Media Log #9: I Don't Know...

     I love this commercial. I saw it on ESPN while my dad was watching sports, which makes sense because it's about guys grilling on the barbeque and "being men" by talking about sports. But at the same time, it is also addresses women at the end when it talks about the male gender as a whole and what they say can relate to the struggles of women everywhere when it comes to their husbands. I think the target audience for this commercial is both men and women in middle class homes because it features a big backyard get together and everyone is wearing nice clothes and eating some big juicy hot dogs. Although the guys don't directly mention the hot dogs in the commercial, they are making a connection to the hot dogs by using the percentages. When he says 99.9% it emphasizes the fact that the hot dogs are 100% and we don't get that very often from a product. For example, cleaning products always say 99.9% and never the full 100 percent. I believe this commercial addresses the "need for autonomy" because the guy that says 99.9% is trying to impress his friends with his knowledge of sports and he tries to stand out by correcting the other guy on his mistake. I think it also uses Plain Folks because these are average joes talking about sports and grilling on the barbeque. It also uses Facts and Figures because it talks about percentages. It could also be Diversion since it talks about baseball and not the actual product. And it uses Wit and Humor because it pokes fun of the guy who thinks he knows a lot. I also think this commercial makes the assumption that men are the people that grill and they mostly talk about sports.
     Overall, I would say this commercial is pretty effective. It made me laugh and I enjoyed watching it and I understood what the advertisers were trying to accomplish. However, I think the advertisers could have done a better job showing that this was a commercial about hot dogs, not sports. Sure, they showed a nice picture and the announcer made it clear, but that's not the part I am going to remember.