Decoding/Deconstructing Advertising [One Taste and You'll Get it]]

Ever since watching "The World's Funniest Commercials 2006", I fell in absolute love with this hilarious Dr. Pepper advertisement. It portrays a young man going through different tasks of embarrassment, all in the name of pleasing his girlfriend. From tampon shopping, to taking yoga classes, to holding her little pink purse as she tries on clothing, this man would "do anything for love". Except give her a sip of his Dr. Pepper in the closing scene; that's where he draws the line. No folks, he just won't do that. So he does as any man would do when things are unforgivable; he runs.

Even though I adore this commercial, it is a prime example of what Ian Reilly was trying to show us about advertising in one of our earlier classes. Companies (Dr. Pepper in this case) use many different advertising techniques that we as an audience are blind to unless we are taught to see exactly what we're watching and absorbing. Implementing gender roles to create wit and humour is a major tactic advertisers will use, as we have seemed to have numbed ourselves as a society to the insult of it.

In the Dr. Pepper commercial for example, a man going into a store to purchase a box of tampons is played up to be such a burden and embarrassment, when really, where is the logic in that? Obviously, the clerk will know they're not for him; if anything, it'll be assumed it's for a girlfriend/wife. This only means he'll be letting others know of his commitment and dedication to a woman. Oh! Right, I forgot. That would mean he was "whipped". Yet another play on masculinity advertisers use as humour in this commercial. 

Then there's his little pink purse issue. Clearly, taking a purse and holding it is NOT a big deal, correct? Apparently not. Add in the pale pink shade and the awkward hand position and voila! The audience is rolling in their seats. What if the purse had been blue? Would it have been as funny? Had it been a shoulder strapped purse, would the affect have been the same? These are all questions advertisers ask before coming out with this finished product.

Not that I'm trying to bash my Meatloaf-inspired, all-time favourite commercial here. I'm just someone who is learning the In's and Out's of the media world and is practising it. This doesn't mean I can't still watch and laugh with my new-found analytical thoughts being kept in mind.

If you wanna check out "I would do anything for love"- Dr. Pepper, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjWcbz00Wm4 .