A Snickers Advertisement Analysis

A Snickers Advertisement: How It Affects Viewers A man is shown upside down; viewers instantly notice his bright blue eyes, pink lips, dark brown hair, and perfectly white teeth. However, when viewers turn their heads to the side to get a better reading of the upside-down lettering above his chin, which states, “You’re not you when you’re hungry” (Snickers), they can see that the reality of the happy smile is quite creepy. The man’s supposed smile is actually a deep frown, and his teeth appear awkward and large coming out of his bottom lip. The message is clear: you simply are not you when you’re hungry. What viewers are unaware of is the propaganda they are being subjected to while viewing this ad. In this advertisement, advertisers are primarily targeting people’s “physiological need” for food in order to

Fowles uses McDonald’s as an example – “‘you deserve a break today’”. This appeals to humans’ “desire to duck out of [their] social obligations” (Fowles 84), and in this case, that means taking a break to soothe annoying and aching hunger pains so one can feel okay again. There are other advertisements that use this approach, such as Kit Kat’s “Have a break, have a KitKat” (KitKat). Advertisers often use this tactic in commercials and print ads because society is constantly on the move. One may be working, exercising, dropping the kids off at school, etc., but regardless, society is seen as constantly doing something. These advertisements use the plain folks appeal in order to relate to every possible viewer. They are attempting to serve as a reminder that you, the hardworking busybody, need a break as well – and you can do this with the help of McDonalds, KitKat, or Snickers. While Snickers is not telling people directly to take a break, the ad suggests that one needs to fix their predicament as soon as possible in order to feel at