Give Extra, Get Extra’: A Narrative Criticism of Wrigley’s Extra Gum Commercial “The Story of Sarah & Juan”
Wrigley’s Extra gum commercial became popular immediately after being aired. Commercials strive to associate their product with positivity, and Wrigley took this goal to the next level. They created a love story that consisted of a young couple, events of their love story, creative settings, and an organized timeline. The audience gets to see how Sarah and Juan’s love story unfolds, as well as how they commemorate their history of love with giving the other a piece of gum. A narrative criticism looks for key characteristics: character(s), events, and setting(s). These three features help determine what the objective of the commercial is. In this commercial ad, Wrigley’s primary objective is to sell their gum. The secondary objective is to have the audience associate Extra gum with Sarah and Juan’s history and commemoration of their love story. Their unique story also reveals that gender roles and racial norms are challenged, while the tradition of a proposal and marriage remains the same. Therefore, their objectives are effective because of the supporting characteristics of the ad.
COMM 441, Rhetorical Criticism
Doyle Srader
Banquet Room, Poster #12
1 – 3 PM