Analyzing the Rhetoric of the Dolly Parton “5-9” Squarespace 2021 Super Bowl Advertisement
Authors, speakers, and advertisers alike utilize various persuasive strategies to convey their messages to an audience. To evaluate how and why creators use these techniques, one can analyze the rhetoric of written works, speeches, and advertisements. The primary purpose of advertisements is to communicate a brand or organization’s message to their target consumers or the general public. The effectiveness of an advertisement depends on the how it is designed. The media format, language, tone, and visuals of the ad as well as where marketers place the ad contribute to how well it communicates the intended message. By analyzing an advertisement’s author(s), audience, purpose, and topic as well as the use of logos, ethos, and pathos appeals, the viewer can gain deeper insight into what contributions and details enable advertisements to be effective.
The creators of the Dolly Parton “5-9” Squarespace 2021 Super Bowl Advertisement include the Squarespace in-house creative marketing team (producers of commercial), Damien Chazelle (director of the commercial), Justin Peck (choreographer of dance sequence) and Dolly Parton (singer of “5-9”). Each contributor came from a different angle to develop the advertisement (Nover, 2021). The Chief Marketing Officer of Squarespace Kinjil Mathur stated in an AdWeek article that with this ad her intent for this ad is to "acknowledge those people who are working to make their side hustle their main hustle" (Nover, 2021). As a website-building platform, Squarespace often incorporates themes of entrepreneurial lifestyles throughout brand communications. As marketers, the Squarespace team brings an understanding of their target audience as well as a strong awareness of company values and objectives into the rhetoric of the ad.
As the director of the commercial, Damien Chazell offers his expertise in visual storytelling. This element in the rhetorical context affects the structure of the advertisement. Chazell won an Academy Award for directing La La Land, and the visual themes of this commercial are reminiscent of the scenes from that movie. The color blocked outfit styling paired with an emphasis on dancing and musicality of the ad reflect Chazell’s directing style. The bright colors of the vignettes and outfits featured in the commercial act as one of the main methods utilized to communicate the commercial’s energizing and joyful tone.
As the choreographer of the advertisement, Justin Peck's professional experience enabled him to choreograph the dancing in a way that told a story throughout the commercial. His choreography expressed feelings of happiness, excitement, and expression. The choreography contributed to the rhetoric by further communicating the tone of the commercial to the audience. The development of tone is vital to the effectiveness of the advertisement because viewers who are left with a positive feeling might be more inclined to consider using Squarespace’s service.
Dolly Parton's reimagined lyrics of her well-known song "9-5" offered an encouraging anthem for those who are seeking to bring their passion projects to life. By setting the scenes of the commercial to the backdrop of Parton’s “5-9” song, creators of the ad highlight Squarespace as an essential resource for budding entrepreneurs to realize their dreams.
In addition to utilizing a collaborative team of professionals with various expertise, another factor that has led to the effectiveness of this ad is an awareness of the audience. Squarespace launched this commercial during the airing of the 2021 Super Bowl which shows that the team created it with a very wide viewership in mind. The concept of creating an e-commerce platform as a side hustle or full-time career may appeal to younger professionals that have grown up watching their peers pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. Additionally, the integration of Dolly Parton's iconic song (originally released in 1980) appeals to another, older generation. This consumer segment may relate to the initial scene of a dry and dim cubical office and find the prospect of re-rerouting their career inspiring. In either case, Squarespace had their target market segments in mind with the creation of this advertisement.
The topic of this advertisement is that Squarespace is a tool that can help individuals pursue their side hustles- also coined as their “5-9s” - and even turn their passions into full-time careers. Parton communicates this topic through her song. The new lyrics are:
“Working 5-to-9
You’ve got passion and a vision
‘Cuz it’s hustlin’ time
Only way to make a livin’
Gonna change your life
Do something that gives it meaning
With a website that is worthy of your dreamin’
5-to-9, you keep workin’, workin’, workin’, workin’
5-to-9, til your dreams come true
Workin’ 5-to-9. You keep dreamin’, dreamin’, dreamin’, dreamin
5-to-9. 5-to-9. You can do it.”
The lyrics communicate the topic of the commercial by relating to viewers who have a passion and a vision for themselves that may not align with their current full-time careers. Various scenes in the commercial show the people that were once sitting in cubicles creating their own websites on the Squarespace platform. One vignette features a painter selling his work on a Squarespace site, while another vignette shows a woman who uses her Squarespace page as a way for people to book her dance classes (5 to 9 by Dolly Parton 2021). With several cross-industry examples of startups and side-hustles featured in the commercial, it is clear to viewers that Squarespace is a multifaceted platform that they can use to create unique sites.
The purpose of the advertisement is to highlight the usefulness of Squarespace's platform in a pandemic world. The Squarespace CMO explains the thought behind the commercial: "Coming off a particularly challenging year, we wanted to put work out into the world that was inspiring and uplifting,” Mathur said. “It was important to use that platform to share a modern rallying cry for every dreamer working to turn an after-hours project into their own business… the spot is intended to empower anyone to take a chance and try something new" (Nover, 2021). This purpose was achieved through the combination music and colorful visuals.
The creative direction of the advertisement also incorporates the use of rhetorical appeals. The creative team utilized ethos by including Dolly Parton; her presence offers an element of authority to the commercial because she is a well-known celebrity who simultaneously has been pursuing her own "side hustle" by launching a perfume brand (Nover, 2021). Additionally, Squarespace positions itself as a brand that is an authority in the realm of website builders for startups. In the commercial and other marketing materials, Squarespace highlights how the platform’s features can elevate businesses and they frequently feature entrepreneurial stories. In doing so, the brand has calibrated itself to become one of the trusted platforms for entrepreneurs.
The advertisement uses logos by flipping the 9-5 to 5-9 to create a witty adaptation that relates to the younger workforce. This revision highlights the recent, more contemporary take on professional careers of referencing the dismantling the typical 9-5 workday. The advertisement shows the moment when employees switch from their 9-5 to their 5-9, creating a logical visual depiction of the side-hustle lifestyle.
Many different employees are shown in their individual vignettes that display their true passions which illustrates the creative team’s use of pathos. This scene appeals to the emotion of those who have a dream for themselves but just need a bit of support- from a platform like Squarespace- to bring them to life. Additionally, the colors of the themes emit different emotions. The initial theme of bored employees in their cubicles might produce some negative emotions for the viewer, while the dancing and brightly colored outfits in the following scenes offer an uplifting message.
Through evaluating the rhetorical context and appeals of the Dolly Parton “5-9” Squarespace 2021 Super Bowl Advertisement, it became clear that the creators, audience, topic, purpose, and use of ethos, pathos, and logos all contributed to the success of the advertisement.
References:
5 to 9 by Dolly Parton – Extended Big Game Commercial 2021 Squarespace. (2021, February 2). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4FYL8twE6Q.
Nover, S. (2021, February 2). Dolly Parton Inverts '9 to 5' for SQUARESPACE Super Bowl ad. https://www.adweek.com/creativity/dolly-parton-inverts-9-to-5-for-squarespaces-hustle-themed-super-bowl-ad/.