Blog 3- Putting Old Furniture to Shame

      The commercial that I chose was Value City Furniture commercial about putting old furniture to shame. The intended audience for this commercial is people who are looking to buy new and upgraded furniture. The opinion that the target audience holds is that old furniture is bad to look at, which is why they want to get new furniture. The company does appeal to these opinions because they understand that people get bored with old furniture. The company wants to make the audience have a laugh about it. There is no way you can watch this commercial without laughing. The company exaggerates the way you feel when you look at your old furniture; probably not many people really gag when they look at furniture.

      A social connotation within the text is that if your friends come over and see your old furniture it may make them grossed out. As I read through some of the comments on the YouTube page I found that many people absolutely loved the commercial and many people did not. The reasons that people did not like it was because they find gagging noises disgusting, but that adds humor to the video. Clearly, the couple exaggerates the gagging noises. The company is trying to tell you that old furniture is gag worthy and you should upgrade. A cultural connotation could possibly be that anyone can afford this furniture. The couple looks to have a middle class house, not a rich and fancy house. They have typical clothing on and look typical, so typical people can afford from Value City Furniture.

      The greatest phrase is “it really puts the old furniture to shame.” This is even the title of the commercial. The colors are bright and welcoming. I think the biggest color noted is the difference between the home vs. the old coffee table. The old coffee table is bland and dull in color, which makes everything else about the house stick out. The main picture is a couple in their family room. The technology that is used is aural or the sounds coming from the two actors. Also noted to the bottom right corner is the emblem of the company.

      The goal intended is to make the audience realize that they need to upgrade their furniture. They want you to buy more furniture than what you originally thought. The couple bought a new couch because they must have thought they needed an upgrade. Once they got home they realized how old their other furniture looks. The goal is to make you realize that you actually need more than just one new piece of furniture.

      After reading through the comments the commercial can go either way depending on the type of person who see’s it. Some people comment that they would shop here just because of the commercial being so funny, but others disagreed. I think the goal was achieved. I just recently bought a new couch (not from Value City Furniture) and when it got in the house I realized I needed a new TV stand because the current one looks outdated next to the new couch. I believe that the gagging noises can help but also hinder depending on the viewer. Some people do not like gagging noises so this commercial would push away that specific audience, while others think its humorous making that audience continue to watch.