As humans, we tend to think of this life as having ‘meaning’. Meaning can translate to a few different things depending on the person. ‘Meaning’ can be defined as happiness and success, but even those words mean different things to different groups of people. Some people define happiness as being stress free, being around the people they love, or their happiness is based on how successful they are. Yet success doesn’t have just one meaning, are they talking about financial success or social success, and to what degree do people measure their success. One man’s trash may be another man’s treasure. Keeping this in mind, one starts to realize these are the key points of advertising in the 2017 Michelob Ultra commercial that aired for the first time during Super Bowl LI. The commercial begins in a gym, fit people all around. Later on in the ad, some not so fit people are introduced, but not to worry, they are continually encouraged by the ‘elite athletes’. Then at the end of the commercial, once everybody is finished working out, they all stick around and grab a beer while hanging out and socializing. Some people may not realize it, but none of those choices were an accident. No, instead they were premeditated and thoroughly researched in order to compel a target audience to purchase Michelob Ultra.

In today’s society, body image is an important thing. Whether on the side of the argument for being comfortable in one’s own skin regardless of shape or size, or fit is superior to fat, there isn’t quite the middle ground there used to be. Rummaging through social media as well as television, there are constantly ads for weight loss programs; men, women, and children alike. Because of this, the commercial has people’s attention for the sole fact that initially it’s just a bunch of physical specimens working out together. The commercial could very well be a weight loss or gym commercial. 

As the commercial presses forward, the atmosphere changes. There appears some people whom are more or less out of shape. The introduction of the lay person into this commercial makes it even more relatable to those in the audience who don’t spend as much time at the gym as they might like to. And just as the audience member may begin to feel down on himself, in the same fashion as the person in the commercial, one of the physically fit persons from the commercial comes along from behind, encouraging the less fit person of the commercial. This is important to the out of shape audience member because in general people like the support of other people, especially those we aspire to be like. If the goal is to be extremely fit, and we are encouraged by those we admire, the desire to do well normally increases.

Towards the end of the commercial, the workouts have come to an end and people are on the floor resting, trying to catch their breath. As everybody is recovering, people begin to pull out beer and drink it at the gym. For those in the CrossFit community this is a regular occurrence, but to those who might be unfamiliar with the trend, it creates a since of envy. As with many beer commercials, a fun environment with friends is often implored as a way to invoke the argument of pathos. Generally speaking, people get together with friends to have a good time and enjoy themselves. If this beer commercial can take the often dreaded environment of the gym and turn it into a fun social event, then surely it is superior to other beers. This commercial also invokes a since of pathos by playing the theme song to the TV show Cheers. 

This show was based on the premise that the bar tender and everybody in the bar will always know your name. Such a simple gesture holds a deep meaning in the heart of so many people. When somebody remembers your name it gives you a since of belonging, a since of importance, because you matter enough for somebody to remember your name. 

After giving enough time to allow people of the audience to make the connection that it is a beer commercial, the ad offers the information that the drink is only 95 calories and has only 2.6 grams of carbs. This is appealing to logos on two fronts. Not too long ago, people were obsessed with counting their calories. The less calories something had, the better. More recently the trend has shifted to counting macros; the amount of carbs, proteins, and fats someone should consume on a daily basis. As a general rule, people like to stay away from carbs, and 2.6 carbs per beer is actually very little compared to other beers. This use of 2 simple facts is appealing to two large groups of individuals because it is showing them that people can afford to fit this into their daily dietary schedule without fear of gaining that unwanted beer belly that normally accompanies heavy beer drinking.

Slightly more subtle, is the use of three famous CrossFit Games athletes, Dan Baily, Becca Voigt, and Brooke Ence. Two of which are known for their stellar physique. Dan Baily and Brooke Ence are both put on up on a pedestal for their incredible body composition along with being competitive CrossFit Games athletes. This idea is that if these beautiful creatures can drink this beer and look great and compete at the professional level then I can drink this beer as well. If the beer doesn’t affect professional athletes, then surely it won’t hurt me.

When watching the commercial the first time, it was really interesting to see the concept of a beer commercial based in a gym since it is a regular occurrence. Even more interesting though is seeing how much thought and effort went into the production of this advertisement for Michelob Ultra. It targets a variety of audiences across a range of ages, thus making this commercial rather effective.
