The Commercial (Discussion)

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Contents 1 The Polysemy of Commodities 1.1 Group 1 1.2 Group 2 1.3 Group 3 1.4 Group 4 2 The Persuasive Style of Commercials 2.1 Group 1 2.2 Group 2 2.3 Group 3 2.4 Group 4 3 Commercial analysis 3.1 Group 1 3.2 Group 2 3.3 Group 3 3.4 Group 4 4 Bibliography 5 External links

The Polysemy of Commodities

What does the phrase "the polysemy of commodities" mean?

Group 1

1. Luxury, leisure and conspicuous consumption
2. Individualism

Group 2

1. The natural
2. Folk culture and tradition

Group 3

1. Novelty and progress
2. Sexuality and romance

Group 4

1. Alleviation of pain, fear/anxiety and guilt
2. Utopia and escape from dystopia

The Persuasive Style of Commercials

What does the phrase "the persuasive style of commercials" mean?

Group 1

1. Metaphor
2. Utopian style

Group 2

1. Product differentiation and superiority
2. Repetition and redundancy

Group 3

1. Extraordinary and excessive style: “televisuality” and counter television
2. Graphics and animation

Group 4

1. Violating reality (special effects)
2. Reflexivity and intertextuality

Commercial analysis

Each group will analyze two commercials from a recent episode of The New Adventures of Old Christine. You should first discuss the polysemy attached to the advertised commodity and then you should discuss the persuasive style used to present that polysemy.

Group 1

• Applebee's
• Verizon

Group 2

• Tums
• Aussie hair product

Group 3

• Oreo Double Stuff
• Botox

Group 4

• Tyson chicken
• Woolite pod

Bibliography

1. Butler, Jeremy G. Television: Critical Methods and Applications. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.

External links

• Chapter 12 illustrations
• Frame grabs from the sample commercials