Can Jimmy Play?

Kate -------
TV Commercial Paper
24 March 2008

Can Jimmy Play?

As long as the television has been around, there also have been commercials to fund the programs we know and love. From the days of “Bewitched” and “The Bob Newhart Show” to “Lost” and “Survivor”, commercials have promoted new products, political campaigns, and otherwise been a venue for citizens to utilize their First Amendment right. Everyone can think of a Super Bowl commercial, a political ad, a public service announcement, which has made you think, made you laugh, or even brought a tear to your eye. The different aspects of cinematography, characters, music, dialogue, costumes, and setting, contribute to the success of a commercial. Effective commercials can mean an increase in product sale and support for the company producing it.
One effective method used in advertisement is the use of sympathetic characters. The key in choosing characters is to understand the target audience. Gatorade® is a common sports drink which uses television advertisements to promote new flavors and the drink. Gatorade’s ® target audience is mothers who buy the drink and the athletes who consume the drink, so their advertisement must have characters to whom these consumers can relate. One commercial in particular is named “Can Jimmy Play?” The opening scene is of a typical suburban mother opening the door to see the famous basketball player Yoa Ming who asks if her son, a blond hair blue eyed all-American boy, can come out to play. The commercial then has various other famous athletes coming to see if Jimmy can come out and play their particular sport. The use of well-known athletes appeals to other athletes, because if they drink Gatorade®, then the every-day athlete can identify with and aspire to be like his or her hero. The commercial appeals to mothers because it shows what could be their own child participating in sports with some of the top athletes today.
The use of music and other sound affects also keep the viewers’ focus on the television. Often, commercials are formatted to play at a slightly higher volume than the television show, the change in volume brings the viewers’ attention back to the television just as they may begin to focus elsewhere during the break in programming. In the Gatorade® commercial, the music is upbeat. Techno-like music emphasizes the strenuous activity the boy and the professional athletes are doing by mimicking the beat of their hearts during the activity. In scenes with the mom opening the door and the boy taking gulps of Gatorade® there is no sound, just as you would expect in a typical suburban house. Music assists in the delivery of the message in the commercial and is vital to its success.
The dialogue in this particular commercial appears intended to appeal to the mothers in the audience. The suburban mother opens the door each time a professional athlete comes to play and greets the celebrity as if he were a regular guest. This appeals to mothers, because who wouldn’t like to say that they rub shoulders with Payton Manning and Derek Jeter? Dialogue among characters or narrative both play an important role in portraying the message intended. Silence is another form of dialogue.
The costumes used in the Gatorade® commercial at first glance are unimportant and just regular everyday clothes. Taking a closer look, one notices that the boy does not change his outfit. This signifies that the child participates in these three different activities with three different professional athletes in the same day. In between the different sports, the boy is seen chugging Gatorade® in front of the refrigerator. Also, the athletes are all wearing blue clothing and the boy is in red. Blue and red are opposite colors on the color wheel, and are, therefore, appealing to the eye. Combining eye pleasing colors, and other subtle details, the viewer is more comfortable with watching the commercial, and therefore, may be more positively disposed toward the product.
The settings used in commercials set the mood and scene for the commercial and better sell the product or idea to the public. In this commercial, it takes place in what appears to be a typical suburban community with fairly larger homes which happen to get damaged by different professional players. The first clip, Yao Ming accidentally rips the basketball hoop off the side of the house. The child shrugs as if the damage is no big deal, signifying that money does not seem to be a problem. The economical status of the family is important because not all American families can afford to have their children play on sports team, and so the commercial more wants to target the families that can.
As with any visual display, artwork, television, movies, and commercials, there are elements, which can make the intended message stronger or weaker. Music, conversation, costumes, setting and characters all play an important role in supporting the delivery of a message. In the case of the Gatorade® commercial, these elements supported the advertisement by targeting their main consumers, athletes and the mothers who buy the drink for their children.
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