From the beginning, the FLO TV personal television ad that first aired during the 2009 Super Bowl grabbed my attention by using Jim Nantz, the legendary sportscaster, to commentate on the entire commercial. Hitting on the rhetorical appeal of ethos, because even if I wasn’t looking at the TV at the time, as soon as I hear Jim Nantz voice, it makes me want to see what he’s talking about. Jim’s giving the play by play on the man in the commercial, Jason Glasby, giving an injury report that his spine has been removed by his girlfriend because he has been forced to go shopping with her instead of watching the football game.
Jim Nantz gives his advice that by getting a FLO TV would allow Jason to watch the game and “change out of that skirt. ” Personally I love this commercial. It makes me laugh every time that I watch it. Especially when Jason comments in the background to his girlfriend, “how about lavender? ” and Jim responds with a straight faced, “how about not. ” That part gets a laugh out of me every time that I see it. I’m sure that a lot of guys can relate to this commercial, just as I can.
Having to go do something with a significant other rendering us incapable of watching the big game or just doing something that we want to do in general, I know it happens. I feel bad for the character Jason in the ad; I can feel his pain, making me know that the commercial uses pathos well. Causing others to feel badly for Jason is one of the main strategies for this ad. I know this commercial makes me want to have a FLO TV for when these moments arise, as I’m sure other guys would love to have one to combat these situations as well. This commercial may be interpreted entirely different from the other side of the sex.
I don’t know if I’m the only male to think this, but I believe that women not only enjoy going out shopping with their significant others, but also take some kind of sick satisfaction from knowing that they are preventing their men from doing what they really want to be doing. This leads me to the belief that women may not want their men watching TV while they’re attempting to shop with them and spend quality time together. This allows me to come to a personal conclusion that I do not think women enjoy this commercial all too well because it advertises a sort of scape goat for men whenever they have to do shopping with their ladies.
The target of this particular FLO TV ad is obviously men. The ad is targeted at men who need a way of watching the big game or whatever else they may be missing while they are forced to go shopping or spend time with their girlfriends/wives. There are other FLO TV ads out there that specifically target women, but this ad is directed towards men mainly for the fact that I don’t believe women would need a FLO TV when their men force them to go shopping with them.
I think this mainly because in all honesty I don’t know of any man who would even want to go shopping in the first place, unless maybe for manly things, like axes, chainsaws, brass knuckles, things that explode, and the sort. Regardless of sex, a FLO TV would be a great item to own. They are kind of like an iPod or other personal electronics device. It allows you to escape your current situation and go to a place you would much rather be. From listening to music, watching TV, to texting someone, whatever it may be.
So even though this ad may specifically be targeting males, I believe that FLO TV’s would be good for anyone to have, and that is who they are attempting to get their product to on the broad scale, not just a single age group or sex. I believe that a males’ reaction to this commercial happens because he either really wants a FLO TV in the first place, or more probable, he wants to listen to Jim Nantz’s advice and get a FLO TV so that when this situation arises, he never has to put on the skirt in the first place.
This leads me to believe that the commercial also successfully utilizes logos. Men see the shame and discomfort on Jason’s face, and realize he never wants to be in his situation, so the logical step to avoid this would be to purchase a FLO TV. Women will either be upset that they realize that men really don’t want to go shopping with their ladies, or that men would go to such lengths as to buy a FLO TV to avoid really having to shop with them and can focus on the game. Or both men and women will just laugh at the funny FLO TV commercial.
I both laughed at the commercial and thought that having a FLO TV would be awesome to have to distract myself when I was thrust into situations that I really didn’t want to be in. “Rhetoric is the art of persuasion,” –Victor Villaneva. From all of the rhetorical appeals that this ad touches on, I’m confident that this commercial has done its job, and done it well. With the use of Jim Nantz, it even has “a good man speaking well,” – Quintilian. From what I can tell, the designer of this commercial’s intent is to try to convince men that they need a FLO TV.
Perhaps not at the exact moment in time, but eventually every man will need one. Especially if he has a significant other that enjoys shopping during the big game. For whatever my opinion is worth, I think that the designer does his job just fine. Even if it doesn’t initially make men want to go out and buy a FLO TV, whenever they get drug out on a shopping trip, the idea of having a FLO TV will be in the back of their minds. The director hits on all of the major rhetorical appeals. They touch on ethos by having Jim Nantz be the commentator for the commercial.
If anyone who has watched football in the last 10 years may not know Jim Nantz face, but they sure do know his voice from his play by play commenting during NFL football games. The director also uses pathos by getting a message to other guys that’s somewhere along the lines of, “don’t be like this poor fool, get a FLO TV. ” The logos appeal is also somewhat tied into the pathos appeal. I believe that the message for logos is that if a guy doesn’t have a FLO TV, then when his girlfriend or wife drags him out of the house, he’ll just have to deal, but if a guy is smart, he’ll be prepared with his FLO TV to help ease the pain of shopping.
Finally, the director also has kairos thrown into this commercial. It’s simply the appeal of appropriate timing, opportunity, and making the most of any given time. And with a FLO TV, any guy can make the best out of his situation when he must go shopping, but can still enjoy the game right in the palm of his hand. With all of the appeals found in this commercial, and with its overall humor and greatness, I do believe that this is a successful commercial.
Especially because it was played for the first time during the Super Bowl, and what guy misses the Super Bowl? I’m sure nearly every man in America saw this commercial when it originally aired, so I’m pretty positive that it got out to the right audience. It was even advertising a way guys could keep watching football, which they obviously love to do since they are already watching the Super Bowl. The ad hints on all of the rhetorical appeals and clearly conveys what it is attempting to sell in a clever way. To me, this commercial is a winner.
Works Cited
“FLO TV Super Bowl ad with Jim Nantz .” YouTube.
Web. 13 Sep 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09-M-S7Og0o>.
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say I Say. 2nd Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2010. 1-41. Print.
McCloud, Scott. The Rhetoric of the Image. 195-208, The Vocabulary of Comics.
