Eng/112 composition RA SHEET

RA Outline on Red Bull Ad

Sammy North

DeVry University

RA Outline on Red Bull Ad

I. Doesn’t everyone want more energy? Can’t we take a pill to give us “wings” to fit everything in our lives that we’d like to do? Life in the 21st century is an endless train of things to do and people to do them with. People juggle their career, school, and family with the expectation that they must feel and look good doing it. Young people especially feel this pressure to do and be all things, and a bottomless pit of energy is required to accomplish it. Enter Red Bull, an energy drink that promises drinkers enough caffeine to stay awake. Many of those in our group have tried Red Bull and were curious about how its makers advertise their product. The 2005 Red Bull ad, “Red Bull Gives you Wings,” is an effective advertisement that can be evaluated using three criteria: appeal to emotions, appeal to credibility, and appeal to reason.

II. In this advertisement, humor is used effectively for emotional appeal.

A, The story represented in the ad is an emotional parable that reflects the life of many young people.

B. It’s funny that this transformation from man to bird cannot actually occur, but the underlying suggestion is quite powerful and is used to sell effectively: a drink might embolden a person to dream what was once thought to be impossible.

III. Next, the ad appeals to credibility well using a professor.

A. The professor is used as one of the ultimate symbols of credibility; professors spend their lives reading, researching, and inventing new things or ideas, so they are effective “salespeople” for this drink.

B. The idea of staying awake and allowing a drink to give you “wings” is used effectively to sell this product.

IV. Finally, the ad appeals to reason in a way that draws the audience in very efficiently.

A. It’s reasonable to believe that a drink can facilitate mental alertness.

B. So the chain of logic suggests only positive outcomes for this drink, and these positive outcomes are marketed well in the ad.

V. This ad is clearly targeted toward young people, particularly students. The makers of this product should market it to another audience they may not have considered: new mothers or fathers. With a newborn who is up all night wanting to nurse or have a bottle, new parents must stay awake long enough for the baby to get his/ her fill. Sometimes this may take an hour, and when it’s two or three times during the night, a Red Bull may be just the answer to keeping alert during feedings. Of course, they would need to clarify that the parent takes the drink, not the baby!

URL: this ad appears in the ebook on page 152.