For decades, the sport of American football as a spectator sport has united and bonded individuals across the nation as they live vicariously through their favorite NFL team. Since the invention of the television, football has gradually become a massive part of America's entertainment. As the biggest football game of the year, the National Football League's internationally broadcasted annual championship game, the Super Bowl sets the bar as the most viewed sporting event in America with an average of 111.32 million views nationwide from 2011-2015 (Statista). Not only is the super bowl the most viewed sports-event in America it is also in the top ten highest holidays for beer sales in the U.S., standing alone as the only one of which is a televised sporting event. (Huffington Post) This well-known beer drinking holiday serves as a prime time for drunk driving, a clear injustice. Budweiser successfully took these statistics into account as the kairos of the anti-drunk driving commercial, "Give a Damn" to reach its targeted audience, potential drunk drivers. Budweiser took advantage of their opportunity to reach the highest number of people in the position to drink and drive possible, to persuade them not to through the use of credibility, emotion, and logic.

The commercial takes place in a dimly lit, classy restaurant, giving a warm atmosphere. The commercial begins with a calming classical melody playing in the background of the scene as Dame Helen Mirren is served her meal of a burger and fries alongside a longneck beer to wash it down. Helen cuts straight to the point by introducing herself as a "notoriously frank and uncensored British lady" (Budweiser). As the music fades out of the background, Helen's voice becomes more clear and emphasized. Speaking not only for herself but also for many others, she addresses their astonishment in the fact that people still drive drunk. Helen goes on to descriptively call out drunk drivers for their lack of common sense and apparent uselessness. The calming, classical melody fades back into the close up scene as Helen changes her tone from stern to flattering, admitting the viewer's likely respectability and encouraging them to continue to be so. After Ms. Mirren toasts a cheers to the viewers, Budweiser's logo appears next to #GiveADamn, a hash tag that for every use, Budweiser claimed to spend one dollar on safe ride programs.

It could be said by Budweiser critics that the company only based their commercial around the issue of drunk driving to appeal to viewer's emotions, or to gain a sense of credibility in the public's eye. Yet, with all aspects of the commercial taken into account, it is almost impossible to prove that the advertisement agency actually used the sinister topic of drunk driving to boost their reputation and sales. At around $5,000,000 for a thirty second time slot (USA Today), it is difficult to presume Budweiser would spend twice that on promoting their product with a commercial that not even once talked about their company or said the company's name. Aside from the monetary aspect of this project, the ad agency makes sure that they kept their product placement to a minimum. In the commercial, the Budweiser beer is served so that the logo is not completely visible to the camera. Additionally, it is not until after the commercial ends, when the Budweiser logo appears on the screen that it is apparent to the viewer that the commercial is by Budweiser. It would be evident to the average viewer then that their main objective is to convince it's audience not to drink and drive. Due to the fact that the ad agency gave critics little to no evidence to work with, the argument that they used drunk driving to their sinister advantage holds little weight. It is this planning that makes the ad such a success in the first place.

In the beginning of the commercial most viewers are quite confused as to why Helen Mirren is sitting and eating alone in a low-lit restaurant. Nevertheless, her being the world-renowned actress and icon she is, she easily captures the attention of men as well as women. The popular and movie-critic blog, Rotten Tomatoes includes an article describing Ms. Mirren as, "Perhaps the ultimate thinking man's sex symbol, Helen Mirren is also one of the most respected actresses of British stage, screen, and television" (Rotten Tomatoes). Even for those that are not familiar with her acting are naturally entranced by her appearance and demeanor. Aside from her sophisticated and trustworthy accent, her high degree of sophistication and her possession of a unique vocabulary become evident to the viewer within the first few seconds of the commercial. Helen mentions, "The collective we are dumbfounded that people still drive drunk."(Budweiser) Although many individuals might be able to infer what "collective we" and "dumbfounded" mean, the percentage of people who use either word on a daily basis are very slim. Even when insulting drunk drivers, describing them as a "Darwin award-deserving selfish coward," (Budweiser) she sounds respectable doing so. Budweiser incorporates the rhetorical proof of ethos into their commercial in their choice of casting a credible, trustworthy and well-respected woman to present the argument. The popular and movie-critic blog, Rotten Tomatoes includes an article describing Ms. Mirren as, "Perhaps the ultimate thinking man's sex symbol, Helen Mirren is also one of the most respected actresses of British stage, screen, and television." (Rotten Tomatoes)

Accompanying Mirren's soothing voice, a soft melody plays throughout the opening of the sequence. These employments conspire to evoke the viewer's emotions. Contrasting this vibe, the music fades out to leave only Helens voice, which turns to a more serious tone as she begins her demoralization of drunk drivers. These two emotional aspects of the scene arouse shamefulness in those that were planning on drinking and driving, as well as fear in those that know people who will drink and drive. 

The music begins playing again after Ms. Mirren finishes illustrating the stupidity of drunk drivers, her voice changes to an uplifting tone. Admiring the viewers' better nature Helen says, "Now, the chances are you're a fun, solid, respectable human being. Don't be a pillock," (Budweiser) Playing on the audiences emotions once again by leaving a sense of pride in the viewers head for not driving drunk. Through demonstrating to the audience that choosing not to drive while intoxicated give them a better feeling than choosing to drive drunk makes them less likely to choose the latter. Regardless of the individual's motive, the commercial is still successful in its effort to persuade people not to drink and drive.

Although by now it could already be said that Budweiser's advertisement agency demonstrates proficient rhetorical skill, looking deeper into the thought that is put into this advertisement extrudes even greater expertise. At first analysis one might conclude that although the commercial incorporates ethos and pathos by playing with viewers emotions through a credible individual, the commercial lacks the use of logical to reason with the audience. But is this really the case? Taking a closer look at the circumstances of the time the commercial takes place allows one to see how Budweiser worked within the context of the situation, taking advantage of the target audience's mental state to logically persuade them. Sober, most individuals would not think deeply about the logic of the argument because it is clearly obvious that driving drunk is a terribly foolish and rash thing to do. Yet, when intoxicated, the first part of the human brain that becomes impaired is its ability to make decisions. The brain essentially then creates its own form of simple logic to get by, which is why most people drive drunk in the first place. 

Budweiser's ad team conformed to its audiences' drunken state of mind by dumbing their logic down to the basics. They do this by making the potential drunk driver feel that they have made a vow to not drive drunk without the viewer even saying anything. Towards the end of the commercial, Helen Mirren says to the audience, "Your friends and family thank you. Other driver's friends and family thank you. Your future-self thanks you." (Budweiser) Budweiser is able to cunningly lay a sense of commitment to not drink and drive on the viewer without any explicit commitment. 

Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser commercial puts an emphasis on just how serious and terrible drunk drivers are. Their rhetoric serves as an almost prime example of how to now only utilize rhetorical proofs but to use them in accordance with the argument's kairos. At the end of the commercial it is clear, regardless of the viewer, the majority of the population would much rather be a respectable human being, opposed to a drunk driving pillock. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Ad Age Staff. "Super Bowl 50 Complete Ad Chart: Who Bought Commercials in the Big Game." Advertising Age Special Report Super Bowl RSS. N.p., 07 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

Budweiser. "Budweiser USA: 2016 Super Bowl Commercial | #GiveADamn :60." YouTube. YouTube, 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

"Helen Mirren Biography." Rotten Tomatoes. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

Lee, Esther. "Watch Budweiser's 2016 Super Bowl Commercial #GiveADamn (It Gave Us Chills!)." Us Weekly. Us Weekly, 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

Polis, Carey. "The Top American Holidays For Beer." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Aug. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

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