Essay Sample on a Media-Based Argument

Introduction

The Antonio Federici ice cream Ad is one of the most controversial ads that illustrates both explicit and implicit arguments. Such controversial ads are known to convey a more profound message that seems to address certain stereotypes that individuals resist or conform. The nature of this ad targets a specific audience that is more likely to access the media form through which the commercial uses. The Antonio Federici ice cream Ad was effective in the promotion of the product as it used the rhetoric appeal logos to reach a wide audience.

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The Antonio Federici ice cream Ad shows a pregnant nun holding a spoon and Antonio Federici Icecream with the words "Ice cream you can believe in" and "Immaculately conceived."The ad is believed to be a chapel or church setting because there are lit candles in the background. The main subject of the ad is to showcase the Italian gelato as the writings are clear. The images and language in the ad play a significant role in presenting both explicit and implicit arguments. Firstly, the ad is explicitly meant to advertise Antonio Federici's Italian gelato ice cream. To begin with, the nun is seen to be scooping ice cream from a container that is perceived to belong to Antonio Federici's brand. Other than that, on the bottom right of the ad, there's an ice cream glass with ice cream in it with the words "Ice cream you can believe in." All these depict that the Ad's purpose it to solely advertise Antonio Federici's ice cream.

Despite this straightforward message, there are other aspects and messages in the ad that are nor clearly expressed. In other words, some elements in the ad portray an unclear message that is hard to comprehend. Firstly, the presence of a pregnant nun presents an implicit argument because religiously, nuns are prohibited from engaging in sexual activities hence logically they cannot be pregnant. Secondly, the message behind the words "Immaculately conceived" is unclear as it is difficult to comprehend because to the religious individuals, the words trigger the knowledge about Mary the Virgin who is known to have immaculately conceived Jesus. Whereas to the non-Christians, the words could portray that Antonio Federici's ice cream is capable of captivating even the people who are termed as 'holy.' Therefore, the use of this linguistic enables viewers to comprehend the meaning of the advertisements meaning in different ways since it does not explicitly focus on one meaning.

The primary individual who is depicted in this advertisement is the straightforward individual who conforms to societal expectations. It is with no doubt that sex and religion are among the top controversial topics. In my opinion, the use of a pregnant nun represents breaking the rules. With societal stereotypes concerning the consumption of certain foods to live a healthy lifestyle, this ad shows that one does not need to stop consuming ice cream due to societal viewpoints of a healthy lifestyle. Just like a pregnant nun is seen to seen to go against religious expectations, the individual who conforms to societal expectations on healthy living could also go against these rules and enjoy ice cream. Therefore, the group that could identify with this advertisement is the one that wants to do certain things but is afraid of societal judgment. An example could be avoiding eating ice cream just because the society portrays the product as unhealthy.

The core audience for the ad is the slightly younger and immature generation. This is because the main themes that are portrayed by the Ad are sex and religion. Sex, being a controversial topic, is effective in promoting products. However, not every individual would positively take the humor in the ad. Therefore a majority of the individuals who would positively interact with the ad without raising any questions would be the slightly younger and immature generation. This ad attempts to appeal to this audience by incorporating two of the most controversial subjects, sex, and religion. This core audience is perceived to be rebellious and curious. Therefore the use of the images and message in the ad would effectively communicate with this audience.

The Antonio Federici ice cream Ad appears in the Grazia and The Lady magazines. The Ad was placed on print media because print media is valid and reliable. Banning such forms of media is almost impossible once the magazines reach the target audience. In the ad, the central entity that has authority is the ice cream. This is because nearly every image or writings within the ad have a direct connection to the product. To begin with, The nun is not only pregnant, but she is having a scoop of the product.

Other than that, the writings "Ice cream you can believe in" and "Immaculately conceived" both create an emphasis on the quality and value of Antonio Federici ice cream. The phrase "Immaculately conceived" portrays the high quality in the production of the product. The second phrase "Ice cream you can believe in" clearly depicts that the ice cream is a product that is genuine and worth the trust of the consumers. From the ad, is easy to identify the main themes as religion, sex, and temptations. All of which are significant in promoting the product to the target audience.

The central element that is repetitive in the ad is the emphasis on the high quality of the product. Taking aside the religious controversies, it is noticeable that the phrases within the Ad are solely meant to praise the product by illustrating the high quality of the ice cream. The element that contrasts within the is mainly the presence of a pregnant nun. In this particular ad, the main exciting question of concern is the meaningful connection between ice cream and conception. This question is impressive given the fact that the relationship is ambiguous as it could be just for the sake of controversy.

There could be various reasons as to why the ad chose to place the idea of conception through a pregnant nun. It could be used to represent the idea of not having to worry about weight gain through ice cream consumption. The ad could have also been used to address the issue of unsolved accusations of the presence of sexual assault within the Catholic system. Lastly, the Ad could maybe be promoting rebellion by encouraging people not to conform to societal expectations, either religious, lifestyle or health expectations. Either way, the add seems to be about the promotion of Antonio Federici ice cream but could be used to address real-life issues happening in society.

The main rhetorical appeal used in this ad is logos. In my opinion, the context of the Ad was purposefully meant to create sensitive religious controversy to get attention from the targeted consumers. Under normal circumstances, this ad would not have made sense at all, but from a business perspective, the controversial nature of the Ad gathered massive publicity from the public as it became the main topic of discussion. Through the use of logos, this ad created a significant media outrage, and this even made it more popular since everyone wanted to know more about the ice cream Ad with a pregnant nun. Through this, the add successfully managed to attract people's attention, and this created a need for the product.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Antonio Federici ice cream Ad was effective as it accomplished to market the product to the target audience. The controversy of the Ad also made it possible for people to discuss the issues that are currently present in the society such as societal stereotypes and sexual violence and hypocrisy in religious systems. Therefore, the Antonio Federici ice cream Ad not only promoted ice cream, but it also was used as a form of movement.