Viramontes 1

Chris Viramontes

English 103

Professor Granillo

April 17, 2019

Snickers Satisfies

Who knew an old women would be able to stand against a group of guys in a football game. In

one of 2010s super bowl commercials, Snickers used this situation in a entertaining way to show

how weak someone could be when their hunger strikes. The commercial uses Betty White, a

famous old​ american actress and comedian who is overage to be playing any type of sports and

puts her in a football pick up game between a group of her buddies. One of the players are not

acting like themselves. Snickers “Betty White” claims that “you're not you when your hungry”,

but Snickers fails to stick to reality in the situation; snickers uses pathos, logos, and ethos in an

equal amount, and creates an appeal to emotion of a candy bar; Thus, “Betty White” serves as a

despairing reminder that older women are not meant to play a game that men should be playing.

All Snickers commercials begin with that comedic style to them. Snickers grips the audience by

using a famous actor or actress to be part of the main character in their commercials. The

famously known Betty White snickers commercial uses comedy to capture their audiences

attention.

By using humor in their commercial, pathos is introduced to make the audience laugh

and enjoy it all the way through. The commercial was intended towards young audience and

football fans. As the scene opens up Betty White is shown running a route as fast as she possibly
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can, and being tackled to the ground and in to a puddle of mud (Snickers 00:00:01). This very

first second of the commercial already has the audience laughing without any dialogue, as an

unexpected witty old lady is playing a tough game of football with grown men and no signs of

mercy are shown when she is fully tackled into the mud. It continues with Betty going back to

the huddle while one of her friends ask “Mike what is your deal man?” (Snickers 00:00:09). She

quickly replies “come on man you've been riding me all day” (Snickers 00:00:10). Bettys

response towards her buddy already starts off the chain of how tired she is being toss around like

a rag doll. Another one of her buddies telling her “you're playing like Betty White out there”

(Snickers 00:00:13). She quickly responds again by saying “that's not what your girlfriend says”

(Snickers 00:00:14). The attitude and smart remarks between Betty and her teammates make the

commercial more amusing than it already is, it reminds guys of the time when they messed

around with their friends the exact same way when they used to play a rough game of football or

even hangout. Many commercials use pathos to get the audience's attention to make them feel

some type of emotion towards their commercial and snickers does this in an outstanding way.

Another formality other than pathos is logos. Logos appeals to logic and is used to

persuade audiences for reasoning. Logos is always introduced at the very end of every Snickers

commercial. At the very end of every Snickers commercial their slogan appears “you're not you

when your hungry... Snickers satisfies” (Snickers 00:00:27). The slogan itself claims that when

people are hungry they will be someone else like an old lady playing football, however if people

were to have a snickers bar it would fill them up and make them the person they are suppose to
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be giving them that energy that they need. Snickers is only meant to be a snack, not a full course

meal that’ll magically fill people up instantly and relive their hunger.

Snickers also uses ethos to produce their product. Ethos persuades audience to trust the

characters actions or words in a commercial. At the very beginning Betty White is introduced.

Many people are already familiar with the female actress. A ninety year old women doesn’t

belong on a football field which is why the commercial has a witty sense to it. Not only would

She get destroyed going up against huge men but, she also would be laughed at and embarrassed

no man wants to be in that situation. It also shows a sense of masculinity, as no man wants to

play like an old woman during a pick up football game. As one of the friends even mocks him

for “playin​g like betty white out there” (Snickers 00:00:13).​ Snickers does intend to use this

situation to perform its objective of ethos to persuade the audience to trust not only their product

but also the characters actions and words. Snickers using a famously well known actress already

grips the audiences attention in the commercial.

Snickers introduces a mistaken belief known as a fallacy, an appeal to the emotion shows

effect in their commercial. As snickers commercials are straightforward and to the point they

want you to believe ​“you're not you when your hungry... snickers satisfies” (Snickers 00:00:27).

Snickers wants people to believe when your not feeling yourself a simple thing like a snickers

bar will turn you back into the person they are. An appeal to the emotion is shown in their slogan

as well being “The use of emotionally charged language to distract readers and listeners from

relevant reasons and evidence” (Browne & Keeley pg 78). The slogan intends to force their
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audience in the fact in telling people snickers will satisfy them by making them a better person

and, not make them hungry any longer. Snickers is only a candy bar that any person would be

able to finish in a matter of two minutes, it will not fill up an empty stomach and won’t give

people any energy to play a football pick up game, it will do the opposite making you more tired

and fatter by filling your mouth with an unhealthy snack. however , Snickers intendeds the

audience that eating a snickers bar will change them into the person they are suppose to be.

Snickers successfully persuade their audience by using pathos to make the audience

enjoy the funny commercial, logos to persuade the audience to purchase a snickers bar, and ethos

to take away masculinity in the situation. In 2010s Super bowl snickers commercial they used

this situation in a entertaining way to show how weak someone could be when their hunger

strikes. The commercial uses Betty White, a famous old​ american actress and comedian who is

overage to be playing any type of sports and puts her in a football pick up game between a group

of her buddies. One of the players are not acting like themselves instead they are playing like an

old lady. When she goes back to the huddle she is being mock on how bad she is playing. His

girlfriend pulls him off to the side and gives him a snickers bar, he then turns back into himself

and plays football like a man instead of an old lady Snickers “Betty White” claims that “you're

not you when your hungry”, but snickers fails to stick to reality in the situation; snickers uses

pathos, logos, and ethos in an equal amount , and creates an appeal to emotion of a candy bar;

Thus, “Betty White” serves as a despairing reminder that older women are not meant to play a

game that men should be playing.

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Works Cited

Browne, M. Neil, and Stuart M. Keeley. ​Asking the Right Questions.​ Prentice-Hall, 1981.

MistahSparkles70. “Betty White Snickers Super Bowl Commercial 2010.” ​YouTube,​ YouTube, 8

Feb. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ya0-OZ58s.