Analysis of Toms Commercial 2006-2007 - A Commercial for Toms

A door appears with a red sign which reads “Tomsen” – indicating that this is the house of the Tomsen family – but underneath the sign it also reads “Godnathistorie”. Next, we are in a bedroom where Skildpadde is lying in bed and Guld Barre is reading him a bedtime story. The story is based on the fairytale “De tre bukkebruse”, but in this case it is about three Guld Barre in different sizes ranging from the small one meant for a coffee to the one weighing 200 grams. The story ends with the large Guld Barre scaring the troll away, and when Skildpadde asks Guld Barre what happens to the troll, he says that it probably went home – to eat mock-turtle after which he turns out the light and leaves Skildpadde with a scared look on his face. The words Toms – “Danske originaler – www.toms.dk” appear on the screen. During the commercial we hear the tunes of

“Mester Jakob”.

56 Sender

The primary sender of this commercial is Toms, but we also find a secondary sender in the form the Tomsen family – in this commercial represented by Skildpadde and Guld Barre. We know these characters from previous commercials and therefore

automatically connect them with Toms.

Receiver

As for the target group of this commercial, this is not so straightforward given that this commercial, as other commercials featuring the Tomsen family, does not focus on one particular product. Instead we see several different products in this case Guld Barre and Skildpadde which may not necessarily have the same target group (DRRB, n.d. B). As a result, the text-external receiver of this commercial will be Danes at different ages; it could both be adults and children/teenagers as both age groups might enjoy the humour in the commercial. The commercial is not directed at children per se, and Guld Barre and Skildpadde are not products that would attract children in particular but that is not to say that children might not find the commercial amusing. As mentioned in the section on Toms’ CSR (cf. section 4.1.1.2.3), it was argued by a professor from CBS that children as young as 10 years old would be able to understand and enjoy this kind of commercial.

Genre

Rhetorical Strategies

First of all, as has been mentioned, we know Toms and the Tomsen family from earlier;

we therefore have a case of intertextuality. As a result, there is no need to make any form of presentation; we immediately know who the characters are. A strategy used in this as well as previous commercials featuring the Tomsen family is the one of terminology. The producers play with the words and the characters as a result end up saying things like “med nødder og næppe” and “forloren skildpadde” –referring to the Skildpadde in the commercial being eaten for dinner by the troll. In addition, we see a personification of the products – in this commercial Skildpadde and Guld Barre - who have their own personality (DRRB, n.d. B). In the story which Guld Barre reads the products are once again personified as “De Tre Bukkebruse” are replaced by three

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different sizes of Guld Barre. Furthermore, the whole commercial is made like a sitcom (DRRB, n.d. B). This is visible in how we watch the characters during a funny situation in their home and in the end we hear people clapping and saying “oh” – the same way as in a sitcom. These strategies are all part of what makes the commercial humo ristic.

Furthermore, we see the logo several times. In the beginning and in the end we see it on the middle of the screen, but during the commercial we also see it several times on the products. Part of what makes the logo so visible is the colour red creating a good contrast to the background. The colour red is also used for the book read by Guld Barre and part of the wrapping on the Guld Barre. Another significant colour is gold which is used on Guld Barre but also for the stripes on Skildpadde. Skildpadde is, however, also brown and this colour is also used for the sheets and pillows underlining the importance of the colour.

Code

First of all, the way the characters play with the words should appeal to Danish humour.

In addition, the use of the story “De tre bukkebruse” is a good way to make people relate to the commercial, as we probably all know this story and remember having it read to us when we were children. In this case it is Guld Barre and Skildpadde resembling the parent and the child, respectively, right before the child goes to sleep and the parent reading a bedtime story. Furthermore, the use of the actors Søren Hauch-Fausbøll and Søren Fauli as Guld Barre and Skildpadde, respectively, should also appeal to Danes as we all know and recognise these persons and perhaps connect them to something humoristic. Humour is a very important element in this commercial because it is produced to resemble a sitcom, and the code used contributes to it being targeted especially at Danes. An advantage for Toms is tha t its products are considered Danish originals given that they have been on the market for many years and some have not changed for quite a few years. As a result, people consider them part of Danish culture, and even though each product has its own characteristics, which makes it original, we still consider them to be in family with each other (DRRB, n.d. B). This should together result in a successful commercial.

58 Message

The message in this commercial is connected with the message in the other commercials with the Tomsen family. Together these commercials have created a universe where the different products each develop their own personality (DRRB, n.d. B). It is not a traditional commercial simply telling us that the product is delicious. Instead, this commercial connects Toms to something funny, Danish and original thereby implying that products from Toms are one of a kind; they have a brand-personality making a contrast to foreign mass-produced products.