Download Final Draft- Rhetorical Analysis

BryAnne Fish
Mrs. Weaver
Rhetoric I
17, November 2014
In today’s society commercials and advertisements are a part of many of our daily lives.
But what are the purposes of the commercials? What is the rhetor(s) trying to accomplish? What
are the rhetorical constraints or exigence? How does the text affect the audience? So why has
Taco Bell created this new app and why are they advertising this app to the public?
To start off with what are rhetors? According to google a rhetor is an ancient Greece
teacher or an orator. Today when I hear the word rhetor I think of the author, the people in the
commercial, or even the producers of the commercials. In the Taco Bell advertisement
“Welcome to a New Way to Taco Bell” there are several rhetors including the company Taco
Bell, the actors in the advertisement, and the producers of the commercial such as a director.
What were these rhetors trying to accomplish though? The commercial’s main purpose was to
inform America that Taco Bell had a new and improved way to place orders and pick up food.
So the rhetors were advertising their new product to try to increase sales and profit. By creating
this app and broadcasting it on television they have reached out to today’s generation that
revolved around smart phones, such as Android or IPhone, and people who are constantly on the
go. This app makes it to where customers can download this free app, order their food how they
want it, and go pick it up without having to wait for the food to be made or having to stand in
line to order. Some may ask if this was a good advancement in today’s society. In my opinion it
is considered a decent advancement. It is definitely not bad because it is not hurting anything or
anyone. This will make the lobby of Taco Bell less busy due to the line being shorter allowing
the flow of traffic in the store to flow go down. However, this could hurt Taco Bell in the
financial department. If they spent thousands of dollars creating the advertisement, getting the
advertisement aired, and creating the app and they don’t get the expected growth that they are
hoping for, then they could go in the hole. However, after doing some research I found that there
has been a rise in profits.
Now you may be thinking what rhetorical constraints and what exigence is. Rhetorical
constraints are the things that restrict the rhetors from reaching the audience or getting the
appropriate message across, and an exigence is the reason behind what has been written. To fully
understand the exigence of text it is best to have some background information on what is
happening in the world, what is trending, and some history of whatever the text is talking about.
The rhetorical constraints for the new Taco Bell commercial are few, however, there were some
things that could have been added or that could have helped to clarify the app. During the
commercial the main actor walks into Taco Bell, skips the line, and receives his food. They do
not explain if there is a separate line for people who have ordered on the app or if they just walk
around everyone to the front of the line to pick up their food. Another issue is that during the
advertisement it never mentions anything about paying for the food. Is there a way that people
can pay through the app by putting in their credit card information or do you still have to pay at
the register? Why would Taco Bell create this advertisement and why would they create an app?
As I mentioned before this is considered the exigence. The most sensible reason behind creating
this advertisement would be to show off their new way to get Taco Bell. By advertising this app
millions of people across this world has seen the new way to order Taco Bell and more than
likely went on their app store to download the app. The app was probably created due to the vast
majority of the population having smart phones and because so many people are on the go. It was
also probably created for today’s youth such as college students, high school students, people
who love Taco Bell, and people who are looking for a cheap, tasty meal. Now since they have
created an app profits should increase due to more consumers. I am a fan of Taco Bell, but there
is always a line when I go or when I want it I am usually in a hurry, so I don’t get to stop. Now
since there is an app I could place my order before I go to town so that I can run in and pick it up
or circle through the drive through. Since the app has come available there has been a large
amount of downloads. In fact according to the app store there has been 100 thousand downloads!
This app has been out for approximately two months if I am not mistaken which is huge for Taco
Bell fans. This application makes it more convenient to order, pay, and pick up. Living in a
society that is obsessed with cell phones and downloading Taco Bell took a risk to develop
something no other fast food restaurant is offering and so far had quite a bit of success with.
When a company produces an advertisement or a commercial they must take into
consideration how the audience’s logos, pathos, and ethos are affected. In other words, how is
the audience is emotionally, logically, and ethically impacted? While watching the advertisement
I was emotionally impacted through happiness because I was excited. Taco Bell released a new
way to order, which is really convenient and accessible. Logically, however, I was impacted by
the rhetorical constraints. I was left wondering, do I just walk around the whole line or is there a
separate line for the new app users? Is there any way that I could pay before I get there or do I
have to go to the register like I normally would? There was nothing wrong with commercial
ethos wise. Many companies use celebrities to advertise their products but Taco Bell used
someone who is not famous. They used some random person who claimed to be internet famous
and they even play on this in the commercial. The dude goes into Taco Bell and walks by the
entire line of traffic. Someone points out that the man is not famous and I think that is one of
Taco Bell’s points that you do not have to famous to use this app; the app is for anyone and
everyone.
Based on my observation of this advertisement they were successful. Taco Bell produced
a new way to order food and to pick it up. They took a chance at a new way to promote their
product and so far it is very successful especially since we live in a world that revolves around
cellphones. Everything that was discussed was relevant and helpful. The commercial does fail to
mention if you can pay with the app, but otherwise they have informed us with their new
product.