Tuesday, October 27, 2009
AT&T analysis
The AT&T commercial used to commonly known fairytale of Hansel and Gretel to portray their new cell phone with GPS as a house hold item. (Using a fairytale was clever in that children are familiar with the story, when they see a commercial that features an untraditional version of the story, they will be able to relate. Targeting a younger audience is a bullet proof way to make sure adults hear all about the cool new phone. Children love to beg their parents for things, and parents may or may not give in- but the product will always stand out as a desire.) I don't really think this way anymore, but I wanted to leave it there so I could point out why it's wrong. The company isn't really targeting a younger audience- but the parents are still familiar with the child like fairytale of Hansel and Gretel. It is up to the parent to stay on top of things and this phone is showing them exactly how to do that. The GPS feature the phone is equipped with allows the user to feel as if the technology holds their way home and that appeals to a persons inner desires to feel at home in the world. Another reason why children are used is that it implies the phone is so easy, even a child can use it. For adults with difficulty applying new technology the new high tech phone seems simple enough to use, yet up to date enough to make it appear younger because younger people are generally associated with technology. New York City is also a constantly face paced city and the commercial being set in the city allows you to feel as if the phone will help you "make it" in the big apple. Buildings in the shape of service bars in the background serve as subliminal memory makers that keep the AT&T logos familiar in our minds. The commercial appeals to our inner most wants and emotions. The narrator at the end has only one job left to do and that is let us in on the name of the product that will fulfill our needs and desires.
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I agree that the AT&T's technique to gain the children's attention by using a fairytale was very effective. Children now more than ever have been able to get what they desire from their parents, so targeting them is necessary. I also agree that this commercial correlates the phone to succeeding in life. Everyone wants to be successful and this poses as an easy way to achieve success in life. This product's major advertising scheme portrayed to the children makes it an effective marketable product because children usually initiate their parent's desire to buy a product.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think that the commercial was just a clever marketing idea. The only thought behind it was to make the commercial stand out and didn't it serve it's purpose? If marketing campaigns really want to be memorable then they have to be different and this was certainly accomplished here. i think the idea of NYC was just to prove a point of service coverage and that the phone is reliable in big areas when you are going to need it. As for the children, of course they were going to use children in the commercial, there were no adults in the Hansel and Gretel story book. The whole pint of useing Hansel and Gretel had nothing to do with kids buying and wanting the phone, adults know the story too, its nothing new. If they had a child star from nickelodeon on there then it would marketed towards children. I think it was clever to use Hansel and Gretel only because it is a classic story of them getting lost with simply a new twist to it. AT&T has a clever marketing campaign and if they want to keep selling phones then they are going to need it. Companies can't sell things by being commonplace and forgettable.
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