Artifactual Communication

 

I went through several advertisements before I chose this controversial Hardee's advertisement "BBQ's Best Pair - The Memphis BBQ Thickburger."  I chose this advertisement because they are using women that most men would find attractive to sell their burgers.  The advertisement is clearly displaying the use of communication artifacts such as clothing, hair, make-up and jewelry to appeal to their audience.

 

It is important to recognize that the advertisers are using a woman with blond hair and a woman with brunette hair.  The advertisers want to appeal to the audience who are attracted to blonds and the audience who are attracted to brunettes.  Both women are in bikini tops and "daisy dukes" which revel most of their bodies and the audience cannot take their eyes away from the advertisement.  The blond has a heart necklace which dangles above her breast and draws your attention there.  Both women are wearing make-up, but it is applied so the audience is drawn to their eyes (which never look up at the camera) and lips.  This gives the audience the impression that the women are satisfied with their sandwich and if the audience would have the same sandwich they would be just as satisfied.

 

This advertisement uses several forms of nonverbal communication, matter of fact, there is no verbal communication until the last 10 seconds of the advertisement.  The advertisement begins with the two women meeting and giving each other eye contact, which implies that either woman better not invade the other's personal space.  There a lots of use of gestures from a hand on the hip to the movement of their legs.  Towards the end of the advertisement when they realize that they invented a new burger their facial expression changed and there was no concern over personal space.

 

These artifacts and use of nonverbal communication are illustrating that the potential buyers are young men in the age group of 18-34.  The advertisement is using very attractive women and are expressing how Hardee's can make men crave sandwiches like they crave women.