The commercial features a futuristic woman who displays each of the phone’s featured with another arm, showcasing the phone’s ability to do many things at once and playing on the common thought that women in general are multi-taskers. Adding to the multi-tasking ability of the phone while drawing an emotional appeal, the woman states, “I will remain untangled and uncomplicated” hinting at the phone’s ability to untangle and uncomplicated your life, and also that this phone differs from previous “complicated” HTC Droid phones, generally purchased by men. This is an emotional appeal by presenting the phone’s ability to help a woman time manage and prioritize a hectic schedule, things that are assumed to “overwhelm” women as a whole. The woman speaks in a soft, clear voice while tone music is played in the background, adding to the phone’s futuristic and tech savvy appeal. A specific feature that clarifies that the phone is marketed to women is the “Charm Call Indicator,” which is shown hanging out of the woman’s purse, and lights up whenever a call or message is received. Men, who generally carry phones in their pockets, not purses, would have no need or place for this gadget.
The commercial uses the clear syllogism: every woman multitasks, every multi-tasker has use for these features, so every woman should want this particular phone. The only text displayed in the commercial is the phone’s name and carrier, the HTC Rhyme by Verizon, and it is displayed as the opening and closing cuts of the commercial. This adds credibility to anyone who has had a positive experience with the carrier before, or who knows someone who has been satisfied with their HTC phone.
The location of the commercial is also significant. The times that I have seen this commercial on television it has played primarily on the CW, which features shows such as The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl, popular among young women, and on MTV during The Jersey Shore broadcasts. These shows feature a primarily female audience and are watched by a younger age group, making younger women the phone’s target audience.
The competition between the HTC phone brand and the iPhone is clearly seen. The HTC Rhyme is shown on a docking station which features an alarm clock and external speakers, much like products created by Apple. This competition is the reason why Verizon decided to create an HTC phone specifically marketed towards women. Men in general, prefer Droid phones while women prefer the iPhone and other Apple products. This creates a competition between not only the cell phones markets, but also between their primary carriers, Verizon and AT&T. By marketing a phone to women they are hoping to bridge the gap between the sexes and thus gain a following with women as well as men.
Upon first viewing the commercial I found the phone to be simple, convenient, and cute. The Charm feature would be useful when I’m not directly by my phone, and having a music library on my phone would help me downsize and not carry my iPod Touch. After researching the phone it is easy to see why I felt this way, because many men and women are getting paid to make people like me see products in a particular light. In this case, they did a good job. If I were going to purchase a SmartPhone, this would be my pick.
Very well wrote. You made it very clear that you would chose this phone if you had to choice too. I also liked how you talked about other brands of phones!
ReplyDeleteI, too, thought it was well written. I was one of those who watched the video first, because I am a woman who now owns a HTC phone ;). You can tell that the commercial seems to definitely target woman: they use a woman to showcase the phone, and the phone itself is a brighter color, purple, not like those of black, white or silver.
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