I had not heard of Century Link or Quest before viewing this commercial. The commercial went a little too fast for me to make all that deconstruction without watching it several times and hitting pause occasionally, which you might not be able to do on TV (unless you purchase that option) or other media. I agree with the first three paragraphs of deconstruction about the text and subtext and even into the fourth paragraph.
By the time I started reading the part about "what we know" I started to wonder if this was someone that was against this company and the merger. I had not heard of MLP before this assignment so I had to read a little about them. Having the links to the research that was done embedded in the article was helpful, although I found a couple links were broken.
I don't really think this ad is a "cover". The company might be making profits over customer satisfaction, but what ad doesn't try to sell their product? The main idea I took from this ad is the slinkies traveling all over. I associate slinkies with children, playtime and fun. These seem to be positive features from my point of view.
I am suspicious of all wireless plans. I think they are all too expensive for what is offered, AllTel is no exception. I've enjoyed watching commercials for wireless companies over the years. I've never gotten a negative feeling from any of them. They all want you to join their plan. I've seen this commercial before and didn't think there was any racism or stereotyping going on particularly. I think the connection between the family renting the room out and the cell phone bill was meant to hit a personal note. It would be ridiculous to rent out a child's room who is living with you to people you don't know, no matter who they are, to pay your cellphone bill. Just give up the cell phone. If you feel your family needs cell phones, don't allow texting. Not everyone can afford cell phones and data plans anyway. It is always important to look closely at the fine print of advertising.
I don't like the way these TV Network commercials are made. The filming is just bad. This one is hoping to play on your love for your dog. Since a lot of people treat their pets as family, who would want to send Fido out without a coat in cold weather when one is available. Does it make you a terrible person if you don't have a coat for your pet? How cold is too cold? How long is it safe to take your dog out for a walk in cold weather? How many people do this in extremely cold weather? And if you buy one you get another one free as well as a talking dog tag, no . . . not one, but two. It automatically makes me wonder about the quality of this product. And what if I don't already have a Snuggie to compare it to which the commercial suggests? Do I need one also?
Although I agree with you in regards to families needing to stay within their means when it comes to cell service, I saw the ad differently. It seemed to me they were portraying having to rent the room to the crazy foreigners with the chicken as the worst possible outcome, and using the men as the butt of a joke. I think privilege sometimes prevents people of prevalent power, like average white folks, from seeing shades of bias. Stereotypes and jokes seem innocent but can lead to violence and genocide if unchecked. This subtext is one I often uncover when teaching texts like "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," in which a neighborhood self-destructs because of an us vs. them mentality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your suggestion of eliminating the phone plan if it's too expensive, instead of going to such lengths as renting out your child's bedroom to strangers. However, I did detect an element of stereotyping. Particularly because this family is living in a nice home, where each child has his or her own bedroom, and their biggest worry is how to save a few bucks on a cell phone plan, while these ethnic men are so desperate for living quarters that they're willing to pay for a single room in someone else's home to be occupied by three grown men and a chicken. To me this implies that immigrants are too poor to afford their own space, and so desperate that they'll willingly do just about anything to ensure they can live in this country. I like the ad you selected. I myself am a pet owner and these types of ads do tug on your heartstrings, since everyone wants what is best for their pets. The creator of these ads know this, and use this technique to try to sell their product, even if it's something as silly as a dog coat.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with your deconstruction of this! I also ABSOLUTELY LOVE the breakdown! The commercial provides little to no information on the product, AT ALL! They are desperate to sell this product, obviously. Once again, I love your break down of this and all the questions that need answered. The same things were running through my mind as well after watching. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI think you were on to something about the AllTel deconstruction, but I do feel like the stereotype of the crazy, loud foreigner was the butt of the joke. In both television shows and commercials, the obvious answers do not grab one's attention like crude stereotypes do. I think your deconstruction of the dog commercial was very well evaluated. There does not seem to be any merit to the commercial, and I think you are right that they are playing on one's connection to their pet.
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