.

We all know that super bowl commercials are notoriously funny and who better to depict a

funny attitude then comedic genius award winner Melissa McCarthy. We have ties to her and the

products she represents due to her great likeability. This concept plays into the attachment theory. This

theory states that people develop emotional ties and connections to specific brands. Products like Kia

and other car companies appeal to certain people who may have grown up with cars like that or have

had a certain positive experience with the company. Emotional ties become a vital aspect of any
companies selling point because as they ultimately want their customers to be satisfied with their

products. The entire premise of the commercial is to show how far this KIA can go while still being

concerned for the environment, an issue that many feel very passionately about. The last theory

demonstrated within this commercial is the meaning transfer perspective which states that the feel and

attitude of the celebrity in any advertisement is projected onto the brand. Demonstrating the meaning

transfer theory is useful in commercials for companies that want to be viewed as approachable. Because

of Melissa McCarthys relativity and approachability, we view the brand to be as equally likable.

Much like the persuasive appeals used in the KIA advertisement, Honda includes similar

principles in their The Power of Dreams campaign to motivate the audience to have faith in their

futures. The 2017 Honda CR-V Super Bowl commercial brings the audience back in time to see the

yearbook shots of many of todays celebrities including the high school photos of Tina Fey, Robert

Redford, Amy Adams, Magic Johnson, Steve Carell, Missy Elliot, Stan Lee, Jimmy Kimmel, and Viola

Davis. Each of the animated photos come to life as the celebrities voiceover and speak about how

important it is to follow your dreams because you never know what greatness you may accomplish. The

commercial begins with the high school photo of actress and comedian, Tina Fey, who starts off the

motivational spiel when she proclaims that when you start out, you may not know where youre going,

what youre doing, or why youre carrying this red rose with you. In many instances, it is popular for

women to display red roses with them in their yearbook photos, which is why Tina humorously

includes this in her quote. As each celebrity has their chance to speak, the audience is compelled to feel

inspired and determined to be confident in their life choices.

This specific Honda advertisement demonstrates the necessity for motivation through their The

Power of Dreams campaign. They stress that faith is a must if one wants to accomplish their goals and

become great. This motivational appeal is executed humorously; the celebrities are shown in their
awkward high school phase as their dressed in older clothes with funky hairstyles. By using real,

embarrassing photos, they are demonstrating that anybody can become successful; you shouldnt doubt

yourself or those around you. The use of humor appeals allows Honda to seem more natural, genuine,

and spontaneous (Gass & Seiter, 2016, p.294). This appeals to viewers and persuades them to have a

more authentic connection with the brand, thus creating a positive image for Honda. This connection is

also formed through what is known as the attachment theory. Consumers develop emotional ties to

brands through experience and their exposure to the brands image. Since Honda is demonstrating how

much they value the lives of their customers, the viewers feel wanted, thus developing a stronger

connection to Hondas company. In comparison to advertisements for Honda thirty years ago, this 2017

commercial is much more consumer centered. Advertisements before focused mainly on selling the

product, the features of it and simply making a profit from it. However, today companies are concerned

with their image which is why they take public relations so seriously. They want to get good reviews

and have brand loyal customers. Essentially, the more modern commercials typically sell the benefits of

the product - how you will feel from buying it and what it can do to your personal life rather than

focusing on the product itself.

Overall, this Honda super bowl commercial effectively persuades audiences to become

motivated and determined within their everyday lives due to the fact that they may now feel

emotionally connected to Honda. Because this specific commercial emphasizes self reflection, it creates

more of an attachment as this brand allowed the viewer to reevaluate how to have faith in themselves.

According to Chris Bartone's Journal of Marketing, a brand that comes close to consumer's ideal self

can help consumers compensate their low self-esteem and get closer to their ideal self (i.e., to self-

enhance), increasing their emotional attachment toward the brand (archive.ama.org, 2011). Brands

who make it evident that they care about their consumers are more likely to conform them into
becoming loyal, much like Honda has accomplished with their The Power of Dreams super bowl

campaign.

In addition to using humor and celebrity endorsements to capture and engage viewers, many

advertisements include fear appeals to captivate and evoke audiences. The 2016 NOMORE PSA

advertisement is a one minute commercial that shows great persuasive tactics through its simplicity.

The video displays a telephone conversation between a frightened woman and a policeman with clips

of the interior of a hostile home. The commercial begins with an incoming phone call and a policeman

answering with a question of emergency. The women starts to order a pizza to mask the fact that

someone is in the room and she is in need of help. The visuals ultimately uncover an underlying story.

Starting with a nice portrait above a fireplace, to a living room with candles, books and couch pillows

on the ground to an overfilled sink full of dirty dishes, and the faucet lightly dripping to a messy

bedroom, with pillows hanging off the bed, and the bed sheets loosely unorganized. We are then

exposed to a punched mark on the wall and portraits of children photos above the staircase; quickly

transitioning to a portrait, smashed on the ground next to a trashcan. The story abruptly ends, as the

women hangs up after she gives out her information to the policeman only using a pizza order and her

address. It ends off with a Call To Action, leaving a saying of how we can help and a website,

NoMore.org.

