Commercial Identity

Commercial Identity

This is one of the best essays I ever wrote. It was also the easiest and quickest to write because I had fun doing it. It was amazing how much my writing improved when I decided to have fun with it. "Forced" writing never turns out well no matter how skilled the writer is.

Although girls may tell you they don't judge a guy based on the brand of beer he drinks, they are lying! Bud Light's new spot shows two guys fail miserably when they offer two good looking (surprise, surprise) ladies the wrong beer. The music stops, the pool ball that was about to fall in the corner pocket comes to rest on the edge. "On second thought, how about a Bud Light," says the more studly one. The music is rockin' again. The eight ball catches a drift and falls into the pocket, and those lucky ladies have found some happenin' guys who drink the coolest beer.

The moral of the story is "buy a Bud and be a stud." However, that is not the only message in this commercial. The mere fact that commercials like this are successful indicates that they influence people's identity in society. That is a pretty deep and somewhat abstract statement to make about a commercial with a one sentence plot: "Guy gets girl because guy drinks a really cool beer." However, the statement is true and can easily be supported. Advertising today plays an unusual role in society in that it both reflects and effects our identities.

That 30 second spot told me that I want to be just like those cooler-than-cool-Bud-Light-drinkin' guys. What did they look like? How did they dress? Those 30 seconds leave the viewer a mental picture of what cool is and what they want to be like. Just turn the T.V. on to Sunday afternoon football and you will see a dozen other commercials that support this definition of cool. Cool is being handsome. Cool is having a chick at your side and, most importantly, a beer in hand. (Bud Light, Coors, Miller--It doesn't matter, they all get the ladies.)

Advertisers have certain expectations about their target audience. That is, they assume they know exactly who they are and who they want to be. Commercials try to reflect this on television to greater appeal to a their target audience. For example, football fans like beer, women, and tough cars (not necessarily in that order).