Java House Commercial

Isaac Shantz-Kreutzkamp
English 100
17/01/2010

Java House's commercial by importexport, like most , is based on attaching to some preexisting mentalities and ideas that the consumer already has before viewing the advertisement. It starts with a man sitting on a bench, with one unlucky event (his girlfriend breaking up with him via text message) followed up by another (a bird pooping on his head). He goes to the Java House, where after drinking a cup of coffee, he begins experiencing better luck (finding five dollars in a crack in a curbside), a better mood (a scene showing him waving and smiling at an off-screen person), and an overall better day. The video ends with him thrusting a mug bearing the Java House logo towards the camera smiling widely.

What makes this work is the implication that sometimes when you're having a “rough day” as the character in the video asserts, it can drastically change your mood with a simple cup of coffee and a sunny outlook. With the character hunched over on a park bench with lower lighting helps to attribute a subdued and gloomier feel; conversely, as the lighting changes to a bright afternoon and the character is smiling and waving, it reinforces the change of attitude. Likewise the entire commercial is done with warmer undertones (the man's sweater, the coffee shop, the autumn leaves), helping to convey a homelier feeling, something most Americans can associate with.

It's successful in that it appeals to the American idea that you can change your life, or just one experience with an item that is only available for money, something that's contrary to conventional wisdom is nevertheless preached commonly by salesmen the world over. In this case coffee is being hailed as the object that can change your day-to-day experiences from merely being mediocre to happy-go-lucky. Using the man's mood as a metaphor for the power of the coffee, it's a powerful message to go out and get a cup of java.

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