Visual Communication: No More Beef

Introduction:
Visual communication is used throughout the world. You can find a billboard on almost any road and there is advertisement every where you look. You can't even walk around campus without seeing some kind of advertisement. Visual communication is a great way to get your message to your audience, because there are so many people that drive to work and read the paper or magazines for entertainment. In the essay I have posted, I discuss the purpose, audience, and content of a Chick-fil-a billboard that is placed on a frequently traveled bridge. The billboard has one of Chick-fil-a's most famous sayings and it is simple and gets the point across.

The ad that I chose for assignment three is a Chick-fil-a billboard. This is one that I found near my hometown. Chick-fil-a is a fast food restaurant, and they only sell chicken products. In this essay I will try to explain to you the design of this ad, the purpose, and the audience this ad targets.

This billboard is pretty plain. It is all white with black lettering that reads “EAT MOR CHICKIN”, and underneath that is the Chick-fil-a signature in red. The signature lettering is in cursive, and the “C” of Chick is designed to looked like the head of a chicken. On the right side of the billboard, are two cows.

One is on all fours looking at the oncoming cars and the other is sitting on its back with a paint brush facing the billboard. The lettering of eat mor chickin is sloppy and the paint is running down. The words “mor” and “chickin” have been misspelled as if the cow was actually writing it. Even though we all know cows can’t write in the first place. I think the cows are the most important feature of this ad. When you see two cows up in the air, you just have to look and see what the deal is. I also think that the sloppy writing in big letters attracts the attention of cars driving by.

Chick-fil-a’s headquarters is located in Atlanta, Georgia. They specialize in chicken entrees. It is the second biggest chicken-based fast-food chain in the United States. The franchise is mostly associated with the southern United States but has recently been working its way into the Midwestern states. They have become so popular in the United States that they now have a college bowl game named after them; this bowl game is played in Atlanta, GA at the Georgia Dome. They have over 1300 locations in 37 different states. Although their current slogan is “we didn’t invent the chicken, just the chicken sandwich,” their most prominent slogan is “Eat Mor Chickin.” This slogan was temporarily halted when there was an outburst in mad cow disease in 2003 (www.wikipedia.com). It is kind of funny how the cows in these ads are Holsteins rather than the Angus. Holsteins are a breed of dairy cattle and Angus are beef cattle. One reason for using the dairy cattle instead of the Angus could be because the Holsteins are better known by the consumer than the Angus. Another billboard that is part of this campaign says, “Closed on Sundays.” The founder of Chick-fil-a wanted to ensure that the employees and restaurant operators had an opportunity to worship, spend time with family and friends or just plain rest from the work week (www.chick-fil-a.com). It is very rare to find a business that is closed on Sundays this day and age. They have many chicken related items on their menu. One of the most famous items on their menu is the chicken sandwich.

This ad is placed on a bridge on Gordon Drive in Sioux City, IA. Gordon Drive is a very busy, business road that leads to downtown Sioux City. There are many food restaurants located around this billboard, but most of those food restaurants are not fast-food such as Chick-fil-a is. Chick-fil-a is located in the Southern Hills Mall which is on the other side of town from where the billboard is placed. This is actually the only Chick-fil-a billboard in Sioux City. I think the reason for putting it where it is, is because we use to have a stockyard just below the bridge. The stockyard is where a bunch of farmers would come to buy and sell cattle.

The ad doesn’t just focus on one group of people. It associates itself with everyone. It grabs the attention of people of all ages; children, teens, and adults. Children see the cows and think it is cool how they are up on the billboard and might even think they are real cows. Teenagers may also think it is neat how they have placed the cows and the writing in which the slogan is written. Adults might like this advertisement because it is simple and gets the point across, and it does not promote any harmful substances to their kids. The Chick-fil-a ad does not discriminate against any sex or race, and it does not promote violence or drugs.

The use of the cows saying “EAT MOR CHICKIN,” is funny because they want you to eat chicken from Chick-fil-a instead of eating beef. The ad’s purpose is to use something simple that will catch the consumers’ eye, and to use something that will stick in the consumers’ mind as they drive away. A lot of billboards have tons of writing, and people cannot read everything as they are driving by, and ultimately miss the purpose of the advertisement. Chick-fil-a kept this ad short with big lettering; they also use a catchy slogan that almost everyone knows.

The two cows are placed on the right side of the billboard. With the cows on the right side, the people driving by can easily read what the billboard says. The lettering is in big writing which is a little sloppy, and a couple of the words are misspelled. It is easy to read this billboard, because the slogan is big and short. In the middle of the billboard is the Chick-fil-a signature. The signature is painted in red so it sticks out from the slogan which is in black. The red writing is the only color on the entire advertisement. The cows are put in the position as if they were actually writing on the billboard. Having the cows arranged this way helps the advertisement because it is funny, and is something that people will remember. Maybe after seeing this advertisement, people will think of Chick-fil-a when they see a cow.

If you did not know what Chick-fil-a was, you would know for sure it is not a high-class restaurant after seeing this ad. The people of Chick-fil-a express a sense of laid back, funny people through this ad and many others like it. The character of the billboards that the Chick-fil-a advertisers make lets you know that they are not up-tight and have a good sense of humor.

Viewers of this ad most likely smile or laugh when they see two cows writing on a billboard. Chick-fil-a adds humor to their campaign because they don’t want people to think of negative things when they see a Chick-fil-a restaurant. They associate humor with food. Chickens are also a lot easier to raise than cattle are. I think that both meats are good to eat and good for you, but you need to have a balanced diet of both.