Entry #10 Are You Up for the Challenge?!

Did you see that guy's fall? Wasn't that funny? At first, I thought this was a preview of a new WipeOut season which is a competition of completing obstacle course challenges for a money prize. But I stood corrected as the commercial grew into using the WipeOut concept to advertise Southwest Airlines.

The most striking technique in this commercial was Wit and Humor. The reason why this commercial caught my attention in the first place was because it resembled the show, WipeOut. The reason why the appearance of WipeOut caught my attention was because there's always people attempting actions that end up not in their favor. In this case, the customer representing other airlines apart from Southwest miserably fails to complete the obstacle and lands in a ditch of foam. This slapstick humor attracts viewers to the commercial and therefore Southwest because it gives them a reason to laugh. Though it is a diversion from what Southwest is advertising, it ultimately gets viewers to pay more attention to what Southwest decided to put out on TV.

It also appears that Gestalt: Sublimal Persuasion was used. Throughout, I noticed the commercial used many different kinds of camera angles and movement. It first began with a panning view of the overall setting of the commercial and next was a bird's eye view over the obstacle courses. The most interesting angle was probably the view of the customer competitor themselves afterwards (0:06). This view creates the illusion that the viewer is experiencing all that is happening, making it seem like they are the ones in racing to complete the course. With this view, a more personal connection is made with viewers, making the commercial more like a show or entertainment they would watch rather than a commercial obviously trying to sell something. The narration supported this as it was super energetic and audience engaging.

I'd like to point out a couple details in the commercial that gives Southwest a more appealing essence. Firstly, when the narrator introduces who the competitors are, he names "Southwest" and then "The other airlines." Southwest name-drops itself and then generalizes all the other airlines possible, like Hawaiian, Alaskan, etc., making itself seem more important and better as it stands alone rather than molded together with other airlines. Also, on the obstacle course, there is a Southwest employee assisting the Southwest competitor on his "journey" to change platforms, symbolically showing to change flights. On the other hand, the other competitor is left to figure things out for himself. By adding this character to their side and not the other, Southwest is telling viewers that it can make their traveling easy without a worry spent. 

With this extra character, the need to feel safe is emphasized. The need to satisfy curiosity is also included as the narrator states, "But the other airlines could hit him for 150 bucks of change fees!" That little statistic there appeals to those viewers who are persuaded through Logo's.

This commercial included several elements that have tend to influence people in favor of Southwest. It was funny clip of persuasion with its humor and entertainment-derived concept. Nice job Southwest for making air-travel seem fun!