In the recent Stride commercial, Shaun White endorses their new Whitemint flavored gum. The advertisement’s main purpose is to promote the gum by creating an ironic situation that grasps the audience’s attention with a humorous tone. Without stressing the product so heavily, they provide a less demanding approach for the audience to buy their product. The advertisement promotes the gum as ridiculously long lasting. Although, throughout the commercial, the marketer’s debate over solutions for the consumers to chew another piece. By the end of the commercial they come up with the solution for consumers to either “Spit it out. or Yeti will find you.” Stride Gum Inc. uses irony, social appeals, and tropes to lure the audience.
The ironic situation in the Stride Gum commercial is how it is an advertisement within an advertisement. Obviously an advertisement’s purpose is to promote a specific product. But in this advertisement, it shows the marketing professionals for Stride Gum deciding on ways to promote their product. It is ironic to see a commercial that is about their company making their commercial. Another ironic appeal is Stride Gum’s use of a yeti. At the end of the commercial, Shaun White comes up with an idea to get the consumers to chew another piece and quickly gets on his phone. Suddenly, a giant yeti comes barging in the meeting room and punches the head-marketing executive in the gut, forcing his gum to shoot out of his mouth. The audience clearly knows a yeti would never come force their gum out by punching them in the stomach, let alone even encountering a yeti. This sets a humorous tone for the audience to relate to which increases their interest for the product.
Another tool Stride Gum incorporates is their usage of a social appeal. In their commercial, Stride features Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. Just this year Shaun White was named the second most powerful athlete behind Peyton Manning. Not only is White a