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Abstract:
In this paper, I evaluate the super-bowl advertisement Cat Herders as a performance by investigating the way in which the cat-herding imagery of the 1 - minute video allowed Electronic Data Systems to effectively promote their services. I found that the cat-herding imagery made the video memorable by appealing to pathos, and it persuades the viewers to desire EDS’ services by depicting the task of data-processing to be extremely difficult and resultantly appealing to logos. The findings of this analysis are important to give the readers more awareness of the layers and strategies of such comedic advertisements that indirectly promotes its product.
Data? Nope, cats.
“Herding cats? This must be one heck of a cat-food commercial.” This thought was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the opening scene of the 1-minute Super Bowl XXXIV commercial. A lone white cat stood atop a horse’s saddle in the background of the shot, whilst a cowboy explains his cat-herding lineage by holding up a monochromatic picture that seems to show a group of people and cats standing in front of a tent. The coming scenes also kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly repeating the same interaction between adorable cats and macho cowboys. They employed regular scene transitions that alternate between the cat-herders waxing poetic about the nature of their difficult occupation to the camera and scenes of them in action herding the cats. From shots of a group of masculine herders trying to control the endless number of scrambling cats to slow- motion scenes that depict the cats as majestic creatures, there were certainly many eye-catching scenes. I also heard an orchestra-themed music accompanied by a cacophony of cats meowing in the background. Nearing the end of the video, I was keen to find out the company that created this masterful advertisement. Was it PetCare? General Mills? Nope, the advertisement was done by Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a data processing company. Seeing the numerous scenes of cowboys trying to herd cats, I would have never thought that the video’s original purpose was to advertise EDS’ data processing services. There were barely any components of data-related matters in the video whatsoever. The only direct connection that EDS made to their actual services was at the end of the video, when the screen showed a short explanatory sentence that said “In a sense this is what we do. We bring together information, ideas and technologies, and make them go where you want” (Macleod, “EDS”). The advertisement was more humorous rather than informative, but either way, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I became intrigued in examining this advertisement as a performance based
every single one of the characters are depicted to be very gentle, handling the cats with care and carrying out actions such as cradling the cats and rolling up a ball of yarn. In fact, the incongruity between the content of the video and the classic Cowboy Western genre was actually what caught my attention in the first place. I was curious: What were these adorable white cats doing in the desert? Why are the masculine cowboys so cautious in handling these harmless creatures? By making me ask all of these questions, the video effectively captured my attention, causing me to watch till the end for the answers and making the video all the more memorable. Therefore, the subversion (perhaps even challenging) of expectations that appeals to the audience’s sense of curiosity works to make the advertisement more memorable as it compels viewers to want to know more. Nevertheless, I view this advertisement as a two-part performance. The first act involves pathos, etching the cat-herding imagery into the viewers’ minds as explained previously. The second act entails creating a connection between this imagery and the services that EDS offers, and using logos – a rhetorical appeal to the viewers’ sense of logic or rationality – to compel the viewers to desire the data processing services of EDS. One of the ways EDS has successfully established logos is by using the act of herding cats as an imagery that describes the difficult process of data management. The idiom “It’s like herding cats” is a commonly used saying even in the corporate world that describes an impossibility in controlling an uncontrollable situation. EDS establishes the connection between cat-herding and data processing by explicitly mentioning it through the aforementioned short text of “In a sense this is what we do” and by including easily noticeable similarities between the two acts (Macleod, “EDS”). For example, I interpret the movement and number of cats shown in this video as a symbol for data. From grey, fluffy long-haired ones to black short-haired ones, I would always see a large herd of cats of different species and size in almost every single scene, which is representative of the countless different types of
data that we have to deal with in our daily lives. Moreover, the cats are constantly running around in and out of the frames haphazardly as a cacophony of meows can be heard in the backgrounds. The cats’ movements are supposed to represent the endless stream of data and how data is constantly streaming in and out of our lives, while the background noise may signify the constant stressful call for attention that comes with handling data. As a whole, it is evident that the cat-herding imagery depicts the task of data management to be very demanding and perhaps even impossible as it conveys how there is countless data which you have to constantly pay attention to. With this, the viewers may rationalize that instead of trying to solve the seemingly impossible (as the idiom suggests), it’s more logical for them to rely on EDS – one of the few experts of that time – and their ability to “bring together information, ideas and technologies, and make them go where you want” (Macleod, “EDS”). EDS also uses the whole narrative built around this imagery of cat-herding to strengthen the appeal of logos. One particular dialogue of the cowboys which stood out to me was when one of them said “not everyone can do what we do” (Macleod, “EDS”). In other words, the job of being a cat-herder is not something that any easy-going person can easily pick up and carry out. This is emphasized due to the fact there are no casual civilians in any of the scenes as only the professional, veteran cowboys are shown to be doing what they describe to be “the toughest thing” (Macleod, “EDS”). Therefore, the cowboys being the only ones capable of cat-herding is analogous to how the EDS team are the only one who are able to process data, compelling the viewers to once again make the only rational choice of relying them for support. Moreover, aside from bringing about the aforementioned comedic factor, the rugged characterization of the cowboys in this video is also essential for further accentuating the difficulty and need for EDS’ data processing services. This portrayal of characters is evident through the dirty and rugged look of the cowboys. Every single one of them is wearing dust and sand-covered clothing, with some of them having tattered clothes. One of them is even
Reference:
Macleod, Duncan. “EDS Cat Herders Herding Cats.” The Inspiration Room , 29 Sept. 2017, theinspirationroom.com/daily/2005/cat-herders-herding-cats/. Schechner, Richard. Performance Studies: an Introduction. Edited by Sara Brady, 3rd ed., Routledge, 2013.
