Let's talk about the sociological semiotics of the new Mustang commercial:

[xiphias]

Ford's put a commercial for the 2013 Mustang up on YouTube. It's completely visual, and I can't think of any good way to describe it, so apologize to my blind friends.

Personally, I LOVE this commercial. I'd like to note a couple things about it.

Let's look at the four Mustang lovers shown. Two of them are male, two are female. One is clearly white, three are less-white -- the woman looks mixed-race to me, the first man looks light-skinned Black, and the girl looks Hispanic. I mean, race isn't always obvious, so I don't know if that's how the actors classify themselves, or if my guesses actually match with their heritages, but at least the commercial doesn't look as racially homogeneous as one might expect.

Also, the little girl is being cared for by a man, presumably her father. So we have the image of a father as caregiver, taking his daughter to ballet class.

Of course, the big moment of the commercial is the subversion of pinkwashing.

And -- this one is a bit more arguable -- but watch the guy at 0.17 seconds into the ad. It looks to me like he's totally checking out the dude in the blue shirt. It's not obvious, and it's possible that he's just sorta looking in that direction, but I like to think that they put a gay man in as one of their typical customers.

Plus, the look on the little girl's face at the end of the commercial is freakin' adorable.

In my experience, this pretty well matches up with the demographics of Mustang lovers. They include everybody.

Comments

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Well dammit. I was going to write this post -- I've seen that commercial several times, and adore it -- but you wrote it better. :D

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Plus the little girl in her ballet outfit is checking out the car too, which is interesting-- it's not a little boy saying 'DUDE!' or something like that.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's what you meant by "the subversion of pinkwashing." Yeah, that. 8)

I was awakened far too early today by the child for which I am one of the caregivers and stuff.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

That and the fact that the car starts to turn pink when she sees it... until it doesn't, and it becomes clear that "pink" isn't who this particular little girl is...

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

Ha, I hadn't quite caught that the first time through. That's pretty cool. And her reflection in the window as it passes. Overall, yeah-- this is a nicely-done commercial. There's no surer sign of societal acceptance than being directly marketed to...

[gingicat]

I LOVE the black-winged angel reflection.

[mangosteen]

Hah! I completely missed the "Black Swan" reference on the first viewing.

[snippy]

I would have liked it even better if it had stayed pink, because even girls who like pink and ballet can like a Mustang.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. I like it better this way, because I like the message that not all little girls do like pink.

As far as the ballet goes, I thought the costume in the reflection was reminiscent of one of the costumes in the movie BLACK SWAN, so I thought that stayed with the ballet theme. :)

[ceo]

OK, I hate TV commercials with the burning passion of a thousand fiery suns, but that is awesome. And yes, he's definitely checking that guy out. Nothing in these things is even remotely spontaneous.

[mbarr.livejournal.com]

Yep, i thought for a second that he was staring at the car, but no, it's before the car comes by. He checks out the guy, then glances back at the car :)

And yes... the little girl is just... awesome.

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Specifically, it's the tiny little smile as he checks out the guy - which is then echoed as he checks out the car. Awesome.

[gingicat]

Also, just as with the 2012 Dodge Charger, it's the OMGCUTE! CHIBI MUSCLE CAR!

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

Such a great commercial!!

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

Wow I loved this commercial when I first saw it, and it's better watching it over and over. And I love this post.

[dianavilliers.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it's my geographical bias but I'm reading the chef as Polynesian. Then again perhaps the ambiguity is deliberate.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I've had trouble in the past telling Polynesian people from people in the range of looks that show up in African-American, so it's certainly possible. Finding the names and bios of the actors might help . . .

[embryomystic.livejournal.com]

No, I'm not even remotely geographically biased (let's just say that of all the vibrant communities that exist in my city, we have some Austronesian folks, in the sense of people speaking Austronesian languages, but I'm fairly certain any Polynesians are here as individuals, and not as part of a community), and I definitely read that guy as Polynesian. I suspect the tattoos might have been intended to be cues, if they're not something the actor came to the set with (and even then they could imply something).