Extra Gum Commercial Analysis

Throughout the history of advertising there have been many emotional commercials. Commercials that emphasize a relatable and powerful main idea that is subtly, or not so subtly, woven in with the product that is being advertised. A famous examples is the Extra Gum 's commercial, entitled "The Story of Sarah and Juan". This paper will summarize the commercial, followed by a glimpse at the ways in which the commercial reinforces classist, racist, and sexist overtones. Also, included is an analysis of the immaterial values portrayed in the commercial and how they connect with the product that is being advertised. To begin the commercial, a soft, slow, simple piano and vocal cover of the song "I Can 't Help Falling in Love" starts as Sarah

He takes it, but not before the two lock eyes emphasizing the moment. It then goes to a scene where the two are in Juan 's car outside of what appears to be Sarah 's house. They are smiling and looking at each other. Just before they kiss, Sarah hands Juan a piece of Extra Gum. As she leaves, Juan is shown drawing on the Extra Gum wrapper. The commercial then goes into grouping of different scenes throughout different seasons and events in Juan and Sarah 's lives. The scenes include Sarah and Juan playing in the snow, frolicking in the sun, and going to prom. Juan is again offered gum by Sarah during these occasions and is seen drawing on another wrapper as Sarah is sleeping elegantly on a picnic blanket. The commercial then takes a (very) temporary dark, dark turn as the two are arguing in a room full of boxes. This argument is saved when Sarah offers Juan a piece of Extra Gum. Then the two are at the airport saying goodbye as Sarah is leaving. After saying goodbye Juan is busy again drawing on his most recent gum wrapper. They are then shown facetiming each other briefly until Sarah returns to Juan 's side and they are happy again. In the next scene Sarah gets a call from Juan and goes to an art gallery

There are many times throughout the commercial that I recognized the strengthening of classist, racist, and sexist values. Looking at the advertisement and emphasis on gum as a whole is an extremely upper class concept. In the United States, we may not realize this, but in other countries, people are starving each day. They would look at this commercial and not even understand the concept of gum much less why it is a vital component of falling in love. People all over the world are so thankful of even the most basic foods purely to keep themselves alive. They would probably be confused about the purpose of the gum. In this way, the commercial is automatically aimed at an upper class audience. The couple in the commercial is Caucasian. Do only White people chew gum? It seems that this may be another hint at who Extra 's audience is, but this time focused more on the target audience 's race rather than class. Finally, sexism and sexuality targeting is shown almost immediately when Sarah drops her books and Juan as her "knight in shining armor" is there to "rescue" her. We see more sexism in the scene when Sarah and Juan are coming back from a date and Juan is driving. A sexism example is seen again at the end when Juan is the one to propose, not Sarah. The couple is homogeneous. They are portrayed as a stereotypical straight, White, couple that can easily afford to buy lots of gum. Since the imagery portrays a a natural progression between a straight couple, it reinforces a