Lunchables Advertisement Analysis

The Lunchables ad represents Lunchables as “bursting with fun” and implies that children will be happy and enjoy school if they have a Lunchables. Lunchables placed this ad in a magazine to target moms and children to get them to buy their product. They are trying to convey, like most advertisements do according to Croteau and Hoynes (2014), that “happiness and satisfaction can be purchased” (p. 179) if mothers buy their children Lunchables. Lunchables (Lunchables Parents) advertise as being “packed with what kids love” and “giving your kids what they want”. They include a hand tray with a main entrée, drink, and dessert. The brand delivers on the idea of fun and interactivity of building your own meal and “mixing up” your lunch. Lunchables

13). Both of these types of images are shown through this ad. The Lunchables ad is showing renditions of the world through the young kid in a school setting, however; the lunch box exploding with paint and animals is more abstract but it still accurately reflects how the kid feels when he opens a Lunchables. Bignell (2002) explains “the aim of ads is to engage us in their structure of meaning, to encourage us to participate by decoding their linguistic and visual signs and to enjoy this decoding activity” (p. 33). The Lunchables ad has many signs the viewer can decode. One important sign in the ad is the African American young boy sitting with a shocked and ecstatic look on his face. He signifies that he is happy and eager to eat a Lunchables. The food coming out of the Lunchables symbolizes the actual food someone would eat if they were to get the Turkey and Cheddar cracker snacks Lunchables. It relates to the Lunchables because it is a real representation of the inside of the box. The paint and paintbrushes symbolize creation and fun. They relate to the ad as a whole because they represent the creation of making your own lunch with a Lunchables, which is one of the reasons why the Lunchables are so successful. The paint and brushes also signify making a mess and that is something

Surken (2001) goes into detail about this by saying “the image's time frame and placement within an advertisement offers other clues” (p. 26). The placements of signs are important in interpretation of an ad. In this specific case, the table is up in the foreground and the Lunchables lunch box is positioned front and centered on it. Coming out of the Lunchables box in front of the child is all of the paint, food, and animals. Of the goodies coming out, the cheese, crackers, turkey, and gummy worms are more central. This is because these are the items that are found inside of a Lunchables lunch and the advertiser strategically placed them where the eye would catch them first. The paint and paintbrushes are behind the cheese, crackers, and turkey, and they are splattering everywhere, grabbing the attention of the child in the ad. If the paint were in front of the cheese, crackers, and turkey, it would be harder to see the items inside of the box. The meaning of the ad would remain the same but it would be harder to see the food the Lunchables is advertising. The child is behind the Lunchables so the viewer can see the kids expressive face. He is sitting in a chair behind the table and in front of the water fountain, if he were to be moved the meaning of the ad would change. In the case that the child is placed in front of