By demonstrating fear appeals in this campaign, the viewers are more compelled to feel

frightened and worried, thus causing them to feel more concerned with the issue itself. Because we all

have important people in our lives whether itd be our parents, siblings or friends, we do not want our

loved ones to undergo a situation similar to the one displayed. By using the phone call and ordering

pizza to mask the abuse that was happening in the advertisement, the viewers would get a sense of how

terrifying it can be on victims, thus relating to the safety all of the important people in our lives.
Hearing the womans voice, could trigger a fear appeal of a loved one. Unknowingly having a loved

one who is in this situation would fill the viewers emotion with fear. Studies show that the more fear

that is aroused, the more vulnerable viewers feel and the more likely they will be persuaded (Boster &

Mongeau, 2016, p. 287). Another tactic demonstrated is perceived vulnerability, a principle from the

Extended Parallel Process Model. Viewers, who have already suffered domestic violence, will see this

advertisement and can trigger a vision of what may happen in the future. No one wants to be in this

position, especially those who have already experienced it. In addition, we are also exposed to the

technique of forewarning. Research indicates that forewarning an audience of a persuasive message can

be an effective way of making the audience resistant to that message (Bacon & Gore, 2016, p. 208).

This commercial warns the audience of what domestic violence looks like. Persuading their audience to

that, Its up to us to listen.

Unlike the NOMORE public service announcement commercial, using humor and nostalgic

references can capture and persuade an audiences attention. The Romantic commercial by Skittles

demonstrates humorous appeals by featuring a boy throwing skittles at a girls window to get her

attention. The shot switches to the girl in her room catching the skittles in her mouth. Then eventually

she moves over and lets her mom catch one, then her dad, and eventually the entire family and the

neighborhood as well. This creates a nostalgic feeling for the audience. It features a classic romantic

gesture but also involves family and a twist of a humorous appeal. A recent meta-analysis of humor in

advertising revealed that humor was highly effective in increasing attention and positive feelings

toward a brand. (Eisend, 2009). Skittles is a candy company which gives it plenty of room to add a

laugh. Even if an audience member didn't like the taste of skittles, all that matters is that they have a

positive perception of the company. This increases the odds of them recommending the company to
friends in the future. In the textbook it states that humor inhibits counterarguing. The humor throws off

any objections you might have about a certain brand or company.

In conclusion, Super Bowls have been very persuasive to their audience throughout the years.

By using specific persuasive theories and tactics, companies and brands are able to capture the attention

of viewers and appeal to their emotional senses. Because the Super Bowl has such a large viewing

audience, various companies within the advertising industry benefit as they are given the opportunity to

target billions of consumers while simultaneously conforming them to be loyal and attentive customers

through the means of these effective persuasive principles and techniques. By exploring and evaluating

the commercials previously discussed, we were able to pinpoint how exactly audiences are persuaded to

conform. We first examined Melissa McCarthys reputation and presence in KIAs commercial

effectively and how this was used to persuade viewers to conform to their desired outcome, due to the

attachment many people have to her and her career. Much like KIA, Hondas motivational

advertisement embodies so many well-known and admired celebrities, that also effectively creates the

urge for viewers to follow the given advice. We then evaluated fear appeals such as those displayed in

the NOMORE PSA commercial as it uses a roller coaster of emotions, creating visuals and audio for

the audience to be effectively impacted. Lastly, we also assessed how Skittles creates a positive image

for itself by using the humorous appeal to create a sense of humor, love, and camaraderie. The Super

Bowl is an intelligent source of gaining brand recognition as it is the home of the hearts of millions of

American viewers. The advertisements promoted during this major event not only captures the attention

of new audiences, but simultaneously allows for previous viewers to gain a new insight on the

companies they have always known. By including likeable celebrities and humorous scripts, brands are

able to reach audiences and ultimately get them to develop customer loyalty.
 References

Bartone, C. (2011, July). Emotional Brand Attachment and Brand Personality: The Relative

Importance of the Actual and the Ideal Self. Retrieved from

<https://archive.ama.org/Archive/AboutAMA/Pages/AMA%20Publications/AMA%20Journals/

Journal%20of%20Marketing/TOCs/SUM_2011.4/emotional_brand_personality.aspx>

Gass, R. H., & Seiter, J. S. (2016). Persuasion, Social Influence, and Compliance Gaining.

London: Routledge.

Kia. (2017). KMA - Kia Motors America - Who We Are. Web.

"Warmth in Advertising: Measurement, Impact, and Sequence Effects." Journal of Consumer

Research 12.4 (1986): 365. Web.