Research: Conventions and Codes

I chose to create a commercial for Dunkin' Donuts, a fast food restauraunt speciailizing in coffee and donuts. The process of making a fast food commercial is very different than making one for a clothing brand or place. However, there is some overlap. Fast food commercials heavily utilize the "common people" technique of advertising. The brand will show regular, everyday people enjoying their food to make the consumer feel a sense of belonging for eating their food. If you don't eat their food, you may feel left out and compelled to do so. An example of this currently is Burger King's "Impossible Whopper" campaign, in which they ask people on the street to try their burgers and give them good reviews about it. Additionally, food brands use music and jingles to make their brands remembered by the consumer.

Despite the similarities between how brands advertise, there are some differences in how food products are advertised. Fast food brands often show zoom-ins of their food with a narrator explaining the ingredients. The food is often prepared with fake ingredients and hidden parts in order to make the meal look ideal to the consumer. An example of this is how IHOP utilizes small cardboard circles underneath their pancakes in order to create the illusion of a perfect stack. However, this may be irrelevant in the process of making the Dunkin' Donuts commercial, due to most of their menu being drinks. 

With the rise of the internet, advertising campaigns have shifted from focusing on their older, long-time consumers to capturing the millenial and generation Z gaze. Because of this, advertisements are now quicker and more to the point than they would have been in the past. Shorter videos are more likely to capture the attention of younger audiences and potentially go viral online. In fact, the importance of an ad going viral is so huge, most brands have resorted to making their ads surreal and therefore gathering more attention and making the brand memorable. An example of this is the Puppy Monkey Baby campaign from Mountain Dew from 2016, which is still remembered today. In summary, advertising for a fast food brand is primarily about making the food look as tantalizing as possible and the ad itself as memorable as possible.