You Better Shape UP!

I really enjoyed writing about the hilarious commercial from last years Super Bowl featuring Betty White, and have consequently decided to continue with the topic on humor and rhetoric with this years Volkswagen Superbowl ad. This was definitely my favorite of the evening. Why is it funny? Because we have a dog who wants to chase a car (as most dogs instincts make them want to)  but cannot because he is not in shape & he cannot keep up. He does a lot of weight loss tactics that we as people would do. Not eating, swimming, and eventually he is able to reach his ideal weight.

So wheres the rhetoric? Well the commercial suggests that the new models of Volkswagen's are so fast that not even dogs can keep up with, and will resist eating just to be able to be alongside it. Now as intellectual human beings, we know quite well that animals do not intentionally starves themselves even if they were a little overweight. Even clearer, we know that animals, even the bigger ones are not usually hindered from participating in physical activity, we know that elephants run too!

So is this commercial effective? Sure, we have a good feeling now associated with the new Volkswagen but who is really convinced that this car is quicker than others although it is clearly not built or even looking like a sports car. Hmm, well overall I'd give it a B. The commercial had many views because it was during the Superbowl and if it was made to be solely to be entertaining it did well. But am I more likely to buy this car. Ehh, probably not!

Snickers Saves The Game!

       
        Watching the clip above you can probably tell this will be another blog discussing humor and rhetoric. This commercial is from the 2010 Super Bowl, and I’m sure most people find the video hilarious. You have Betty White on the field playing football with a bunch of grown men getting tackled like one of the guys only to find out that she’s really what ‘Mike’ becomes when he’s hungry. The sight of elderly men and women being trampled was a great way of getting a laugh out of America.

         Lets analyze the rhetoric behind the commercial. Because of the fact that it is funny, as viewers and consumers we now have a positive feeling associated with Snickers bars and the company behind the ad. There is  also Ethos just in Betty White’s presence alone. A famous figure, her being in the commercial alludes to the fact that she enjoys and promotes snickers bars. The overall message is clear. Mike eats the snickers and returns to his normal self, no longer playing like a female. This ad, along with a series of Snickers ad says “you aren’t yourself when you’re hungry!” What a great way to capture an audience because this fact is undeniably true. We know from tests, studies, and just from personal experiences that our productivity depends on food that acts as fuel for our bodies. They show us that a quick and easily portable snack can make all the difference.

      How effective was this commercial? In my opinion, it was a very successful ad. It was successful in the way that they chose to reflect appropriate humor that would appeal to nearly all ages. It was successful because it included a figure that most people over 16 years of age could identify, and lastly because it relayed a message that most of the people watching would agree with. Sometimes, with humorous commercials the message is so far fetched that we cannot take it seriously. I think this ad was a perfect example of a humorous yet effective commercial. 

Giggity Giggity Goo, Oooh riiiiight!

     
          Yes, another clip from my favorite show, Family Guy! If you have ever watched the show, you can identify this character as Quagmire. Quagmire, the pervert. You can find countless episodes that poke fun at the fact that Quagmire is always simultaneously having sex with multiple women, underaged girls, and even the physically disabled. He is quirky, always making sex jokes and then saying "giggity giggity goo oooh right!"

         A lot like my last episode I would like to challenge those who watch and enjoy the show in asking, why do we find this funny? Lets think about what we would characterize today as "perverts" Men who have sex with girls under 18 or that are just interested in children in general. Normally this is not a laughing matter. Quagmire often pushes himself upon women which we would consider sexual assult, yet we still laugh.

        Does rhetoric allow us a way of laughing at things that really shouldnt be funny? Why is this okay? As previously stated, Family Guy makes fun of a lot of different real world issues. Yes stereotypes are sometimes funny when imitated, but being a pervert? I ponder what it is that makes us okay with this as people. Family Guy remains one of my favorite shows, but the more I write about it, the more I wonder why we can be okay with them going so far. I am not sure if it is because it is a cartoon, if it is because it is clearly a joke, or simply because we are able to identify that these are some real world issues. What do you think?

Drop It Like Its Hot?

        I'd like to talk about a new phenomenon that is sweeping televisions all across America, the Sun Drop commercials! Oh the enthusiasm, the spunk, the comedy! The 30 second commercials are undoubtedly hilarious. Why? Because there is a white girl dressed up like she’s living in the 80s dancing to Snoop Dog’s drop it like it’s hot. She is “dropping it like its hot” during a hot summers day but because she is drinking a Sun Drop she is not pestered by the heat.  But the commercial raises a serious question. Do amusing commercials induce Americans to buy the product? 

        Let us take the Sun Drop commercial for example. I’ve seen the commercial and love it but I never once actually thought about drinking the product they are cleverly trying to sell. Now in my case, I’m not sure that if I was ever presented with the soda I would or would not try it, but the point is that I, even after really enjoying the commercial I would not just get up and buy it. Does that make the commercial incompetent? I guess that depends on their goal. If it was to get the name out, and induce a little laughter, I’d say definitely not. I myself pulled up the commercial on you tube the other day to show a friend.

 

         I wonder, what is a commercials purpose when using outrageous humor? Is the hope that because we enjoy the ad so much we will associate our happy feeling with the product? Is It just so that we know the name of the brand? Are commercials comical instead of convincing us with a strong tone that we need the product for a reason? I’m not sure. But if you enjoy this commercial, I would suggest searching for the newest one, There is too much booty in the pants, too much booty in the pants!

"Black Woman in Hindsight"

 
     As I lay in bed the other night, keeping up with my normal routine of watching an episode of Family Guy before bed with a close friend, I was caught off guard by a completely justified comment that she made about the show. A show that is not only my favorite, but one of hers as well. She laughs and says “Wow this show is so racist!” Prior to her comment, I had never really thought of what it was that most captivated me about this show, making me laugh to the point of tears nearly every episode. I realized that I am humored because of its ability to ruthlessly make fun of real current events, significant figures, and stereotypes, much like the show South Park, in a way that some could easily find outrageously offensive. 
      
       The clip from the show presented above is nothing out of the shows norm. You hear Brian (the dog) say “you’re like a black woman in hindsight” and the next 20 seconds encompasses what many would characterize as the stereotypical black woman. Two women are sitting in a beauty shop, with big hoop earrings, talking at a volume that clearly shows no respect for anyone else surrounding them. As the heavy set woman talks, sharing with her friend that she “told her so”, in an outrageously uneducated and ignorant way, she shakes her head profusely from one side to another. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find this clip to be somewhat funny, but the fact that this woman is supposed to depict what most black women act like is quite disheartening. While some of us can fit the stereotype, just like any other race, every black woman is not loud, ignorant, and uneducated. Black women prove every day to be just as intelligent and talented as a woman from any other race, with as much potential imaginable.