stevenpiziks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stevenpiziks) wrote2011-02-06 03:29 pm
stevenpiziks) wrote2011-02-06 03:29 pm
Entry tags:
Darth Vader Analysis
By now you've probably seen the Volkswagen Darth Vader commercial. It was supposed to air on the Super Bowl, but it was released early (I won't say "leaked," since it happened on purpose) on the web. I examined it, and though I'd share an analysis here. It's the sort of thing we do in media literacy class. My brother and sister-in-law Paul and Kristi, who make ads for a living, may have their own input.
In case you haven't seen the ad, here it is:
Let's take a look:
1. We have a kid in a Darth Vader costume striding down a hallway in what's supposed to be a typical suburban home. Notice that the hallway is white, meant to evoke the original scene in STAR WARS when Vader first appears on Leia's ship. The commercial is meant to appeal to adults who grew up watching the STAR WARS movies and who 1) now have kids of their own, and 2) remember dressing in STAR WARS costumes of their own when they were this age. Finally, the commercial has stealth appeal to children, who will (Volkswagen hopes) remember the Volkswagen brand when they're older and in the market for a car.
2. The home is relentlessly typical American affluent suburb. We have a large living room with hardwood floors, fireplace, and exercise equipment. The family dog (note it's a dog, not a cat--dogs play more into the stereotypical ideal family) has his own doggie bed. Matching front-loader washer/dryer set in the laundry room, large kitchen with an island, circular driveway. All this indicates upper middle class. Yet the Passat is priced to start at "around $20,000," not a high-priced car. The message? Buy this car, and you're part of this privileged class, with its manicured home, relentlessly cute child, handsome husband, pretty wife, and cute dog.
3. The little kid could be either a boy or a girl. This is on purpose. Although most kids who dress up as Darth Vader are male, there are a few girls out there, and the advertisers didn't want to exclude anyone. The child spends considerable time in a girl's bedroom trying to zap a doll. Is this the child's room or that of a sister? Although it seems likely it's a sister's (the desk in the background seems to be that of an older child), the hint of femininity lets us know Vader could be a girl, if we want it to be.
4. The child doesn't wear Vader gloves. This adds a touch of humanity to an otherwise inhuman child (and is probably easier to film). No doubt this aspect of the commercial went through more than one focus group.
5. The child becomes likable quite quickly in his role of underdog. Children are powerless in our society. This one adopts a pretend persona in order to take on its power (as many of us did when we were children), and is disappointed when it doesn't really work (as we were). Still, the child never gives up, which makes us root for him.
6. The child's cute and amusing attempts at being Darth Vader have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CAR. However, we viewers are meant to link these feelings of nostalgia for our own childhood play-acting, nice feelings of "Awwwww!" for the child, and of sympathy in general with the Volkswagen Passat.
7. The contrast of the pink bedroom with Baby Vader's black costume is very funny, and I think the white-clad doll on the bed is meant to be a stand-in for Princess Leia in the interrogation scene of STAR WARS.
8. The household is disappointingly stereotypical. Mom stays in our suburban home with the kid and makes peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. In the evening, the Dad pulls into the driveway, arriving home from his office job (briefcase in hand). This could have been solved if Dad weren't coming home from the office. He could have been coming home from the grocery store, a fishing trip, a sports event. Or Mom could have been away and Dad could serve peanut butter.
9. Note the glimpse we get of the car's interior so we can see the coolness of the dashboard, and when the car starts up, it makes an impressive growl. When the car door shuts, it makes a firm THUMP. This is clearly meant to be a guy commercial.
9. Notice we have a hint of bad behavior followed by consequences. The climax of story comes when Dad messes with the kid's mind and freaks him out a little. Does a Good Daddy scares the helmet off his kid? Ah, but did you notice the kid deserves it? When the kid runs outside to greet Dad, Dad assumes the kid is coming out for a hug and opens his arms for one. But the kid waves Dad aside and heads for the car instead. That wasn't very nice! (It's a small thing, and something a lot of kids do, but it's still a breach.) So when Dad plays his little joke, it's payback, and that makes it okay for us to laugh at it.
In case you haven't seen the ad, here it is:
Let's take a look:
1. We have a kid in a Darth Vader costume striding down a hallway in what's supposed to be a typical suburban home. Notice that the hallway is white, meant to evoke the original scene in STAR WARS when Vader first appears on Leia's ship. The commercial is meant to appeal to adults who grew up watching the STAR WARS movies and who 1) now have kids of their own, and 2) remember dressing in STAR WARS costumes of their own when they were this age. Finally, the commercial has stealth appeal to children, who will (Volkswagen hopes) remember the Volkswagen brand when they're older and in the market for a car.
2. The home is relentlessly typical American affluent suburb. We have a large living room with hardwood floors, fireplace, and exercise equipment. The family dog (note it's a dog, not a cat--dogs play more into the stereotypical ideal family) has his own doggie bed. Matching front-loader washer/dryer set in the laundry room, large kitchen with an island, circular driveway. All this indicates upper middle class. Yet the Passat is priced to start at "around $20,000," not a high-priced car. The message? Buy this car, and you're part of this privileged class, with its manicured home, relentlessly cute child, handsome husband, pretty wife, and cute dog.
3. The little kid could be either a boy or a girl. This is on purpose. Although most kids who dress up as Darth Vader are male, there are a few girls out there, and the advertisers didn't want to exclude anyone. The child spends considerable time in a girl's bedroom trying to zap a doll. Is this the child's room or that of a sister? Although it seems likely it's a sister's (the desk in the background seems to be that of an older child), the hint of femininity lets us know Vader could be a girl, if we want it to be.
4. The child doesn't wear Vader gloves. This adds a touch of humanity to an otherwise inhuman child (and is probably easier to film). No doubt this aspect of the commercial went through more than one focus group.
5. The child becomes likable quite quickly in his role of underdog. Children are powerless in our society. This one adopts a pretend persona in order to take on its power (as many of us did when we were children), and is disappointed when it doesn't really work (as we were). Still, the child never gives up, which makes us root for him.
6. The child's cute and amusing attempts at being Darth Vader have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CAR. However, we viewers are meant to link these feelings of nostalgia for our own childhood play-acting, nice feelings of "Awwwww!" for the child, and of sympathy in general with the Volkswagen Passat.
7. The contrast of the pink bedroom with Baby Vader's black costume is very funny, and I think the white-clad doll on the bed is meant to be a stand-in for Princess Leia in the interrogation scene of STAR WARS.
8. The household is disappointingly stereotypical. Mom stays in our suburban home with the kid and makes peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. In the evening, the Dad pulls into the driveway, arriving home from his office job (briefcase in hand). This could have been solved if Dad weren't coming home from the office. He could have been coming home from the grocery store, a fishing trip, a sports event. Or Mom could have been away and Dad could serve peanut butter.
9. Note the glimpse we get of the car's interior so we can see the coolness of the dashboard, and when the car starts up, it makes an impressive growl. When the car door shuts, it makes a firm THUMP. This is clearly meant to be a guy commercial.
9. Notice we have a hint of bad behavior followed by consequences. The climax of story comes when Dad messes with the kid's mind and freaks him out a little. Does a Good Daddy scares the helmet off his kid? Ah, but did you notice the kid deserves it? When the kid runs outside to greet Dad, Dad assumes the kid is coming out for a hug and opens his arms for one. But the kid waves Dad aside and heads for the car instead. That wasn't very nice! (It's a small thing, and something a lot of kids do, but it's still a breach.) So when Dad plays his little joke, it's payback, and that makes it okay for us to laugh at it.