Speech You\'ll Run the Bill

Speech

You'll Run the Bill Up

The television commercial selected for this discussion is the commercial that is a take-off on the film "The Christmas Story" for the Cingular Go-Phone. The commercial is trying to sell a Motorola Cell Phone with many features, including game and graphics. It uses a small boy, who looks very much like "Ralphie" in the film, and each of the scenes is taken directly from the film, as is the dialogue, it is just changed for the commercial. In the film, Ralphie wanted a Red-Ryder B-B Gun, and everyone told him he'd "put his eye out" if he got one for Christmas. The commercial parodies the film extremely well, and so is appealing to a wide audience.

The commercial shows that their wireless service will not "run the bill up," which so many people worry about when they purchase a cell phone with advanced features, such as games and graphics. However, there is another subtle message to the ad, and that is the parody of "The Christmas Story." It says to the viewer that if you like the film, you will like the phone. It is equating the phone and service to the values and popularity of the film.

This commercial uses both contemporary and traditional appeals. First, it is a parody of the film "The Christmas Story," which began as a cult classic and has become one of the most popular holiday films today. The film is traditional in the sense that it portrays a family with children who want very specific presents under the Christmas tree. However, the family is dysfunctional, rather than traditional. The film puts a new spin on traditional family values, and the commercial really uses that to its advantage. Therefore, while the message of the commercial is traditional with a twist, it also uses contemporary appeals, because the film itself is very popular contemporarily, and the item advertised is very contemporary. It is contemporary in that the item being advertised is an advanced phone with Cingular wireless technology. The contemporary appeal is that everyone has a cell phone, so why not upgrade to one that has more features. The commercial uses the tagline "You'll run the bill up," which is a common worry with cell phone users, and so, the commercial attempts to show why the Cingular service will not run up the bill. The commercial shows that advertising does not have to have one appeal or appeal to only one audience. Anyone, young or old, who is a fan of the film will immediately see the parody, and will understand the appeal of the commercial.

The values of U.S. society are different even from 1984 when the film first aired. Technology is extremely important today, and hardly anyone is without a cell phone. So, it is not unusual for a child of Ralphie's age to want one. It would have been in 1984. Our values have changed with the advent of technology, and along with them, society has changed. The film seems very quaint and old-fashioned by today's standards, and the characters, (especially the parents) seem simple at best. In the commercial, their concern is all monetary, which also shows a big difference in values. In the film, the parents were concerned about Ralphie hurting himself. In the commercial, they do not question his need for a phone; rather, they worry about how much they will have to pay for it. This shows how important money is in contemporary society.