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!
I, just like you, found the Sun Drop commercials hilarious. However, I, also just like you, have not even considered buying Sun Drop. I think there is a fine line between commercials that are funny and make people buy the product, and one's that are seen as almost pathetic, and we laugh at them more than with them. A component of that might be whether the brand is established, making a Catch-22 in that we may only buy products from funny commercials for established products, but one of the ways to become an established product is to have funny commercials.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to what both of you have said, I think the strength of the advertisement, either as funny, serious, clever, inspirational, etc., plays a role in people's willnigness to buy or try a product. As Jack mentioned, seeing a commercial that we laugh more at than with makes us think twice about buying the product. A well-designed commercial not only reflects the quality of the product while targeting the audience, but establishes some trust for consumers in the product or company. This commercial and others like it all pertaining to Sun Drop remind me of the Fanta commercials that have become somewhat iconic and recognizable for the product, which, I think, helps to market it.
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