Persuasive Language Analysis

The advertisement, ‘Whale meat is the beef of the sea’, advances the argument that by switching from beef to whale meat will save Australian cows. The advertisement uses a formal yet humorous tone to convince the audience that eating whale is an altruistic act. This advertisement appeared on the ABC’s program ‘The Green Transfer’ as part of a segment in which advertising agencies seek to ‘sell the unsellable’.
The advertisement relies heavily on the use of personification. A close up focuses on an amiable looking cow amongst his ‘friends’ whom the viewer is informed is called ‘Hamish’. Naming ‘Hamish’ and calling the depicted herd ‘friends’, gives these cows human like qualities and invites viewers to emphasise with them. This is juxtaposed with a solitary unnamed whale, making it harder for the audience to establish an emotional connection with it. Statistics are also employed when the voiceover informs the audience that Hamish and his 200 friends, face an unpleasant fate as ‘pure Australian beef’. The viewer’s altruism is appealed via a rhetorical question, posing that the killing of the one whale is kinder than the killing of the 200 pleasant looking cattle.
The advertisement also employs a catchy slogan, ‘Whale meat. It’s the beef of the sea’. This slogan powerfully equates that the eating of whale meat, is the same as the consumption of beef and seeks to familiarise the unfamiliar. The slogan seeks to override possible objections from Australian consumers who are likely to be squeamish and uncomfortable with the thought of eating whales. The way in which the slogan suggests they are both equally exchangeable is a direct and catchy way to get this message across to the audience.
Overall, ‘Whale meat is the beef of the sea’, is likely to be a successful campaign in persuading Australian audiences to begin consuming whale meat. Its clever use of personification and statistics seeks to appeal to powerful emotions of empathy and sympathy. It seems only reasonable and logical that one whale should be killed instead of 200 cows.