Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Brand and Media Strategy
Date of Award
12-2021
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Stokes Piercy
Committee Members
Susan Waters, Chase A. Mitchell
Abstract
The advancement of digital entertainment media has given audiences the ability to skip ads that do not interest them. Consequently, brands face the challenge of creating ads that can compel audiences and finding media outlets that can effectively reach target audiences. Brands today use product placements to promote their products because movie audiences are generally attentive to ads when they are incorporated in a movie’s narrative. Marvel Cinematic Universe is a globally recognized entertainment franchise that uses product placements strategically to promote brands in their movies and TV shows. In this study, I conduct rhetorical analyses of select product placements in Marvel movies to investigate how they employ different rhetorical appeals in promoting products; and discuss how the appeals can influence audience perceptions of the products advertised. My findings suggest that product placements in Marvel movies leverage Aristotle's rhetorical appeals to draw audiences' attention and influence their opinions about products.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Okai, Andrew Nii Okai, "Movies That Sell: A Rhetorical Analysis of Product Placements in Marvel Movies" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4004. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4004
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, American Film Studies Commons, Film Production Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons