So, for our first blog entry in this course, we are to choose a commercial and critically think about what the video is all about, the perspective of both the viewer as well as the creator.
To take us back in history, which I will do from time to time (hey, I am a history teacher - we are people too!), persuasion and mass media outlets have gone hand in hand, well, since the start. There has always been someone, some group, or some agenda that is being pushed throughout time and the media and its outlets are fundamentally sound ways of getting that message out to large groups of people. Some of the ways that the message makers have used over the years are television, advertising, billboards, radio, the internet, newspaper, magazines, books, etc...
The use of persuasion is especially true during times of need. The kinds of persuasion used are often more overt. During times of war, companies were employed by the United States government to create, produce, and persuade millions of war time Americans into joining the army, buying war bonds, or rationing their food. And while we aren't in an official war time right now, persuasion is still being used but it is more subtle. There are messages there within but these messages aren't always as straight forward as "buy this" or "get that." In fact, many messages have been diluted with political, racial, or gender messages reinforcing the status quo or trying to buck those trends.
For example, modern companies, even Starbucks coffee, are trying to send persuasive messages home.
Here is the video I choose:
To help understand what that "bubbly" video was all about (sorry, couldn't help it!), let's break it down into four categories.
1) Analysis. What is the purpose of this video? What version of reality is it selling?
The commercial for Starbucks iced coffee is trying to sell their product. Which by the way, if anyone has ever had it, is quite delicious and I'm pretty sure they didn't need this video to sell it in the first place. The video starts off with a girl going to get a drink from a fridge and when she does, all of the men in the video turn into Michael Buble. So, what they are trying to sell its consumers is an alternate reality! They are trying to say that if you drink their products, life will get better, days will seem sunnier, and all of your worries will go away. Plus, people will notice you and great songs will be sung in th the background.
2) Audience. Who is the intended audience of this video? Through whose eyes or
perspective is information conveyed? Why?
The audience for its video is clearly coffee drinkers and for those who want refreshment. To break it down even further, it seems they are trying to go after women who work in particular. You can see this through the fact that the video is about a working women in an office building. I know that Michael Buble is in the background taking the face of all of the male characters in the video, including a co-worker, a flower delivery guy, and two window cleaners but he is not the audience. He is the end to the means of the product.
3) Representation. How are the people/figures in this video portrayed? Why do you
believe they have been singled out? Whose voices are not being represented in this
text?
The working women is clearly happy with her work, both before and after the drink. When she takes a sip of the drink her spirits are lifted though. She has been singled out because Starbucks wants to be seen as a gender friendly company. They want to infringe on the female consumer and have them buy their iced drinks, which they may believe to be have feminine qualities. The males in the video all turn into singing people with the same face. This could be a slight against males in the workplace but I don't think it was meant to be.
Also, who were those flowers truly for!? She just stole one!
4) Design. From the perspective of a video producer, discuss what you think are some of
the most important design decisions used in creating this ad. Why do you think this
specific medium was used to market this product?
The obvious one is the use of Michael Buble. He is the video. If you just had his song in the video, it would not be as successful. His persona and his reputation are good for Starbucks, he is seen as a good person and someone who is a great reputation as well. Women also love him! There is a wonderful correlation between him and the drink - they want women to love to the drink. The medium was used to market the product because they believe working class women will buy it and hence, continue to be cheery and successful.
For fun, here is the other video I was going to choose but I didn't want to break it down because I love it too much. That was totally me as a kid!
2 comments:
Hi Tim - It's funny what we don't see when we are not looking with a critical eye. I watched this commercial for the first time on your blog. I did not even notice that Michael Buble was replacing the other men in the video until I read it in your post. I was focused more on the music I think. It's interesting that you brought up the possible feminine qualities of the drink. That seems pretty accurate to me especially given the swooning nature of the commercial...the flowers, the swanky Sinatra style. The design elements are highly feminized considering the entertainment magazine shot and even the slogan at the end, "It's you time."
By the way, I hope my post didn't ruin The Force commercial for you. I initially choose it because I was that kid too, but doing the assignment I began to see more (ignorance=bliss). Still makes me laugh though. Thanks for the post - Jim
Thanks Jim - I think that companies want use to think that some products are for certain groups. In reality, products should be for everyone and in fact, that drink is really tasty! Sales and profit are the things drive who or what a product is made or intended for.
And while I don't blame you for star wars video, I did get a good laugh out of it!
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