Campbell's Soup Ad Analysis Essay

In usually circumstance advertisers release ads to influence the opinion of their target audience. In this essay, I will be deconstructing a commercial broadcast. Furthermore, educated inferences will be made in an attempt to create an insightful interpretation of the ad. Notwithstanding, some say a picture says one million words, within the Campbell's soup ad I have chosen, is a story that will be structurally analyzed, decoded and summarized. Within the picture is a young boy (around the age of 7). I will refer to this boy as Jimmy. Moreover, Jimmy is sitting outside criss-cross applesauce on a pile of flat gray rocks and appears to be on a high mountain, family to many in a foggy valley. Jimmy's body is aimed at the reader and his eyes

are staring off into the distance. His body position: right-hand resting on right leg, palm faced up, open hand, his left hand raised, held up at an angle near 90 degrees. In his left hand, a spoon from which, great blue star-like light is released, from his boyish chin hangs a long blond beard. Jimmy's eyes are the color of dark blue sapphires, on his back a long sleeve hoodie the color of blood, his pants burgundy. The sky is clear and beautifully lit with stars. Though there are many stars in the sky, none shine quite as bright as the light released from the spoon held in Jimmy's left hand, in fact, the stars in the sky shine dimly in comparison to the light Jimmy holds. In front of Jimmy is a short-legged brown table. On that short-legged table is a white bowl filled with soup and an unopened can of Campbell's soup, the soup can is labeled "Campbell's Chicken & Stars". In front of the short-legged brown table are small white rocks, a bold large red caption ("A universe in every bowl"), a small black decorative font ("The Wisest Kid in the Whole World"), the Campbell’s logo, and the Campbell's motto "M'm M'm M'm Good!".
The conclusion that this advertisement is targeting a young audience with an aspiration to increase Campbell’s soup sales can easily be made.

For instance, the wand-like imagery portrayed by the spoon in Jimmy’s left hand combined with the wizard-like beard and the “chicken & stars” concept together come to create a cartoonish presentation. Judging from the textual evidence (“The wisest kid in the world”) the assertion that the author uses strategies like bandwagon, and snob appeals to manipulate the subconscious minds of the viewers can be justified. To support that assertion previously mentioned, the phrase “The wisest kid in the world” in context with the picture that promotes Campbell’s soup conveys the idea that Jimmy is the wisest kid in the world and he eats Campbell’s soup. This is a prime example of manipulation, bandwagon, and ethos because the author of the ad is suggesting that the product will make you (the reader) like Jimmy (The wisest kid in the world). Transitioning into to my next claim, this ad is harmful to society because the product is poisoning to human health. Accordingly, the cans in which Campbell’s soup is contained leach BPA into food. BPA is known as cancer causing agent that kids like Jimmy are particularly susceptible to, this reveals the corruption of the

corporation.
The time in which this ad was composed is unknown, however judging from the quality of the picture and the magazine from which it came one can safely assume that it was released between 2015 and present day. The fact that it is a recent American ad means that it is up to date in what the norms are in today’s mass communication. This means the ad takes note of sensitive controversial topics. Moreover, the tone of the imagery is set to objective from my perspective however I project that the target audience may view the picture as magical and mysterious, this conclusion is based on the misty mountains in the distance and the wand like, tool in Jimmy’s left hand. Furthermore, the theme is set to space, this is easily visible because the large bold red caption at the bottom of the image says “A universe in every bowl” and the specific strain of Campbell’s soup being promoted is “Chicken & Stars”. Moreover, the fact that the light being released from the spoon Jimmy is holding is brighter than all of the stars in the sky supports the assertion, the author of the ad is claiming, there are no other products that compare with Campbell’s soup, as to further my interpretation of magicality within image, the author suggests that Campbell’s “Chicken & Stars” have the “magic ingredients”: a constellation.