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Dan Greenberg

DirecTV Commercial Analysis

I. Introduction

A. Cable and satellite TV companies have been competing with each other since the early 1950s.

B. According to the Nielsen Company, a leading research company, as of May 2011, almost 97% of

American households own television sets.

C. Because of a decrease in subscribers and newer resources for watching TV, cable and satellite

providers have been beefing up their advertisement efforts to attract new customers.

D. DirecTV has come out with a series of a few of these types of sequential bio-pic advertisements,

possibly hoping to create a viral hit like Old Spice did with their commercials.

E. Thesis: DirecTV argues that frustration with cable networks will amount to even more problems,

or undesirables in ones life, undesirables that can be bypassed by subscribing to their service,

by connecting with their audience through commonplace, and some not so commonplaces.

F. Preview: The brief snapshots of milestones in life turning awry clinch the audiences attention

and allows for everyone to be able to relate.

II. Body

A. Brief Snapshots

1. DirecTV immediately connects with the audience by illustrating normal problems that parents

face in the home and with their children

a) Some people can easily relate (if they experience problems with cable, the first scene is an

instant hook)

(1) establishes a commonplace with their realistic nature despite taking a more humorous

route for the rest of the commercial (here, argument is established and then humor is

used which keeps the audience drawn in)

b) Applyingpathos, the commercial implies that if you show frustration, that frustration will

be mirrored by others and will lead to undesirables in the future

(1)Illustrates this with scene of the daughter acting rebelliously at the school cafeteria,

then getting kicked out of school, and living an even more rebellious lifestyle

(2)The scenes are a bit extreme and unrealistic, but ideally, the fearful, and humorous,

scenarios work for a goal to scare, but entertain, the viewers

2. The commercial is similar to that of the Old Spice commercial that we watched in class, in

respect to its format

a) Quick scene changes similarly keep the scenes memorable

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b) The narrator, who really helps to establish ethos with his authoritative tone, keeps his lines

simple, and presents short and catchy phrases

3. The first scene with the young girl mimicking the father is something almost any parent can

relate to, which acts as a great tool to close the gap between the audience and the commercial

4. The fast moving pace of the changing snapshots keeps the audience interested, instead of

boring them with one long scene or one long narrative

B. Focus

1. Unlike many other television provider advertisements like Verizon FiOS and Cablevision,

DirecTV does not target the quality of their service in regards to what it has to offer, but more

on reliability (they do so gingerly)

2. It is clear that their focus is not to directly prove to the audience how much better their service

is. In fact, they hardly mention anything about TV or features of the service.

(1)The only time a sales pitch type phrase is mentioned is in the first few seconds of the

advertisement is when they discuss ones cable on the fritz, leading to frustration,

and towards the end when they mention get rid of cable

(2)the line Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV is the most direct sales statement of

the commercial and challenges the audience to get rid of cable or this will happen

(a)The message Get rid of cable is a much different message than Get a dish

i) To the viewer, Get rid of cable and in the beginning when they say that when

your cable is on the fritz you get frustrated, nails in the idea that DirecTV is

more interested in people ditching cable than switching to dish solely because

an unreliable connection will turn your life upside down

ii) the main point about their service that they want to sell is that it is reliable,

unlike some possible cable competitors.

3.Contrasts - I feel that contrasts in the commercial help to both keep the audience hooked and

greater exemplify the difference between cable and DirecTV

a) The juxtaposition between the father, who is very proper and traditional, and the daughter,

who ends up at her wedding in a leather jacket illustrates the goal of avoiding undesirables

really well

(1)The cable company is targeting the father, the father is the customer

(2)The confusion of the father that the commercial delivers really helps to connect with

the confusion of the audience

b) The last line dont have a grandson with a dog collar carries an appeal to pathos by

providing humor; displays a large juxtaposition between the father and the child, greater

exemplifying how cable will mess with your life

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(1) keeps the audience tuned in to the end of the commercial, the creativity creates a

memorable moment

c) The wedding scene and the father holding the undesirable child presents another

juxtaposition with how they are different from their competitors

(1)The creativity and fun they have with the ad shows the company has personality (the

audience doesnt think their rebellious, more that they arent just a dull company)

III.Conclusion: Despite its extreme and somewhat unrealistic outcomes, the commercial effectively

entertains the audience, especially the parents of households who pay for television services. The

brief chronological and situational snapshots appeal to the emotions of humor and fear, they are witty

yet undesirable. In a time where many television services are highly focused on selling their

compatibility with lots of different platforms like tablets, phones, and computers, I think viewers find

it comforting to find that companies are still focused on the simple concept of the family experience

of television.

Works Cited

DirecTV,. Don't Have a Grandson with a Dog Collar 2012 Commercial. 03 Jan 2012. Online video

clip. YouTube. Accessed on 20 Feb 2012. .

Norman, Herr, Ph.D. "Television & Health." The Sourcebook for Teaching Science. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.

.

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