For this assignment, choose one of the commercials from Super Bowl LV which can be found at 2021 Super Bowl Commercials. Drawing on the fifteen basic appeals Fowles discusses, analyze the commercial to describe what kinds of appeals it uses to convey its messages. The commercial you select must be at least thirty seconds in duration. NOTE: Over time, selected commercials may become inaccessible online due to copyright infringements.
Provide an opening paragraph that introduces the topic and the commercial. In one sentence at the end of your introduction, provide a thesis statement that gives the reader a specific sense of what overall conclusion(s) your paper will show. In this sentence, summarize the kinds of appeals you will suggest the commercial uses and how these provide the basis for the connections upon which the commercial conveys its message(s). Note that your thesis statement should be one clear, specific, and definitive sentence that states your overall argument about which of Fowles’ fifteen basic appeals your analysis will show the commercial you have chosen uses. Also, the argument in your thesis statement should be about the particular commercial you are analyzing, and not about advertising or television in general. As such, the thesis statement should name the commercial you are analyzing, even if you have already introduced the commercial in the introduction paragraph. In stating your thesis statement, you should also not use the words “I think,” “I believe,” or something similar. An opinion can be stated without including “I think” and it will still be an opinion. For example, “The stormy sky looks scary” is an opinion statement, yet it does not use “I think that….” Your thesis should be constructed in the same way.
In your second paragraph, describe the commercial in your own words. Provide a full description of what the commercial entails, including any significant parts of the commercial you will use in your analysis. Be sure your description names the product the commercial advertises.
In the remainder of your paper, use the specific details of the commercial to explain the overall message(s) of the commercial, the connections the commercial uses to convey its message(s), and which of the fifteen basic appeals from Fowles’ essay the commercial uses to make those connections. Note that you do not need to apply all fifteen appeals from Fowles’ essay, nor should you apply all fifteen. Rather, focus on two or three appeals and specifically demonstrate how the commercial you have chosen uses those appeals.
In the body paragraphs provide specific examples from the commercial you have chosen and clearly explain how these specific details illustrate your points. In other words, link your specific examples to the opinions expressed in their topic sentences. All examples and all topic sentences should link to the argument that appears in your thesis statement. Make sure you include enough commentary to make your reasoning clear. This assignment asks you to develop your own interpretations from what you see when you look at the commercial. You will be graded on the overall essay format and how well you express and support your ideas. If you use essays from the course texts, be sure to cite them appropriately. See Step 7 of the “General Instructions for Papers” in this lesson for directions on how to cite the essays properly.
Create a fitting, descriptive title for your paper. You can summarize the content to follow or you can devise a clever title connected to what the body of your paper discusses.
Be sure to have a clear conclusion.
