Eating Actors: Good or Bad?

Microsoft created Bing, an internet search engine, a few years ago and along with their humorous advertisements created a catchy slogan, “Bing & Decide.” Microsoft at the end of every commercial also adds a memorable “Bing” sound effect. I find that even though I do not use Bing as my main search engine, their commercials are always memorable. In the particular commercial I chose is set in AMC’s original television show “The Walking Dead,” and began airing in October 2011. The commercial begins by featuring two zombie actors, one male and one female, gnawing on a severed leg and moves into the actors sitting in their set chairs. The male actor comes into the frame after the female and groans in response to the actresses’ comments. At that point, the viewer recognizes that the male actor is a “real zombie” and foreshadows what the next scenes in the advertisement will hold. It is also obvious that the actress is enamored with the zombie. The actress then pulls out her smart phone and searches on Bing “Dating an actor;” simultaneously the zombie searches on Bing “Eating an actor.” Adding to the humor of the situation are the sample results displayed from the zombie’s search such as, “Recipes for humans.” The commercial progresses by announcing that Bing is hosting a contest for a “Stagger-On Role Sweepstakes” for AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” giving a few contest rules and showing scenes for the upcoming season. The end features the actress and the zombie in the same scene as the beginning, kneeling next to the severed leg, but this time the zombie bites the actress. She lets out a blood curdling scream and the iconic words and sound effects of all Bing commercials appear. Throughout the advertisement, most of the audio is music similar to music played in elevators; however, to grab the attention of the viewer while the sweepstakes is being explained the music changes to that which could be described as classic rock music. I believe that this commercial did an excellent job of keeping the viewer entertained while marketing the Bing search engine and points out that our society is growing ever more impatient.

The target audiences for this particular commercial are AMC network viewers, fans of “The Walking Dead,” and smart phone/android phone users. The purpose of this ad was to convince viewers to choose Bing over other search engines and therefore represents a claim of value. This commercial uses a lot of well placed rhetorical strategies such as logos and ethos. For example, the commercial featuring the two actors using Bing on their phones acquaints the viewer with how easy it is to use Bing. The commercial also improves their creditability by displaying sample search results and the time it took for the results to be displayed. The main fallacy the commercial presents is the bandwagon appeal, basically stating that because the actors use Bing viewers should as well. I found this commercial a very effective advertisement.

To me, this commercial represents how infatuated society is with smart phones and that the slogan, “Bing & Decide,” represents society’s ever growing need for instant gratification. Since the introduction of smart phones and now android phones society has grown impatient and uses their phone for almost everything. For example, citizens uses their phones as a day planner, for email, social networking sites, online shopping, and much more; because the phones encompass the internet, text messaging, and in my case the rare phone call; people no longer want to wait to check their email and extends into demanding rapid search results. People refuse to wait in line at stores and online shopping has become very popular. All of this is evidence that society in order to satisfy their need for instant gratification have turned to their smart phones as the answer.

Microsoft in this commercial has done very well at taking humor to advertise Bing as a search engine that gives fast and relevant results. Microsoft also took societies usage of cell phones and desire for quick results into account in creating this commercial. Even though I still prefer Google as main search engine, being a creature of habit, I enjoy watching Bing commercials and cannot wait to see what the advertising department at Microsoft comes up with next.

For the full lenth commercial visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf2Znls_XB8