Media in Today's World: Analysis of Net10 Commercial

Technology is becoming increasingly popular in today’s world.  Advertisements on television and the Internet are starting to be aimed more at those types of products.  Ten years ago, commercials like that were quite rare.  Now, it seems every other commercial that is seen is related to some technological product.  One of the more popular types items are cell phones. Cell phone companies are always trying to get people to buy a phone from them.  It makes sense because it is almost necessary to have one these days.  Most people have plans from the larger companies such as U.S. Cellular, AT&T, or Verizon.  But there are some people who would like to own a cell phone with a plan that is a little cheaper than the major brands.  These companies are not as well known, but through advertising they can still get the business they want.  Personally, I had not heard of Net10 until I saw this commercial.  If I was someone looking for a new cell phone, this might be a good investment because they have a commercial that really speaks to many Americans such as myself.  With a smart and silly concept that has logical ideas, Net10 knows how to get to the customers they are advertising to.  This shows us that the United States relies heavily on business and that these businesses will relate as much to their people as they can in order to sell their products.

           This commercial wants consumers to feel like they can relate to the situation at hand.  It begins with a son who is singing to his girlfriend a song that he wrote.  The song is terrible and the son does not sing it that well.  The father just kind of rolls his eyes knowing that what his son is doing something that could be considered kind of dumb.  Net10 uses the concept of not being able to control the conversation, but controlling the cost as the basis of their commercial.  It is true that most parents will realize that their children will do dumb things.  Both men and women who are a little older can then relate this idea.  It is the big cell phone companies aiming at the younger generations so Net10 was smart to go for that group.  Although I cannot relate to a parent in that sense, the idea of a lower cost could still interest me.  Also, the fact that they have cell phone plans that include the latest smart phones could also interest a tech-savvy person like myself.  The company is going for a well-rounded commercial in order to attract customers of all kinds.

            The commercial appeals to a couple of different means of persuasion.  Of the three types, it mainly appeals to logic.  Aspects of the other two appeals are visible, but not as prominent.  By using the approach of saying that regardless of how the phone is used, a good cost will still be available.  This idea is more logical to the older generation because they are the ones seeing the phone being used for such things as a son or daughter calling or texting their boyfriend or girlfriend.  They are also appealing to logic by including the information and facts about the phone plans at the end of the commercial.  Certain words are larger in size to give emphasis, which is sort of a logical idea since many times bigger is better.  Also at the end is the logo for Net10. 

For those that already know about it, it gives credibility to them.  For people like me who did not know, the credibility is a little less.  But they did include a picture of an Android phone, which is an item that has become a well-known type of phone.  It shows that the company is trying to keep up with the times as well as having items that it sells that have credibility when it comes to the make of the product. 

The emotion aspect is not all that prevalent in the advertisement.  As noted before it is mainly logical.  It should be noted that the idea of family and relationships do add to the overall idea of emotions.  Seeing as both of those ideas are largely portrayed in media it shows that they are important issues to the people of the United States. 

The other big concept that is important is cost.  That is really what is the largest issue covered in the advertisement.  With the economy in its current state, many people are looking for ways to save money.  If these people want to purchase items that they use everyday, they are most likely going to look for the products with the lowest price.  Net10 also wants to do that in an effort to get customers from the other cell phone companies.  This also shows that there is major competition among the many companies in the United States.  Every company wants their business to do well in order to make a large amount of money.

            Many businesses today are now focusing on selling technological products to consumers.  They use the media to do this very well.  Advertising can be difficult unless you know how to do it well.  You have to appeal to logic, emotion, and credibility, in addition to the use visual and sound elements and a relatable message.   Net10 does this very well in the advertisement for their cell phone plans.  After seeing the commercial, I may consider to use them if my current cell phone plan ended, unexpectedly.  Even though I may not completely relate to the age group Net10 is aiming at, something still made me consider it.   It could just be the fact that even though I am not connected to the father, I could see the son in me; I know I use my cell phone sometimes for odd conversations with friends.  I am not the only person in the United States that does that either.  Because I thought it was a good commercial, I think I will tell people about this cell phone company.  Net10 wants people like me to be able to relate to the commercial and then buy their products.

Works Cited

“Net10 "Control" Funny Commercial.” Youtube. 5 November 2011. Web. 29 March 2012.