jgordon25.files.wordpress.com · Web viewJael Gordon. Engl.103- McCord. November 12th, 2011. College Students Freedom from Parental Rule. Imagine that you are a college student

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjogXDoVKrw&feature=relmfu

Jael Gordon

Engl.103- McCord

November 12th, 2011

College Students Freedom from Parental Rule

Imagine that you are a college student living in a dorm room and you wake up to the

sound of your cell phone ringing and it is your parents saying that they are coming to visit. The

only problem is that the room is a mess. You get off the phone and realize how soon they will be

there, so you start to rush and clean your room before they get there. Realizing that the mess was

the result of two people, you wake up your roommate telling her the situation and she says,

“How are we going to get this mess clean?” Through the use of logical reasoning that people

have to buy grocery store items, exaggerated facial expressions, different camera techniques and

ambiance, the Target commercial, relays the assumption that freedom granted to college students

away at school enables a less regulated lifestyle.

The prominent theme of the Target commercial is college preparedness. This

commercial exemplifies preparedness through its attention grabbing opening. The opening of

the commercial is the words “Get

Ready Get Going” then the

commercial continues with a silent

short story about a college girl

whose parents are coming to visit

her. However, she has a huge problem, her room is a

mess and there is no possible way for her to get the room clean before her parents get there. The

girl wakes her roommate up to explain that they have a short time to get the room clean before





her parents come to visit and the upbeat music begins to play. As the roommates use different

items to tidy up the room as fast as possible, in turn the items they use are from Target. The

advertiser, Target expects that the target audience will be inclined to shop at Target so they are

prepared for a situation such as the one in the commercial. Not only because the commercial is

relatable but also because the prices of the items the roommates use to clean their room in a

hurry are reasonably priced. This plays

into the role of logical reasoning used by

Target advertising because the commercial

shows an object the two girls use to clean

their room and later shows the price for

that item at Target stores.

For instance, the shot of the laundry basket here shows the laundry basket and Tide detergent

before showing the face of the girl and a few seconds later it show

the price of both Tide laundry detergent and the laundry basket.

Throughout the commercial there are moments similar to this one meaning that Target wants to

reinforce the place to get the great items. Furthermore, with this type of reinforcement there is a

certain aspect of logical reasoning; Target stores know that people can get these same items from

any store however, they want to emphasize the low prices for their quality goods. The

commercial also stresses their quality for low prices by emphasizing the brand names such as

Tide detergent, Downy fabric softener, and Clorox wipes. This commercial reaches out to

people that are young, middle –class, and concerned about brand name items which shows that

Target is an up-scale store. Target is showing

the logical reason to shop at their store for the






non-brand name quality items for low prices but also these brands that some people may care

about. The use of logical reasoning and bringing into the commercial the low prices caters to the

college student audience viewing this commercial because it appeals to the assumption that

college students have freedom and with that freedom comes responsibility to take care of things

without parental guidance.

The commercial also uses facial expressions to appeal to the target audience; the

commercial is basically a silent short movie and the viewer has to use the facial expressions to

understand the situation and stress of it.

The commercial is relatable for most people

because there has been a time in most

people’s lives when they have had to clean

the house in a hurry for surprise guests.

The facial expression of the girl who is

about to get a visit from her parents shows her

frustration with the situation. Then the girl’s facial expressions change throughout the

commercial from stressed or frustrated to happiness and finally relief when the job is done.

However, the sight of her parents takes her facial expressions from relief to shock because she

was not expecting their visit. The Target stores exemplify that they can put together an effective

advertisement using only music and facial expressions or body language relaying the message to

their target audience of college students that need to come to their stores in order to be prepared

for a similar scenario. The facial expressions used throughout the commercial demonstrate that

the college student’s life is hectic until the regulation of parents step back into their lives. Then

these students rush to make the appearance of being able to keep things in order while on their




own. The commercial exemplifies the situation and gives the solution to the situation with

Target’s quality goods at low prices.

