Argumentative Commercial Analysis: Haagen-Daz's Argument Commercial

Haagen-Dazs Argument Commercial Reflection Paper

The commercial starts with an Italian man entering his home with some groceries and flowers. He says “Hello, my love” in Italian. The skinny Italian woman in the kitchen turns around and smashes a dish to the ground. She yells out “I’m leaving” in Italian with which the man responds “Not again”. The woman then proceeds to throw down the towel in her arm onto the floor. The floor already has pieces of the broken dish. She walks closer to him and yells out “I’m going to find a man who can love someone beside himself” accompanying it with hand gestures. The man and woman keep getting closer and closer to each other’s face. The man yells out “Go live with your mother, she’s the only one crazy enough …show more content…
The commercial seems to rely on a negative stereotype about Italian-Americans such as that they are loud and aggressive especially when they are fighting. The woman is not only screaming at the top of her lungs but she breaks a dish onto the floor and proceeds to throw down a towel that she was using. Italians are also known to use a lot of hand gestures especially when they are talking and the commercial reflects that with the woman waving her arms around and the man doing a lot of pointing. While the commercial does rely on negative stereotypes, it did have some positive reflection on Italian-American culture such as family. It is not a single person experiencing the gelato but a couple. The couple reflected the tension between the couple, but also made sure to show their unification due to gelato. Food is another vital concept to Italian-Americans. Many Italian-Americans gather at the table daily to eat their meal instead of eating separately and at different times. They believe that food is best when it shared especially with one’s family. Overall, the commercial heavily emphasized that the couple was Italian that makes sense considering that gelato is Italian in origin and Haagen-Dazs is a New York-based company. In order for people to overlook the fact that the company isn’t Italian, they tried to emphasize that Italians enjoyed their gelato even when Americans made it. Haagan-Dazs used Italian with English subtitles and …show more content…
First, there is the producer’s preferred reading that subscribes to the dominant values, trends, and norms of society. The producer’s preferred reading is that the viewer should buy Haagen-Dazs gelato in order for it to provide unity in the viewer’s family like the man in the commercial. Apparently, the sight and taste of their gelato is so good that it will fight all of the fights that occur in a person’s family. Second, there is the dominant reading of the viewer when a viewer fully accepts the message that the commercial is trying to portray. The viewer’s dominant reading is that they should also buy Haagen-Dazs gelato because the gelato could help bring my family together by stopping the fights that happen on a daily basis. Third, there is the negotiated reading of the viewer where the viewer only partially shares and accepts the dominant value. The negotiated reading for this commercial would be that while food can bring a family together after a fight, my family won’t stop arguing simply because I bought some gelato. Finally, there is the oppositional reading which understands the dominant values but advocates for an alternative. The oppositional reading would be that while some fights between family members can be resolved with food, most fights will not. The gelato is a temporary bandage and if the fight does not get