Rhetorical Analysis of Ramon and Julia in Dr Pepper's Fansville Ads

Analysis, Pages 3 (573 words)

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The fictional town of Fansville sets the stage for Dr Pepper’s new 2018 campaign that presents itself as a TV drama. This 30-second advertisement titled “Ramon and Julia” stars two young adults: one from State, Fansville’s college, and the other from their rival college Tech, who are falling in love through a common interest. Dr Pepper encourages viewers to buy it’s soda by evoking emotion through cultural assumptions, alluding to classic literature, and prompting them to join the bandwagon.

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For instance, Dr Pepper’s first few seconds of the commercial reveal Fansville in all its glory with an aerial shot, showcasing State’s team (and Dr Pepper’s brand) colors plastered on multiple buildings. Through tapping into the football-obsessed American culture, they develop a world filled with only college football fans. Dr Pepper relies heavily on the emotions a school feels when facing off against their rival team, assuming that their viewers can relate to the atmosphere using their own cultural experiences.

For the next shot, a girl can be seen sporting Fansville’s team colored clothes and face paint. She is shown taking the hand of Tech’s mascot, and moments before they kiss State scores and in response she yells “Yes! In your face!”(0:26). Dr Pepper connects her verbal and visual excitement in reaction to scoring against a rival to its own soda, essentially telling it’s viewers that they can experience those positive emotions for themselves everytime they drink a Dr. Pepper.

In addition, Dr. Pepper also alludes to the classic play by William Shakespeare, “Romeo and Juliet”, in which two young adults from feuding families fall in love.

However, while Romeo and Juliet come together through visual attraction despite the fighting between their families, Dr Pepper’s couple bonds quite differently. Julia says “Ramon.. We can’t… we’re rivals”(0:08), as he attempts to grab her hand. She argues that while he loves her, their teams have different defensive strategies as well. Ramon interrupts her to point out that “...we both love Dr Pepper”(0:20), as the shot changes to both girl and mascot holding the same cup of Dr. Pepper in front of a packed football stadium. Still holding the soda, they go in for the kiss, qualms about their relationship quenched by Dr Pepper’s lovability. DP compels its viewers to associate finding love; or an important relationship, simply by drinking its delicious blend of 23 natural flavors.

Equally important is Dr Pepper’s message that everyone loves their product. This is seen in the first shot with Fansville showcasing DP’s famous symbol everywhere. With buildings, merchandise, and even the football team sharing Dr Pepper’s colors, viewers can witness a majority vote in favor of Dr Pepper’s brand. They combine this with a “Touchdown State!” (0:25), to show that not only do Fansville residents furiously support Dr. Pepper and their college team, Dr Pepper is the winning team. Through these factors at play, DP peer pressures its audience to join the winning team and buy Dr Pepper.

Finally, Dr Pepper effectively markets their soda in just half a minute. By relating to the crazed sports fan in everyone, promising fruitful relationships and painting themselves as the prime sode for consumption, Dr Pepper is able to market its product to a large group of its viewers and soon to be consumers.