Entry #5: Rhetorical Analysis of the bear ad

        In the Mayhem Bear ad we see a man in a suit say that he is playing the part of a wandering bear who has come across an unattended vehicle in the woods. He then proceeds to destroy and presumably deal thousands of dollars of damage to the vehicle by getting into food that was left inside and even ripping a door directly off the hinges. He then proceeds to let the audience know that this could happen to you and that you should make sure that you’re covered for this kind of situation. This ad uses humor and a little bit of fear as well to motivate the people who see it to consider getting insurance or even switching their plan so that they don’t have to worry about crazy situations like the one presented in the video.

The most prevalent tone in this ad is humor, and they convey this in multiple ways. The first thing that sticks out is the man in the suit explaining that he is a bear. It calls on the audience to use their imagination to put a bear in place of the man who is going up to this car with all the same mannerisms as a wild bear. He makes occasionally makes grunting noises and even tears into some bags of chips by shaking the bag in his mouth. The absurdity of seeing a normal man acting like a bear is adding comedy to an otherwise horrible situation for any normal person, especially if they don’t have insurance, and that’s when fear could set in.

Fear is a tone in this ad that is almost hidden and is really directed at the target audience of people who either don’t have insurance, or are looking to switch providers. It’s fun to laugh at the ad but a thought could come up in the back of the viewers head that they really need to get covered just in case something like a bear does come out of no where and destroy their car. The goal is to make people think about things that could go wrong and if they are covered in those cases. At the end of the video as the man beings to walk off screen, still acting like a bear, you can hear the family who presumably owns the car in the background yell as if they had just seen a bear. It’s funny as an ad because there isn’t actually a bear in the ad, however, the people in the ad really are seeing a real bear therefore letting out a fearful yell. 

The use of humor and fear go a long way in this advertisement and it’s interesting to see how it’s directed at the audience to get them to act by choosing their service over other competitors. They are showing that no matter how absurd or crazy life can get you will be covered if you choose to go with their service. Everyone likes to laugh and having a grown man act like a bear is a good way to grab the attention of the viewers, then as the advertisement continues it makes them think and relate this experience to their own which in some cases can cause a bit of fear for someone who doesn’t have insurance or is looking to switch providers.