The commercial for Target demonstrates the assumption that college students are lacking

rules without the parental regulations in the use of camera tricks. Throughout the commercial

the camera makes certain to come in at a certain angle to make the product Target is selling

stressed. The commercial has moments when the camera has to focus in on an object in order to

stress that the commercial is about items found at Target and not two college girls cleaning a

room. The camera tricks enhance the products being sold, for example one of the camera tricks

throughout the commercial in superimposing on a screen. At the beginning of the commercial

there is the superimposed words,” Get Ready Get Going”. However, there are two more times

that the camera superimposes on the screen which is after the roommates finish cleaning the

room and the parents open the door, then again after the girl realizes something else is on the

floor and kicks it under the couch. The camera superimposes at the last two moments of the

commercial the Target logo and slogan.

The other camera trick utilized throughout the commercial is focusing in on an object.

As the commercial tried to make certain to capture the goods being advertised, they made a huge

effort in camera zooming. In the commercial the camera

would show the two

girls cleaning their

room putting things into laundry baskets, or wiping tables off

with Clorox wipes. When the Clorox wipes were being used

the camera zoomed in on the container to make sure the




consumer could see it. The camera tricks help to persuade the audience to want to buy the items

from the advertiser because they are easily recognized because of the size.

The

ambiance is created to reach the target

audience which is college students, however

with the two female roommates, the target

audience could be perceived as female college students. The situation is applicable to both

females and males in the college student category. In the picture the advertisement places a girl

of African American descent and a girl of Caucasian descent in a room which presents a

combination that appeal to two of the few large groups of the United States population. These

two ethnic groups in a dorm room was smart for advertising because the consumers would be

able to see that they do not need to be of a certain ethnicity to shop at Target for college. The

commercial is not racially biased making consumers of all races and colors able to put

themselves into the two girl’s situation easily.

The mood of the commercial is also created through the music used throughout the

advertisement. This Target commercial uses an upbeat tune to make the commercial express two

messages which is fun and rushed. In the event that someone is coming for a surprise visit and

the house is a mess or in this case the room is a mess there is a feeling of being in a hurry. The

upbeat music relays the message of urgency through its high tones and fast pace. The music of

the commercial also portrays the message of having a good time. Throughout the commercial




after the frustration passes the roommates begin to have fun cleaning their room and are smiling

and laughing. Their happiness is inferred to

be from having all their helpful items from

Target.

Lastly, to convey the commercial’s

atmosphere the advertisers make certain to

make the fashion reflect the current times. Since the

commercial is from August of 2011, it is imperative that the commercial is related to the modern

fashion. One of the modern fashions noted in the commercial is the pajamas. The pajamas of

women over the years have changed and for the commercial to be believable the modern

standards of pajamas must be upheld. Women of college age do not typically were silky or fancy

pajamas, they tend to wear cotton materials that can be worn outside as well as night clothes.

Another modern fashion that makes the commercial believable to be recent as August 2011 are

the skinny jeans and wedges that the African American descent college student has on. In this

picture as she has just finished kicking the last misplaced thing under her bed, her shoes and

pants show and the audience sees her fashion is up to date. The mood plays into the assumption

that free college students are not in touch with normal rules without their parents because the

music, fashion, and mixed living situation shows the crazy life of a college student.

The Target stores commercial to encourage college students to go out and buy items from

their stores in order to be ready for this type of situation formulate the assumption that college

students have a completely different way of living without the parental rule. The prominent way

that Target persuades this assumption is through the mood of the commercial. Through the

ambiance created throughout the commercial the target audience is able to realize that the



situation is identifiable. Through making the commercial common the advertisers at Target get

what they want which is for the consumer base to be broad.

Work Cited

Target . “Dorm Detail-Get Back To College Ready At Target.” 25 Aug. 2011. Online video

clip. Youtube. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=xjogXDoVKrw&

feature=relmfu >

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jgordon25.files.wordpress.com · Web viewJael Gordon. Engl.103- McCord. November 12th, 2011. College Students Freedom from Parental Rule. Imagine that you are a college student