This is the video clip (from youtube.com) of the commercial aired during Super Bowl XLV aired February 6, 2011. Pepsi is selling their product Pepsi Max, a soft drink with no calories but the entire flavor. During the commercial what seems to be an African-American couple has a reverse gender stereotype and the woman seems to be the dominate role. She first kicks him at a restaurant when he ordered French Fries, then pushes his face in a plate in a kitchen, next takes a burger he is eating in the shower and puts a bar of soap in his mouth. While sitting on a park bench, the man is holding a Pepsi Max can and is surprised that she doesn’t react negatively, that’s when the sale pitch of it being all flavor and no calorie comes into play. Finally the woman throws the can of soda at a slender blond white woman jogs past and sits on the bench next to them and waves in a flirty fashion. The can make the white woman fall over and the African-American couple looks at each other and run away.
The communication elements that are the most intriguing in this commercial are first the non-verbal messages. The Pepsi Corporation confronts head on the typical gender stereotypes and reverses them. Second there is a very violent undertone, although there are no “violent” words expressed there is constant hostile and aggressive body language from the African-American woman to the man. Lastly, there is a touch of sex appeal when the slender white woman waves at the man.
My analysis of this commercial is it was created completely in poor taste. I do not condone violent domestic behavior, no matter who is the aggressor. Second although it was refreshing to see a commercial where someone is health conscious the product being sold is a soft drink! Never in any light is one truly being health conscious when drinking a soda! Lastly, the final act of running off after the white woman falls down is one a portrayal of a stereotype that African-American women are over aggressive when it comes to men. If at first the commercial is breaking such old fashioned rhetoric when then reintroduce it at the end. Although the communication was not verbal in this example non-verbal messages are just as loud as those spoken and I think this is a great example.
This is the video clip (from youtube.com) of the commercial aired during Super Bowl XLV aired February 6, 2011. Pepsi is selling their product Pepsi Max, a soft drink with no calories but the entire flavor. During the commercial what seems to be an African-American couple has a reverse gender stereotype and the woman seems to be the dominate role. She first kicks him at a restaurant when he ordered French Fries, then pushes his face in a plate in a kitchen, next takes a burger he is eating in the shower and puts a bar of soap in his mouth. While sitting on a park bench, the man is holding a Pepsi Max can and is surprised that she doesn’t react negatively, that’s when the sale pitch of it being all flavor and no calorie comes into play. Finally the woman throws the can of soda at a slender blond white woman jogs past and sits on the bench next to them and waves in a flirty fashion. The can make the white woman fall over and the African-American couple looks at each other and run away.
ReplyDeleteThe communication elements that are the most intriguing in this commercial are first the non-verbal messages. The Pepsi Corporation confronts head on the typical gender stereotypes and reverses them. Second there is a very violent undertone, although there are no “violent” words expressed there is constant hostile and aggressive body language from the African-American woman to the man. Lastly, there is a touch of sex appeal when the slender white woman waves at the man.
My analysis of this commercial is it was created completely in poor taste. I do not condone violent domestic behavior, no matter who is the aggressor. Second although it was refreshing to see a commercial where someone is health conscious the product being sold is a soft drink! Never in any light is one truly being health conscious when drinking a soda! Lastly, the final act of running off after the white woman falls down is one a portrayal of a stereotype that African-American women are over aggressive when it comes to men. If at first the commercial is breaking such old fashioned rhetoric when then reintroduce it at the end. Although the communication was not verbal in this example non-verbal messages are just as loud as those spoken and I think this is a great example.