Man Vs. Kid
The commercial depicts a casual setting at an ordinary house, where we see a woman introducing her new boyfriend to her son for the first time. Doritos uses ordinary, everyday characters to show that the snack appeals to average people like you and me. The simple and light-hearted plot is perhaps reflective of the image of Doritos, a light snack for any occasion.
An example of the point of view of a first-person narrator is seen when the boyfriend 'appreciates' his girlfriend's figure as she exits from the sitting room. I think the director chooses to show the audience from his point of view because there is no better way of showing us what exactly it is that the man is ogling at.
Surprise is created when the kid slaps the offending man (in his opinion) suddenly – we are as surprised as the boyfriend in the advertisement. Doritos cleverly uses this surprise to captivate its audience so as to deliver its punch line effectively: “Keep your hands off my Momma, keep your hands off my Doritos”. Furthermore, because the general opinion is that children are honest, the use of a child as the conveyor of this message reduces scepticism. The perceptual defence of consumers are eroded, and they are better convinced of the deliciousness of Doritos. Surprise is a technique that advertisers like to use, as it is effective in making an impression within the short discourse of an ad. Unlike narratives like novels and films, commercials do not have the luxury of time to build up on the plot to reach the climax. Hence, surprise is often used in bringing the audience straight from the start to the climax.
A striking aspect of narrative found in this advertisement is the stringing of different events to tell a story. Humour is created with the juxtaposition of two events, one with the woman’s knowledge and the other without. In one event, the woman is under the wrong impression that her boyfriend and son are getting along and “playing nice”, while in the other event, we see for ourselves how aggressive the kid is towards his mother’s new boyfriend. The direct disjunction of these two events brings into starker contrast the kid’s anger towards the man for stealing his Mum and Doritos.
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I guess it really is cool to be a little boy. no matter what you do, everyone will still be falling for you.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that humour is the key to the success of this particular ad. It is important to note that the characters used in the ad were the main enhancements to the humour aspect. The protagonist becomes victimized by the supposed victim. This turn of events does enhance the humour aspect and thus allowing for greater brand recall.
product placement in the narrative allows the audience to see the relationship between the boy and his doritos. Audiences may relate to see situation and relate themselves with the characters. This will allow them to develop this same relationship with Doritos.