Media Blog #4: Appliances on the dance floor?

My first impression was: "What the heck? Another dance show? Why do we need another dance show?" As this dancing continues for a good 45 seconds, I'm just continuing to wonder why we would need another dance show if we already have shows like Dancing with the Stars. As the man spins his partner, she runs into... a washing machine? It turns out this commercial was for Sears' appliances? Why did they just spend 45 seconds advertising like it was a dance show and like 15 seconds actually promoting Sears' appliances. 

One of the most obvious answers would be "need for attention." The voices in the commercial were very intriguing and made us want to stay and watch the commercial. The colors were very vibrant, and there was catchy music to go along with the dancing. If this would have been just a regular commercial to promote Sears' appliances, we might just get bored watching someone talk about appliances. It definitely attracted my attention because I am into these type of shows.

The advertising technique used is definitely diversion. This dance show has absolutely no relevance to Sears' appliances, but it does attract the attention. I had no clue that this was actually a commercial for a product at first, as I just thought there really was a new dance show. Then, all of a sudden the girl runs into a washing machine? Why would there just be a random washing machine and refrigerator on the dance floor? It doesn't in anyway relate to the dance show? After we see the appliances, are we supposed to magically just say "Oh, I totally get it?" Also, this dance show takes up a good 3/4 of the commercial, so we really don't know if this commercial is actually for a dance show or Sears. That was a smart technique to do because it keeps our attention more than some commercial just about promoting Sears' appliances.

Overall, I believe the commercial was very effective. By using the dance show, it helps keep the attention of the audience so we actually watch the whole commercial. It still confuses me how we are supposed to make any connection between the dance show and the appliances, but the commercial does its job by getting our attention.