Extra Gum Commercial

On the surface, Extra Gum’s “The Love Story of Sarah and Juan” commercial seems like a beautiful, simple love story. The commercial traces the love story of a couple from their high school years to adult life, all while the couple shares pieces of Extra gum. However, while this commercial may seem beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, the purpose is to sell a product: Extra gum. Instead of merely telling a love story, Extra creates a relationship in the effort to show the deeper meaning of sharing a piece of gum. Throughout this commercial, Extra uses the exchange of gum as a metaphor for sharing pieces of your emotional self and uses this exchange to play on the larger societal practice of exchanging gifts to show affection. When Sarah and

Through all of the years, Juan kept the remnants of every piece of Sarah. But he did not simply keep these skeletons in a drawer, he used them as a medium to transcribe the exact moment in which Sarah gave him a piece of herself. By drawing a picture of the two together, Juan implies that the emotions are no longer just hers or his, but they share these emotions together; Juan does not have Sarah’s vulnerability, intimacy, trust, and apologies, but they share these emotions together. Evidently, Sarah understands the meaning behind this display, and a single tear rolls down her face. She trusted Juan with delicate pieces of her emotions, and she did not misplace this trust for it created a mutual sharing. After this very moment of realization, Sarah turns around to find Juan on one knee, holding an engagement

Extra is perpetuating the idea that in order to form a relationship, physical goods must be exchanged. As Michael Schudson argues in Advertising as Capitalist Realism, “The advertisement does not so much invent social values, or ideals of its own as it borrows, usurps, or exploits what advertisers take to be prevailing social values” (Schudson 245). As a capitalist society, consumer culture in the United States is based largely on monetary and physical gifts – romance would not be validated without the exchange of gifts. In this advertisement, Extra appeals to this social norm. Rather than Sarah simply saying “I trust you” or “I want to be intimate with you,” a gift is used to replace these words. Extra attempts to convince consumers that sharing gum is a valid way of expressing your love because a slice of gum represents a piece of your emotions. Instead of creating a new social value, Extra plays on a preconceived notion, although adding nuance to it by making gum a symbol for emotions and