This blog post isn't just about media. It's way for me to explain why I became teary-eyed after we watched this commercial during zero period. I wasn't alone either, which means that this commercial was designed to evoke a response that makes people's hearts swell and eyes leak. The question is: How did the advertisers evoke that emotional response without turning there commercial into a cheesy Nicholas Sparks or Jodi Picoult novel?
Hidden in this commercial are advertising appeals and techniques that help successfully convey it's emotional message/plot. The obvious appeal is need to nurture. The commercial is about a baby girl and her childhood as she grows up. It's specifically about a father-daughter relationship, which is appealing to dads and daughters. Using Google Chrome will satisfy our need to nurture. What's advertising techniques help promote Google Chrome? Plain folks is one of the advertising techniques used. This commercial is a story about a normal family, more specifically a normal father-daughter relationship. It makes the commercial more relatable to the consumers, and therefore the product becomes more relatable. Transfer/association is another. The positive feelings we get from this emotional story are associated with the product. The question is how does the commercial express its emotional plot?
The images of Sophie, the daughter, help express the commercial's emotional plot, mainly to fathers and mothers. Parents, especially those who have grown up children, get very emotional when they see pictures of kids growing up. As a teenage girl, the images make me nostalgic about my childhood.
The idea of the commercial itself is emotional. The best father of the year award goes to Daniel Lee. He creates his daughter an email scrapbook of her life. What really sells the entire commercial is the music. It's one giant crescendo. As the music builds, the audience's emotions build.
So yes, I cried a little bit. Am I ashamed? No. With all the advertising techniques, the advertising appeals, the pictures, and the music, how could you not? Does this mean I'm going to install Google Chrome? I already have it, but I'll remember this commercial as fondly as any old home video.
Akemi, you were not alone on the crying bit. I definitely teared up a little after watching this commercial. It's now one of my all-time favorite commercials. I agree with your analysis that this commercial plays on the emotional appeals. I thought that the events that they chose to play in the commercial were well-picked because they were all events that we could relate to. I mean, I totally remember when I had no teeth in the front because I lost them all... Haha. I also saw that the tones and colors in the commercial were really bright and colorful, which I thought gives off that heart-warming and cheerful feeling we get. I really liked how they didn't really directly say anything in the commercial too, because it made it seem as though we were Sophie and we were seeing all the emails and videos that her dad sent to her. Ugh. I love this commercial.
ReplyDeleteI feel so silly for crying at this commercial but I just can't help it. I think it also aims to appeal at girls with close connections with their fathers as much as it appeals to fathers with close connections to their daughters, as you mentioned. As you mentioned, Akemi, it certainly aims to remind younger people of their childhood. Another thing I noticed during the commercial was the sound of the keyboard and mouse clicking while the dad is composing emails. I appreciated that because I like the sound of clicking keyboards, but I'm not sure if there was a more universal reason to include such sounds. Except, perhaps, to make the whole video seem more genuine. By including the actual sounds that would have been made, I feel it makes a further connection between the audience and the characters of the commercial. And one last thing, I noticed that wit and humor were sort of included, as well, like Sophie wanting to name the baby Salt and the father blaming the ride of misery on the mother. It played a minor part in the commercial, but I appreciated that as well.
ReplyDeleteOk, so I,probably the only person who laughed at this rather than had an emotional experience, do agree that Google wished to a employ the appeal of nurturing that makes us want to smile and call our parents and say "thanks mom" "thanks dad". I mean its been done time and time again, but, nonetheless it still gets an emotional rise. I can't for the life of me understand why a dad making video podcasts accounting his daughter's life is that endearing but I if it makes you guys feel good and happy then who am I to jest.
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