This commercial was created by Yoplait to sell their Yoplait Light product. The targeted group is white, middle-aged, middle working class women. This can be implied by the clothing worn by the two women. Their lifestyle is depicted by the lunch room at their work place.
This commercial is centered on the inner-dialogue of a woman standing in front of an open refrigerator staring at a cheesecake trying to justify that it is OK to have a piece. She considers running in place while she eats it or to counteract it with celery sticks. Then another woman approaches the open refrigerator says “mmm” and grabs a cheesecake flavor yogurt. The other woman says “Wow, you’ve lost weight.”
I believe there are two unstated meanings in this commercial. The first message is that the one woman is applying that the cheesecake yogurt tastes just as good as the actual cheesecake. The second message is that if you eat the yogurt it will help you lose weight. Both of these could be positive, empowering messages. You can lose weight by eating something that tastes good. However, the negative, dis-empowering message is the guilt she faces when trying to justify the decision to eat the actual cheesecake. This company knows that the values of many middle-aged working women are concerned with losing weight. They know that sometimes women struggle because diet foods do not always taste good and by the temptations they face when their co-workers bring in food to work. So the company uses an association persuasion technique to target a specific group to get the most profit.
The part of the commercial that is not being told is how the woman who grabs the yogurt out of the refrigerator loses weight. The commercial implies that you just have to eat this product to lose weight, but the fine print at the bottom say, “As part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.” We could get more information if this woman let the company track her diet and lifestyle to see how she lost weight. Then the research could be represented by actual figures.
The worse thing about this commercial is it's so untrue. Cheesecake flavored yogurt taste disgusting! Nothing comes close to real cheesecake.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis!
I liked your choice of commercials. I totally agree with your analysis. Women, in particular, are constantly faced with the weight-loss issue. While this commercial is empowering women to lose weight, it plays the guilt card by convincing you that their product is the key to your weight loss success.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I feel guilty when I watch this commercial. Honestly, this commercial and many others of their commercials makes me want to purchase Yoplait yogurt, and I don't even like yogurt! I am very health conscious, and it seems like I can do that easier with a yogurt that tastes like my favorite desert. I like your analysis though. It has helped me look at their commercials differently.
ReplyDeleteWhen I watch this commercial, it does make me want to buy the yogurt, but I know, like everyone else, that the actual yogurt really doesn't taste very good. Your analysis is very good!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that I always notice about these commereicals is that the one feeling guilty about losing weight is always dressed more somber and frumpy. The one who has lost weight and is eating their products is always dressed light, airy, and happy. So it is not just losing weight, they are pushing the message, you will feel better and be happier.
ReplyDeleteI agree this commercial makes you think that if you eat Yoplait Yogurt you will lose weight. It also reaches out to those women you are struggling with their weight and sacrificing the foods they love, it is in a sense providing a loop hole.
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