Eng 101 - Essay 1 Critique of Visual Rhetoric

Play It Safe: Zazoo Condoms

Zazoo Condoms has come up with a very unique advertisement. As the commercial opens we join a father and his son shopping at the supermarket. The little boy wants his father to buy him some candy. After the son puts a bag of candy in the cart the father takes them out and puts them back onto the shelf. The boy then for a second time places the bag of candies back into the cart and his expression turns from happy to an angry pout. The father also for a second time places the candies back on the shelf. The child is very unhappy and begins to scream and cry, “I want those sweeties! I want those sweeties! I WANT THOSE SWEETIES!” The father tries to shush the child but he is unsuccessful. The little boy then starts to shake the cart, then runs away and proceeds to throw things off the shelves. Other shopping customers begin to stare, and continue to do so as the child’s temper grows. The father tries to picks up some of the things the child had thrown. All the while the boy is lying on the floor kicking and screaming. The father is then shown clearly embarrassed by the way his child has acted, and the words “Use condoms,” then appears on the bottom of the screen. The commercial then cuts to the Zazoo brand logo, web address, and where you can purchase the condoms. A female voice says, “Zazoo condoms, fun, sexy, safe.” This commercial is a very effective way to show people the importance of condom usage.

The purpose of this commercial is to show you the importance of condom use, through someone else’s mistakes. The father in the commercial is young, very likely in his twenties, which are often a person’s most sexual years. His non use of Zazoo condoms resulted in a child being born. I believe this commercial is very successful in teaching young people about the consequences of engaging in sexual acts without condom use. It addresses common themes associated with sex.

The themes of this commercial are very different...