Commericial Linguistic Evaluation
Language Use in Commercials
URL for an ad on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP4UZ3vmQ54
Jack In the Box Commercial for a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
The Jack in the Box ad was aired nationwide in the United States to highlight the addition of the classic Philly Cheesesteak to their already diverse menu. Jack in the Box uses a number of stereotypical features of Philadelphian and Mid Atlantic English to portray characteristics of the people of Philadelphia that they believe will help sell the new sandwich and validate the sandwiches’ authenticity. The following are some of the language features, with examples, and the stereotypical characteristics they are meant to be associated with:
Accent
Phonological Characteristics of General American English Accent – There is no discernible accent from the three characters in the commercial in the beginning. They are utilizing the standard newscaster accent that is widely accepted as the television standard of speech.
Intended effect – enhances the effect of the business office setting and dress code of all three characters as professional and efficient.
Phonological characteristics of Mid Atlantic/Philadelphia Accent – “How you doing?” pronounced in one continuous word eliminating all breaks in syllables; pronounced you like yuh; consonant g drop from words like doing and hanging.
Intended effect – makes the viewer think of the quick street dialect of the original sandwich shops for which the city is best known for, highlights the regional dialect making the viewer think about Philadelphia and its people, creates a very distinct character change in the intern character to establish his credibility.
Morphology/Syntax
Dropping the verb are. “How you doin’?” instead of “How are you doing?”
Personification – “I soaked up Philly like a sponge.” Giving life to an inanimate object
Intended effect – seen as real, authentic Philadelphia
Vocabulary
The Intern character Kevin uses colloquialisms. “Yo
URL for an ad on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP4UZ3vmQ54
Jack In the Box Commercial for a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
The Jack in the Box ad was aired nationwide in the United States to highlight the addition of the classic Philly Cheesesteak to their already diverse menu. Jack in the Box uses a number of stereotypical features of Philadelphian and Mid Atlantic English to portray characteristics of the people of Philadelphia that they believe will help sell the new sandwich and validate the sandwiches’ authenticity. The following are some of the language features, with examples, and the stereotypical characteristics they are meant to be associated with:
Accent
Phonological Characteristics of General American English Accent – There is no discernible accent from the three characters in the commercial in the beginning. They are utilizing the standard newscaster accent that is widely accepted as the television standard of speech.
Intended effect – enhances the effect of the business office setting and dress code of all three characters as professional and efficient.
Phonological characteristics of Mid Atlantic/Philadelphia Accent – “How you doing?” pronounced in one continuous word eliminating all breaks in syllables; pronounced you like yuh; consonant g drop from words like doing and hanging.
Intended effect – makes the viewer think of the quick street dialect of the original sandwich shops for which the city is best known for, highlights the regional dialect making the viewer think about Philadelphia and its people, creates a very distinct character change in the intern character to establish his credibility.
Morphology/Syntax
Dropping the verb are. “How you doin’?” instead of “How are you doing?”
Personification – “I soaked up Philly like a sponge.” Giving life to an inanimate object
Intended effect – seen as real, authentic Philadelphia
Vocabulary
The Intern character Kevin uses colloquialisms. “Yo