Anna+N.+Text+and+Dialogue

Media Literacy Project AT&T Wireless Commercials Text and Dialogue Analysis Mom: BethAnn! Daughter: WU (What’s up?) Mom: Your cell phone bill is what’s up. All this texting! Daughter: OMG INBD (Oh my gosh, it’s no big deal) Mom: It is a big deal. Who are you texting 50 times a day? Daughter: IDK, my BFF Jill (I don’t know. My best friend forever, Jill?) Mom: Tell your BFF Jill that I’m taking away your phone. Daughter: TISNF! (That is so not fair!) Mom: Me paying this bill, that’s what’s SNF. Announcer: Now too much texting is NBD. Cingular brings you unlimited texting, just $5 more a month. And get an LG Broadband phone free. The new AT&T, your world. (Tune: All around the world) ON SCREEN With qualifying messaging package Phone price before $30 mail-in rebate debit card is $29.00. Some restrictions and other monthly charges apply. Two year service agreement required. Date package may be requires. Offer not available in all areas. Unlimited Text picture, and video messaging Requires a 2-year contract. Fine Print (too small to see) From the text, the commercial is aimed at families with adolescent children who have limited plans and are constantly subject to overage fees. The mother’s use of English would be considered Standard English, while the daughter speaks only in text-speak, and each of her text-speak statements end with the up-pitch that indicates a question, but is commonly associated with Valley Girls and the youth of America. (Could it indicate uncertainty with what they are saying?) The mother, in an effort to make her child understand the situation or to appear “hip,” moves to text-speak at the end of her last sentence. The use of humor in this commercial helps it appeal to all audiences, not just the apparent target audience. When the announcer comes in, he too is using text-speak. The unlimited texting option is “just $5 more a month” indicates that the cost should be considered minimal, though the unlimited option costs $5 per line per month. The addition of the free LG phone offer only sweetens the deal, though the fine print states that you have to pay for the phone, then send in a mail-in rebate to receive a refund, which will be sent up to 60 days later in the form of a debit card that may only be used for the purchase of AT&T products. Then, to accept this offer, you must obligate yourself to a 2-year contract with AT&T. The words “the new AT&T” indicate that the company has gone through a dramatic change and is significantly improved. The “your world” statement implies that communication technology is an integral part of the modern world and that AT&T specifically should be made a part of your world. However, the use of a white, middle-class family makes me question exactly whose world they are claiming to be. Spills Milk. Husband wipes milk and orange “minutes” into the trash can. Wife: Don Husband: What! Who wants milky minutes anyway? Besides, they’re from last month. Wife: They’re rollover minutes; they’re perfectly good. You know, my sister doesn’t have AT&T? Guess what happens to her old minutes. Husband: She loses them. Wife: She loses them. So I’m sure she’d be happy with those milky minutes. Husband: Isn’t your sister lactose intolerant? Husband and kids snicker. Announcer: Only AT&T’s Family Talk with rollover saves your family’s unused minutes. It’s the best value around. And now, add a line for just $9.99. For a limited time, get our exclusive LG Shine for only $49.99. Fine Print: Pay $124.99 for phone and after mail-in rebate receive $75 AT&T promotional card. 2 year service agreement and $39.00 voice plan required. Up to $20/month data package may be required. Allow 60 days for debit card fulfillment. Card valid in US only for 120 days after issuance date but is not redeemable for cash. Not available in all markets. While supplies last. Some restrictions may apply. See stores for details.
