"The Ravioli Smile" was the slogan for an ad released by Chef Boy-ar-dee in 1971. The ad -- featured below -- depicts a young, smiling child ready to eat a spoonful of the company's product. This image is accompanied by a description below, saying that the beef ravioli is not just regular food, but fun food; food that is given as a treat or used as a celebration. It makes the reader think, "Hey, if the adorable kid in the ad likes the food, why shouldn't mine?" This is the exact reaction the company's marketers were hoping to achieve. The text written below the smiling child attacks three common marketing strategies: developing ethos, pathos, and logos. As for the smiling child itself, that is meant to draw emotion from the reader which makes them invested in the advertisement.
It is difficult to establish ethos when talking about foods. The mention of famous chefs lacks any appeal when associated with kids' food. After all, the parent consumers are not looking to buy a 5-star quality meal for their picky 5-year-old sitting in their cart. Parents, however, do associate with other parents. New parents in particular reap the tips and tricks left behind by those preceding them. Parents trust parents. This is what the marketers exploited. Written in small print below, is "Found in Mom's Basement." This insinuates that other parents trust Chef-boy-ar-dee with the diet of their children, so why should the reader? Mission accomplished.
Now onto the emotions. A smiling kid means a happy parent. So if ravioli makes a kid smile, than it makes the parents of the kid smile. It's a win-win for everyone. Mission accomplished -- again.
Finally, appealing to the logic. If ravioli means a smiling kid, and a smiling kid means a smiling parent, than a parent wanting to smile should buy the ravioli. Even better, the ravioli a nutritious food too, according to the ad. What else could a parent want? The ravioli is deal as well at 20 cents per serving. One word: sold.
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