Challenge 1: TV Commercial Analysis

5 Points of Literacy

1. Who Created it?
        The company, GEICO, created the commercials.

2. What creative techniques were used?
        There was personification, rhetorical question, and humor.

3. How is it interpreted by different audiences?
        People without GEICO insurance would remember this type because of the humor and characters that were used in the commercial. GEICO insurance holders would see it with familiarity, considering they are insured with their company and what it offers.

4. What values does it show?
        It is insinuating that the people watching own a vehicle. Another assumption could be that they are either not insured, or are but with another company.

5. Why was this message created?
        The commercial was created to entice people to switch to GEICO. In beginning lines, they mention how much can be saved before it cuts away to the 'answer' of the rhetorical question that was used, which is the pig crying out on its way home.

Analysis 

Step 1: Describe the commercial/ad.

The commercial begins with the announcer asking the viewer(s) if switching to GEICO could save them up to 15% on car insurance. He makes his point by rhetorically asking if "the little piggy [cried] 'wee, wee, wee' all the way home." The camera then cuts away from the announcer to a scene in a car. There is a woman in the front seat driving, a little boy in the back right corner, and on the left is a little pig holding a toy wind spinner in each hand, crying 'wee, wee, wee' with his head out the window. The humor used is that the woman and the boy- which suggests they are mother and son- show annoyed expressions as the little pig is crying out, implying that the pig has been doing so for a while. The car stops and the woman calls out to the pig, which we learn is called Maxwell, to tell him that they are at his home. The commercial ends in another humorous moment, which is hearing Maxwell talk; Maxwell has a deep voice and talks casually to the woman, saying "Cool. Thanks, Mrs. A."

Step 2: Explain precisely who the “target” audience is for this commercial.

The target audience would be people with cars who are uninsured or are with another company other than GEICO. A precise answer when considering other factors would be middle-class vehicle owners who have enough money to buy a car and want to insure it. The advertisers persuade the audience by stating they can save money right off the bat, and then using a humorous way to emphasize their point.

Step 3: Identify the purpose(s).

The purpose is to get more people to switch over to GEICO insurance. The advertisers want the audience to think that they are reliable enough that all they had to do was state what good can come off from being with them, and using more than half of the rest of the commercial to expand on their use of a rhetorical question.

Step 4: Identify tone.

Overall, the main tone that came across the commercial was overconfident. Reasoning for this is that most of the commercial was used to get a point across. GEICO can save you 15% or more was the main point that was supported by a common line, "Did the little piggy cry 'wee, wee, wee' all the way home?" that in the beginning seemed like it was going to be used rhetorically, but expanded on it by showing an actual pig crying out on its way home.