Welch's: "To Health"

"Behold! Vitis labrusca, the Concord grape." Chef and television personality Alton Brown exuberantly gets us started into this 2008 Welch's commercial, promoting the benefits of drinking Welch's grape juice.

The writer, producer, and star of Food Network's Good Eats is situated in grape fields with a grape press, a chalkboard, and picked Concords on what appears to be a bright, cloudy morning. As he works the press, he states that squeezing the grapes releases polyphenols, a form of antioxidant that "fight[s] free radicals and help[s] to prevent cell damage." (For those unfamiliar, free radicals, or oxidants, as described by this Chicago Tribune article, are "involved in certain illnesses, including cancer and degenerative brain diseases.") Drinking Welch's grape juice, as Alton Brown points to the chalkboard, "can help support a healthy heart, mind, and immune system." But if you simply enjoy the taste and don't care so much about the exact health benefits, "that's okay, too."

It goes almost without saying that this 30-second advertisement incorporates two of the three modes of persuasion: ethos and logos. Pathos, too, is used in this ad, but it is much more subtle.

This is not the first time that Welch Foods Incorporated has used celebrities as a form of ethical appeal in their commercials. You may recall this famous 1994 commercial, featuring Travis Tedford, who starred in The Little Rascals. But Alton Brown's commercial required a much different feel to it. This three-year-old ad had a much more scientific flair to it (logos), meaning a prominent person from the culinary world might serve as a better messenger than a kid actor.

However, Welch's did not only use Alton Brown himself for ethos. It is no accident that Welch's commercial delivers a very similar look and feel as Alton Brown's Good Eats episodes. The commercial is very educational. Alton Brown is interacting with the grape press and the chalkboard. More significantly, he's talking to his audience with the same camera angles and poise that he has always done. This advertisement was essentially made for him; Welch's would have taken a much different approach if they were using another celebrity.

Alton Brown's signature presence on television comes from his ability to educate audiences like no other cook can. He is the Bill Nye of food. And he makes precise reasoning as to why Welch's grape juice provides health benefits. As stated earlier, Alton Brown addresses the combating of oxidants and the prevention of cell damage by way of polyphenols. Aside from the additional claim that Welch's helps your heart, mind, and immune system, the commercial does not expand on its logical appeal any further. But in that short time when Alton Brown does explain the benefits, the logos is very apparent.

The pathetic appeal is not as discernible as the other perceptions, but it is very much there. It's a bright, lovely morning in the fields. Birds chirp in the background. The music is upbeat. Alton Brown is in good spirits. You suddenly feel immersed in this relaxing, yet exciting, environment. Perhaps being in such a setting as these grape fields gives you that "Home, Sweet Home" feeling. Who wouldn't want to drink Welch's grape juice if it implies such happiness?

This advertisement is a bit of a departure from what Welch's has done before. Travis Tedford was not the only kid that Welch's hired for their commercials; Welch's is very well-known for using children as their spokespersons (such as this and this). I personally welcome the change, because I have always enjoyed Alton Brown's commentary – and those Welch's children are rather annoying. But for those who were not already familiar with his television shows, this commercial might not make the intended impact. The commercial, unlike the Weight Watchers and Subway ads we viewed last week, does not even bother to mention who the celebrity is. So viewers who have no idea who Alton Brown is are left in the dark. Especially because Good Eats is shown on a cable-only network, not identifying him may have been a mistake.

Despite the shift in ad strategy, Alton Brown's commercial shares the same audience as Welch's older promotions: adults. Most young children would not try to parse what Alton Brown is saying in his commercial. After all, two of his first three words are "Vitis labrusca." Furthermore, what are antioxidants and free radicals and all this other mumbo jumbo? They don't know. And both advertisements linked in the preceding paragraph make sure to include the words "Mom says." It can't get much more obvious that these commercials, especially Alton Brown's, are not directed at children.