"Influential Advertising: Dove and Its Use of Rhetorical Elements in Commercials and Social Media"

Paulina Alvarez

Paulina Alvarez is an undergraduate student at the University of Central Florida. She is majoring in Advertising and Public Relations and double minoring in Digital Media and Psychology. She wrote this essay for her ENC 1102 class during her freshman year. Paulina wishes to continue learning how visual and written components influence human behavior in order to one day create her own effective advertising campaigns as an art director.

Contents

Introduction

Literature Review

Methods

Results & Discussion

Conclusion

Works Cited

Appendix A

Literature Review 

Television Advertising

Television advertisements have been around for some time now—they are nothing new. However, recent studies that have been conducted argue that the purpose(s) for commercials have changed over time. Belch, Lutz, and Mackenzie (1986) state, “…researchers have proposed that attitude toward the ad, an affective construct representing consumers’ feelings of favorability/unfavourability toward the ad itself, is a mediating influence on brand attitude and purchase intention” (p. 130). In other words, nowadays, companies and brands, through their television advertisements, are not necessarily directly selling a product or service, but instead, focusing on the likability of the ad. According to Rimoldi (2008), this is done because “associations with the brand may develop, thereby promoting consumer loyalty” (p. 11). This means that if the targeted audience likes the ad, then it is more likely that the people will have positive attitudes toward the company or brand and become loyal customers.

Dove has demonstrated over the years that its commercials help bring in loyal customers because the consumers like the ads and appreciate the overall message the company is promoting. For example, in 2006, Dove released a video called Evolution which to this day is arguably the most impactful one the company has produced and broadcasted (Neff, n.d.). It featured the practice of photoshopping women’s images, which brought great coverage for Dove on numerous talk shows and in the media. The video can be credited with propelling the “Campaign for Real Beauty” to prominence. It even heated up the “skinny model debate” after Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston Macan died due to eating disorders (Neff, n.d.). As for company sales, they “increased from $2.5 billion to well over $4 billion… And as the campaign has increased its profile once again in recent years with videos such as 'Sketches' … the brand has been gaining sales and share in virtually every market and category worldwide” (Neff, n.d.).

In summary, Dove has proven it has mastered the use of commercials, which for the majority, end up going viral with thousands of people sharing them and further spreading the company’s message(s). This has been made possible mainly through the company’s presence in social media.

Social Media

In today's world, social media plays a huge role in the success of a company. As Haenlein and Kaplan (2010) state, "firms must be aware that collaborative projects [for example, social networking applications] are trending toward becoming the main source of information for many consumers" (p. 62). This indicates that the use of the internet and online communication have changed over time. Before, traditional online communities were exclusive for certain groups, "often [requiring] some level of skills, expertise and interest in technology" (Berki & Jäkälä, 2013, p. 71). It was basically left to professional, technology savvy individuals to do any online communication. Nowadays, however, the internet serves as a medium for connecting large amounts of people with each other in order to share information as well as their ideas/ suggestions. Online communities, especially through social media, are accessible to almost everybody and allow "ordinary" people to not need to meet face-to-face (Berki & Jäkälä, 2013). Social media allows companies and brands to communicate with their customers on a global scale, which through any other means would probably be unrealistic. 

In addition, the easy or simple to use applications of social media have allowed customers of a company or brand to interact with each other as well. Barnes (2001) describes this online interaction as “not a solitary activity… [interaction] goes beyond the individual and into the mode of identity and social construction” (p. 234). All of this allows for stories to be shared and trends to be created, which then affects non-purchase behaviors, such as prompting people to share opinions about the company or brand. Social networking sites such as Instagram and Twitter are perfect examples of domains where Dove and its customers interact with each other. Tweets, Instagram posts, captions, hashtags, comments in the comment sections, etc., all allow for interaction.

For instance, on Instagram, Dove created the hashtag #MyBeautyMySay while posting pictures of various women and their stories on how they define beauty in their own terms. Followers were then able to comment and share their thoughts on the different portrayals of these women. Readers wrote to Dove directly and to each other, and Dove was able to respond to some comments. This is a demonstration of how the “Campaign for Real Beauty” has mainly lived in social media ever since the Evolution video went viral, allowing consumers to interact and share the company’s message on a global scale.

It is important for companies, such as Dove, to have a strong social media presence. Through the different platforms, various forms of interaction will take place that ultimately leads to the formation of a discourse community. This allows for meaningful activity to take place.

Discourse Community

As a company or brand grows in popularity, a discourse community arises. Like-minded individuals that share common interests and goals have the potential to enable meaningful interactions through their collective efforts. Many scholars agree that the rhetorical aspects in a community affect activity levels (Bazerman, 2004). This means that for activity to take place in order to achieve a desired outcome, the discourse community has to have “mechanisms of intercommunication among its members… and [it must use] its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback” (Swales, 1990, pp. 471-472). In other words, what Bazerman and Swales state is that rhetorical elements-- for example, logos, pathos and ethos-- influence the activity that takes place within a community, and to have said activity happen, means of communication need to be available for the members of the community.

"Availability" can mean social-media contact, such as in Dove's case, as previously mentioned, with Tweets, Instagram posts, captions, hashtags, comments in the comment sections, etc.  This availabilty ensures that meaningful activity takes place among the members of the Dove community, allowing for various connections to be made on a global scale and, therefore, also enabling the continuous spread of the company’s message(s). All of these points lead me to my research question: how do the rhetorical elements surrounding Dove’s commercials and social media play a role in creating the company’s successful campaign?