Advertisement: Never Say No to Panda!

                One of the most popular viral advertisements is a string of short commercials from Panda, an Egyptian manufacturer of cheese and dairy products. In these commercials, called “Never Say No to Panda”, producer Hossam Fawzy portrays a dark sense of humor that suggests that refusing to eat Panda cheese results in being attacked by a life-size panda. Made in 2008, a combination of repetition and dark humor allow Fawzy to convey the purpose and ultimate goal of buying Panda Cheese.

                Several cut scenes are shown in the series of commercials; all involve individuals who refuse to eat Panda cheese and as a result are attacked by a life-size panda. An office worker gets his computer destroyed when refusing a Panda cheese sandwich. A hospital patient loses his TV and has his IV removed by the expressionless panda when he doesn’t want to eat Panda cheese for breakfast, and a pizza maker who has an order without cheese gets his materials ruined by the panda. When a father and son are in a grocery store, they eventually learn the second time to buy the cheese and walk away apprehensively as the panda follows them.

                The most powerful rhetorical devices used to “sell” a message to customers are humor and repetition. Humor also involves the repetition to create a sense of recurring ideas. For example, those who do not eat the Panda cheese are attacked by a panda suit character that materializes whenever someone refuses to eat.  This connects greatly to the repetition involved. For example, the song True Love Ways by Buddy Holly always plays in the background when the panda arrives. Also, after watching several commercials, one eagerly anticipates the destruction that the panda will cause to the individuals who unfortunately refused to eat the Panda cheese. The panda’s blank expression stands in sharp juxtaposition to the acts of destruction that he performs.

                Producer Fawzy certainly achieved his purpose of selling a convincing and interesting message about Panda cheese to prospective buyers. Through repetition and humor, Panda cheese has certainly elevated itself not only to perhaps successful business but also viral fame.