Link to the commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y7eg0REXZM
This commercial which uses the analogy of race to advertise Black Herbal Toothpaste is from Thailand during the 1980s, a time when Thailand was undergoing social change when it came to racist issues toward Africans. This commercial caused much controversy over the issue (which was actually a great way of grabbing attention, but yet it manage to get away from the real topic [the toothpaste]) and through this, the ad became notorious. Before I continue to analyze the rhetorical devices used in this commercial, allow me to give a quick summary of how this ad plays out.
In the opening scene, there is a Thai child crying over her lost balloon which seems to be caught on top of a lamp post. Then a big burly black man comes walking along and sees the child in distress. and then, out of sympathy, climbs the lamp post to retrieve the balloon for her, all the while this sad/innocent sort of sounding music is playing while he does it, which really reflects his kind gesture. Once the black man is about to return the balloon, the child’s mother comes and scoops the girl of her feet in a protective manner and utters some disgusting words to the black man. The black man then continues home sadly with the balloon in hand and puts it in a room with many other balloons, meaning to indicate that this sad racist tragedy happens to him often. He then lays down on what you think is his bed, but turns out to be a giant toothbrush, in which the scene fades into a presentation of a black colored toothpaste followed by the announcement of the phrase “looks can be deceiving,” meaning that despite the fact that the toothpaste is black and seems like it will only make your teeth dirtier, it will actually clean your teeth regardless. It’s an odd commercial, definitely, especially considering the topics of racism versus toothpaste are on two completely different sides of the spectrum. It was funny to me at first, but after watching it about 50 times, it surprisingly became pretty compelling.
To first analyze the characters of this commercial, I’ll start with the little girl. The little girl is the image of innocents and the object of pathos for the audience, especially since the little girl is of their own nationality. What is even more compelling is the fact that the girl is crying, which will strike a chord in the viewers. Then there is the black man who comes along, and on first sight one might consider all the racist prejudices held against him that were popularly held at the time, but then once he helps the little girl (since helping children is the paradigm of good will) we see him in a new light, which will eventually be used to explain the similar circumstances surrounding the black toothpaste. Then there is the third character, the mother, who represents the Right wing audience members who are anxious and suspicious of Africans in their country, but then her ignorance is pointed out because we witness first-hand the good deeds of the black man.
This ad would have little significance if it weren’t for the placing and timing. It is implied in the commercial that the setting is contemporary Thailand, particularly a ghetto looking part of Thailand in which one might easily find a black resident. Obviously, this is a scenario that hits close to home because it actually is at home; one could go outside and see this. And considering the times paint the conditions of the situation further, the elements of contemporary racism are introduced. However, the social context of Thailand at the time is in a transitional period, and like America, it was around the 70s-80s that Africans were beginning to fit better into the scope of social acceptance in Thailand. This commercial appealed to that transitional element and to the Leftist audience members as well as Africans.
This ad proposes the argument that something should not be judged by the way it looks. It presents this argument with an example of a kind hearted black man who was wrongly judged for the color of his skin, which defends the claim that just because the toothpaste they are trying to sell is black as opposed to the usual white toothpaste, the toothpaste will still make your teeth clean. The problem with this means of using analogy to prove a point is that the two subjects of racism and toothpaste are completely different, and to compare them almost makes the commercial comical instead of serious as was probably initially intended. And plus, whether such a connection between the two subjects is logical is doubtful, which also takes away some legitimacy points from this ad. Logos is not something I see very well used in this ad, this advertisement concentrates its rhetorical power into appealing to the pathos of the black man’s sad story, and the ethos of tolerance.
The structure of this commercial is also odd, primarily just because the transition from the subject of racism to toothpaste is so sudden and unorthodox. The first 40 seconds of the commercial maintain a consistent theme that is sad and tragic, but then all of that is suddenly shutdown when the black man’s bed turns out to be a toothbrush, and you’re just like “wait . . . what?” This transition is such a sudden change of emotion that it actually kind of screws with your head and makes the whole thing seem like a joke. It ruins it. Although, in terms of structure, I don’t think there would have been any smooth way of transitioning these two subjects, considering the space between their differences. It probably would have been wiser to make the theme of the commercial different all together, perhaps using humor instead of sympathy as an attention getter.
The delivery and style of this ad was very well done all except for that subject transition. At first, the intro was very heart warming when the black man decides to help the little girl, all the while this melancholy music of a child singing was playing. Then once the black man is falsely judged, you feel for him, and once he gets back to his house and you see the other balloons to show that he is wrongly judged often, you really sympathize with his long-term life tragedy. This part was excellently conveyed. It wasn’t until the part that they were all like “oh yeah, this is just like our toothpaste” that the commercial became a whole lot less serious. Overall, the theme of “looks can be deceiving” is consistent, but the way they delivered it was awkward and iffy.
In the long run, this commercial was definitely attention grabbing, since it caused a lot of controversy, and no matter what way you look at it, the ad’s unorthodoxy is what gives it it’s magic. Whether one perceives it as funny, heart-warming, or sad, it sends the message of “look at this product.” Overall, if I were to rate this commercial on a scale from 1 to 10, I would give it a 7, both for it’s uniqueness and yet it’s uncomfortable structure.
