Ad Deconstruction

This ad takes place in a present day, brightly lit store. A younger looking dad and his son are grocery shopping; but the dad won’t let his son get what he wants. As a result the kid starts throwing a fit. The kid escalates to screaming at the top of his lungs, kicking on the floor and grabbing things off the shelves; the dad does not make a huge effort to stop the boy. The camera focuses on the expressions of the other shoppers with special attention to the boy and the dad. A few frames are of those standing around watching the kid throw the fit (they look astonished). The little boy is show at different stages of the tantrum (throwing things and ending up on the floor) while the dad just watches. The dad appears annoyed that his kid is throwing a fit, and perhaps the fact he even has one in the first place.

The reason for the commercial comes at the end when the slogan “Use condoms” pops up and the logo for the ZanZoo condom company is shown. This ad is for a brand of condoms in Europe (it original aired in there) and is targeted towards younger, perhaps unmarried couples and/or teens. The unvoiced message or solution to a problem is to not become a parent before you are ready by using a condom. The company uses a kid throwing a tantrum to grab the audience’s attention (it grabbed the attention of the other shoppers!) and appeals to the fear of being embarrassed in public.

The ad is rather simple; the larger portion of it is the kid screaming and throwing his tantrum. The last few seconds is the spoken slogan for the condom “Fun, Sexy, Safe.” Keeping the language simple can make it easier for the viewer to concentrate on the message. What is not that obvious (unless you are familiar with that brand) is the slogan that appears in the logo: “One for 2.” Meaning the one condom will (hopefully) make two peoples lives a litter easier by not adding the stress of raising a kid. It is meant to make people think twice before having unprotected sex by giving them a shot of reality (who has not seen some kid, at some time, throw a tantrum in the store because they could not have their way?).

While doing this assignment I showed this ad to a few people, to get their opinions or reactions to it. The responses varied; a few gave me a reaction that I do not think the company intended. Some thought it was hysterical (like myself), others depressing, and others said they had seen commercials like it. In my opinion the ad was effective; it made you think and laugh at the same time. I mean, who wants to be the one to deal with a screaming kid like that? I know it is part of being a parent, but the dad didn't seem to care what his kid was doing. He just looked at the boy and hoped he would stop.