 * BFF **
 * Milky Minutes **

Again, we are presented with a white, middle-class family: Mom and Dad and two kids. Their humorous rapport with each other reminds many middle-class people of their own families. The language used here is all Standard English. The husband’s response to his wife indicates that he is used to throwing away things that are considered “ruined” or “extra.” The wife’s response to him indicates that she has a “waste not, want not” philosophy. The idea of “saving” your rollover minutes indicates that AT&T has the same philosophy. If you are using another company and losing your rollover minutes, a perfectly good “resource” is going to waste at the end of every month. The idea that it is a “Family Talk” plan implies that AT&T is a family-oriented company, which implies that other companies do not cater to or care about families. The announcer’s proclamation “It’s the best value around” explicitly means that you won’t find a better price for the services that are being offered by AT&T. You may add a line for $9.99, which means that it doesn’t matter how big your family is, AT&T can accommodate them. Just as with the BFF commercial, there is an offer for a phone at a discounted rate, and the idea that this phone is “exclusive” makes the consumer think that they may only have such a phone if they get their phone service from AT&T. After you read the fine print, you realize that you have to pay the list price for your “discounted” phone and will only be reimbursed as long as 2 months later with a debit card that can only be applied to AT&T products. You also realize that to accept AT&T’s offer of a discounted phone, you must obligate yourself to 2 years of their phone service and fees for services that go beyond the standard basic service of AT&T wireless plans. Woman applying lip gloss using phone as mirror. Woman: Work’s so crazy right now. Fashion week is coming up and I have to work with all these LA designers. Tune: “Heaven Isn’t Too Far Away” Two women walk past, guy uses phone as mirror to check them out once behind him. They turn around and check him out. He receives a text, “OMG!! UR A PIG!!” Fine Print: Screen Images Simulated Man: What?! What?! Woman shakes her head. Announcer: Reflect your style. Get the new ultra-sleek LG shine. It’s this season’s hottest accessory, designed to move you fashion forward. Now just $49.99, only from AT&T. Fine Print: Pay $124.99 for phones and after mail-in rebate receive $75 AT&T promotion card. 2 years service agreement and $39.99 voice plan required. Up to $20/month data package may be required. Allow 60 days for debit card fulfillment. Card valid in US only for 120 days after issuance date but is not redeemable for cash. Not available in all markets. While supplies last. Some restrictions may apply. See store for details. This commercial is more appealing to a younger audience, since it correlates with a popular TV show, //The Hills//. The woman talks about having to meet with “all these LA designers,” which indicates the social circles she is meant to appeal to. He pays her no attention while he checks out the pretty girls who walk by. I have a feeling that her message to him, “OMG UR A PIG” relates to their relationship on the show, but the use of text-speak further connects it to a younger audience. As with the “Milky Minutes” commercial, there is an offer for a discounted phone with strings attached. After you read the fine print, you realize that you have to pay the list price for your “discounted” phone and will only be reimbursed as long as 2 months later with a debit card that can only be applied to AT&T products. You also realize that to accept AT&T’s offer of a discounted phone, you must obligate yourself to 2 years of their phone service and fees for services that go beyond the standard basic service of AT&T wireless plans. Commercial 1: (Tom Selleck’s voice) Have you ever borrowed a book from thousands of miles away? Crossed the country without stopping for directions? Or sent someone a fax from the beach? You will. And the company that’ll bring it to you: AT&T. Commercial 2: (Tom Selleck’s voice) Have you ever paid a toll without slowing down? Bought concert tickets from cash machines? Or tucked your baby in from a phone booth? You will. And the company that’ll bring it to you: AT&T. Commercial 3: (Tom Selleck’s voice) Have you ever opened doors with the sound of your voice? Carried your medical history in your wallet? Or attended a meeting in your bare feet? You will. And the company that’ll bring it to you: AT&T. Commercial 4: (Tom Selleck’s voice) Have you ever watched the movie you wanted to, the minute you wanted to? Learned special things from far-away places? (Voice 1: That’s all taken from jazz. Now any questions? Voice 2: So where did jazz come from?) Or tucked your baby in from a phone booth? You will. And the company that’ll bring it to you: AT&T. Printed text in all commercials: You Will and AT&T. No fine print. The use of “prediction” in these commercials was, I imagine, very effective for the audience of 1993. The use of the clause “You will” sends the message that these predictions will without a doubt come to pass. In fact, many of the innovations that are mentioned have come to pass, and the ones that haven’t are in the foreseeable future. All four of these commercials operate on the basic premise that AT&T will be the company that brings all of the important innovations to America and the world. These commercials actually have some diversity, unlike their modern counterparts, implying that at that time, the company felt like it was catering to all of America, not just the white middle class. Having Tom Selleck as the voice of the commercials was clever, especially since these commercials came out in a lull in his career, approximately 5 years after his role as “Tom” Magnum in //Magnum P.I//, but 3 years before his role on //Friends// as Monica’s boyfriend. But the inclusion of his voiceover adds a familiar element to the ideas that, at that time, were unfamiliar and, most likely, hardly believable.
 * LG Shine **
 * “You Will” Series **