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Editorials / Columns
[Editor’s note: TV commercials often portray archetypal myths. The ancient plots help the audience suspend its disbelief in the simplistic sales pitch – “Solve your problem. Buy our product.” Here’s a three-part myth analysis that describes the setting and plot of one mini-story. Whipple explains the underlying conflict among the characters. The product is supposed to resolve the conflict and be an expression of social values.]
An advertising campaign I have found particularly irritating and insipid is Shedd’s Spread’s Country Crock "Hands Campaign." Originally debuted in the 1920's, these ads were revised in 1992. They feature two pairs of hands -- one male, one female -- with predictably 'buttery' voiceovers. These hands have met, dated, fallen in love, become engaged and procreated. All over are generous helpings of oleomargarine. With a "plain-folks" pitch, it airs in the early evenings -- pre-suppertime.
Step 1 -- Romance and Fatty Acids.
Outdoor commercials typically take place in pastoral settings. In the Country Crock advertisements, the usual background is a field and the table on which the butter product is placed is resplendent with gentle opulence.
For instance, when the "male hands" propose to the "female hands," the delicious buttery product had no doubt been wiped off his fingers first with one of the perfectly-positioned cloth napkins. For many Americans, cloth napkins signal "Rich!" or "At the Olive Garden!" These characters have no other worries than their love for each other, which runs smoothly because it’s greased with a generous portion of Shedd's Spread.
Step 2 -- Trouble in Butterville.
Would the commercials be as interesting without some trouble, a dilemma? Unfortunately, nothing so interesting as an extramarital affair or a gambling problem occurs in Butterville. Usually, these characters are gently ribbing one another about whose butter it is, who eats more of the butter, how delicious the butter is....(You can view an ad illustrating exactly how spicy things get in Butterville at http://www.stonesimons.com/mov/ccm.mov)
These ads are similar to the popular, serialized "Taster's Choice" commercials, which caught the attention of so many Americans after their debut. However, the Butter Hands are quick to realize their shared love of Country Crock is more important than any trial life may throw their way.
Step 3 -- Crises Averted! Let's Eat Some Butter!
The marital 'differences,' as I previously said, are surmounted by the shared love of Country Crock products. Now that the characters have a baby, they are happily feeding on the new line of Country Crock Side Dishes. The strange thing about these commercials is that we never see anyone EAT ANYTHING. These characters are just hands and voices. They are removed from the human act of eating. They have no mouths and no bodies to be made overweight by the product they consume (which was recently ranked fourteenth in a study of the healthiness of spreads), no bodies to do anything human like consume and excrete the products they lovingly enjoy. To a somewhat-savvy viewer, these Shedd's Spread ads are exactly what their label states - a "Crock."
© Copyright World Internet News 2006-07
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