02 Feb 2009
by perrkk
in Rhetoric analysis
Tags: intro, Kahlua
Welcome page to Kahlua website
Kahlua.com is a well-thought out site with the goal of persuading the purchase of its product by specifically targeting its younger drinking audience. The Kahlua company accomplishes its goal by first transporting the viewer of the site to another, romanticized world and relating to the younger audience via using interactive graphics and entertaining extras. All the while, the designers of the site also send numerous silent messages throughout several aspects of the site, which all point to the product, convincing the viewer that Kahlua is unique, versatile, and a must-have.
Kahlua is a unique coffee-like alcoholic drink, which originated in Mexico and is said to be made from Arabic coffee beans; “a drink of the kings”, as the site says. This history of the drink’s origins serves as the inspiration to take the first step in persuading the audience: a transportation into a different time and place, where you can even share in the experience of living like a king by drinking Kahlua. Through the visual rhetoric of the background art, featuring a calm sunset and silhouetted images, the viewer is taken to a relaxing country where the worries of the world seem to melt away. This background image, or else colors imitating the sunset feeling is repeated on every page of the site. This background in key to creating a relaxing atmosphere that will make the viewer want to relax more as well, possibly by getting a drink to unwind.
The atmosphere of casual interactions and relaxation is also the medium that is used to convey another strong persuasive aspect of the site: silent messages. The sheer beauty of the sunset, and the beauty of the physical appearance and accents of the actors in the more interactive parts of the site suggests to the viewer that perhaps if they drank Kahlua, they too could be just as beautiful. Silent messages are also creatively carried into the blog page on the website, where blogs are written on what appears to be napkins. I don’t believe that anyone could get more casual. A few of the posts suggest that they were written by famous bartenders, but the site offers ever user the opportunity to write something. By using this relaxed mode of writing, the viewer feels that they are being offered an honorable opportunity by posting to the spot at which someone well respected has posted. In this way, the viewer receives the feeling that they too are special and respected and become more as ease and more likely to respond. In this way, the company may receive more feedback.
Silent messages are also sent out on every page of the Kahlua website, where visual rhetoric is utilized by having a constant repetition of Kahlua icons. The ancient art design that is the focus point of the welcome page of the website is repeatedly used as links and scroll bars in the website. Plus, the title with the characteristic bright yellow text saying “Kahlua” is boldly shown across every page. These constant reminders leave no room for doubt about what this website is about and keeps the viewer constantly focused at the product at hand. As an addition to this advertising method, there are extra facts about Kahlua that pop up in the middle of the screen every time a page loads when a link on the site is clicked. The text is not there for long, so the viewer is compelled to read quickly in order to receive the extra bit of information. In this way, too, the web designers keep the viewer constantly engaged in the site and the product, preventing distraction even during the time it takes to load a page.
