Audio Text Rhetorical Analysis

Dove ‘Self-conscious’

https://www.campaignlive.com/article/top-10-radio-ads-2016/1418495

The audio for the Dove ‘Self Conscious’ radio advertisement is very simplistic with a woman narrating the entire script. Rather than using audio effects of a tongue, she creates an image in the listener’s mind. Particular words can definitely evoke a sound. When someone might play a bell ringing, she instead described it, allowing the audience to form their own version of the sound. It is very steady narration with appropriate pauses in between each clause. There are nineteen pauses throughout the commercial. This helps the audience easily follow along with the concept of the piece. If she were to speak too quickly, then the impact of the message would have probably been lost. Her tone is very soft, calm, and welcoming. Without these tonation effects, I do not think the commercial would have had the same effects. The narrator has a british accent, which is very important to take into account because of the regional dialect that this advertisement is placed within. It is an advertisement for Dove in the UK. The main argument is to provide awareness of messages in media, and how they affect girls and women alike. Rather than focusing on telling women that they are beautiful, one of a kind, worthy, etc., Dove chose to gear this advertisement towards those people that are pushing out those hateful and disheartening messages. The words utilized are less about the topic at hand, and more of a feeling the listener experiences when listening to this ad. A once pretty dormant aspect of your body is now being called out and sensitized. Just as girls are being greatly affected with negative messaging and distorted body images out in the world. There is a great sense of pathos in this piece. It makes people truly think about what they say and how they say it. The ad pulls on heartstrings by making the viewer self aware, then turning the tables and making them truly think about how young girls feel when they look at images of photoshopped models, or some lunatic posting on social media about how women are only good for two things, which I am sure you have heard that before. The team of producers also did a fantastic job with logical appeals. One aspect that stuck out to me was the very first line of the ad: “The more someone makes you think about your body, the harder it becomes to ignore.” In only four seconds, the narrator just sucker punched everyone listening, especially those that have done or felt something like this before. It is one heck of a hook if you ask me. People are drawn in now and become super self conscious of their own tongue, and in the end Dove brings it all back together to establish the point that how they are feeling right now, girls feel all the time around the world.

I would say that the main target audience are those people that are active in social media, or simply media and entertainment as a whole. Those with direct access to mainstream channels are on the front lines of what girls and women tend to compare themselves to. If there is constant negativity being pushed out, then that consistently diminishes the views of women not only to themselves, but to the people around them as well. The simplistic aspects of the advertisement provide a sense of discovery for the audience. They can pretty much infer what they want from the message within particular constraints. Constraints being where the radio commercial is published, word choice utilized in the script, and the overall cultural population in the UK at the time this was created and pushed out into the world. Dove’s exigence in this audio is the problem of women and girls being negatively affected and influenced by what is produced in media all around the world. It is a big topic of conversation, and Dove has always been on the forefront of diversity, and changing people’s views on the matter, while also building up girls’ self-esteem. This particular text was delivered through radio advertisements and mass media around the UK, and then the world.

As I mentioned earlier, Dove decided to simply use a narrator with a serene voice as an alternative to crazy sound effects that grab people’s attention. The vocal delivery is pretty consistent throughout the entire piece. It does not really change like in other advertisements I listened to such as the “Hive ‘Superfast at any time” radio advert. The Hive commercial messes around a lot with speed going from slow and catchy so that viewers can comprehend what they are saying, then switching to a really fast paced tempo to really grab attention, and somewhat confuse people. In order to make this radio advertisement more effective, I would add a bit of contrast in the narrator’s voice. With such a calm voice, it could put people to sleep and cause them to not truly listen to the message that Dove is trying to get across. By adding a bit more pizazz in the voice, viewers might stay intrigued longer during the one minute commercial. If I were driving down the road and this ad came on, I would definitely pay attention to it, but advertisers want to maintain our attention. As a whole, Dove really strikes a chord with this ad, and brings it all home in the end when they explain how a simple message said as theirs can change how you think, and consume your thoughts for the rest of the day.

For my own project, I plan on taking several elements of this advertisement and employing them in my own work. The serene tone of voice, combined with an abstract collection of house and construction work sound effects will be in full use. While always paying close attention to fair use! :) It is so important to educate young renters not only on what landlords are getting away with, but also how to prepare themselves to rent a place, and to know what their rights are as a renter. An audio recording with a landlord himself would be absolutely perfect. The one I have in mind has a lot of character all on his own, and would definitely be the best voice actor. Let’s hope he approves it, unless I am back to the drawing board!