short essay #2

I picked four advertisements, two of which are from fast food restaurants, and the other two from a more upscale ones.  Subway, Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Red Robin were my choices.  Each ad shows a mouth-watering sandwich, or burger.  Along with this beautiful display of their showcased food, there is some text.  I wanted to be able to contrast fast food advertisements with those for “sit down” restaurants.  Surprisingly the Subway and Arby’s ads had a higher word count.  Arby’s had 18, Subway was at 48 not including the small text.  While Buffalo Wild Wings was at 15 and Red Robin only at 11.  This is surprising since, as we learned from the potato chip article, the bags with more words were typically more expensive.  Each ad undoubtedly tries to lure in potential customers with the pictures of their food.  It is almost sad how good the food looks in these ads because everyone knows there is no chance that is what they will actually serve.  The accompanying words only strengthen the message that the pictures send.  “8 Great Subs,” “The Burger Done Better,” and “So Juicy and Delicious It’s Hypnotic.”  All of these catchy phrases only make the pictures seem even better.  They grab the viewer’s appetite and trick them into believing the food is actually that good.

            It seems like the cheaper “fast-food” restaurants are more concerned with being health conscious.  Subway’s motto “Eat Fresh” says that their food is always fresh.  Fresh food is typically healthier, and undoubtedly tastes better.  They also used to always advertise how Jared lost over 200 pounds on the subways diet.  The message they want to send is that Subway is fresh, healthy, and therefore okay to eat.  They also try to market that their food is cost effective, “$5 dollar footlongs are definitely affordable, and give you bang for your buck.  Like Subway, Arby’s also wants to say that their food is healthy.  “Never fried. Never greasy.”  It is well known that fried food will make you fat.  That is why a dieting person will choose a grilled chicken over a fried one, that is, if they are smart.  Grease is something that comes with almost all food, but fast food is known to be especially greasy and unhealthy.  Arby’s is trying to untie that stereotype.  They are trying to set their food apart from that of other fast food restaurants.  By saying that their burgers are never fried or greasy, they are wittingly avoiding saying “our food is healthy” but it is being implied. This is because unhealthy food is fried, and unhealthy food is greasy; so if food doesn’t have those two qualities, it must be healthy, right?  The fact that these two lower-grade food ads have more words about their food being healthy tells me that the people who eat at these restaurants are more health conscious.  Fast food is known for being unhealthy, so by saying that their food isn’t things that are known to be unhealthy, it is then thought of as being healthy.  This probably isn’t true because a cheeseburger can only be so healthy, but to give them some credit it is smart marketing.  These ads will appeal to many people but mostly those who are middle to lower class, since they want to be cost effective, and still eat healthy. 

            If the lower class customers are more health conscious, then what draws in the people who are willing to spend more money on their meal?  Since the Red Robin and Buffalo Wild Wings ads have few words, I believe they are lured in more by how the food looks or tastes.  Along with the taste the customer must consider the atmosphere of the restaurant, would this be an enjoyable place to dine?  In both ads the burgers glisten, begging to be eaten.  The Buffalo Wild Wings ad is definitely geared towards a male audience, the bold text and words about the weight of the burger are two masculine qualities.  Saying your burger is a half-pound does not attract female customers, who typically like to eat lightly, compared to many men.  The Red Robin Banzai Burger does not look like your average burger.  There is something that looks like grilled pineapple on it, but the text saying “Tummy Feng Shui” backs it up.  Feng Shui is classy so this burger must also be.  If the burger is classy, how would it taste bad?  Both ads do not concentrate on saying that their food is healthy, but instead talk about how tasty it must be.  This shows that customers with more money to spend are less concerned on how healthy it is, but more concerned with how much they will enjoy their food.  Unlike the potato chips, in these ads, simpler is better.