10 February 2008: T-Mobile & Blackberry

As I sat at my friend's house on Sunday watching a rare episode of television, an add for the Blackberry Pearl and T-Mobile attracted my attention. This ad begins with a man sitting on 'the chair' with a woman carrying a red garment on this left. The ad uses a popular culture theme of 'the chair.' My first memory of the chair is as a child, sitting on it, while waiting for my mother to emerge out of the dressing room. I was so bored but I knew I could not go anywhere or face my mother's wrath. As I see the man on 'the chair,' it signifies his boredom. The woman on the left hand side carries a 'red' dress. Red suggests passion and seduction. My eyes are immediately drawn to her as she asks for the man's opinion. He gives it and she selects the opposite. My first memory of that behavior is of my grandmother trying on clothing. Grandy is very particular and when she asks, she rarely wants your opinion. I love my grandmother, but I can no longer shop with her. My memory of this type of interaction draws me further into the ad. As the shopping experience continues with the same interaction, the man's nonverbal cues indicate that he is frustrated by the shopping experience and just wants it to be over. It took me years of waiting to actually enjoy shopping. You can then see that the man wants a specific phone when in the T-Mobile store. The T-Mobile store is not a female environment, as were the other scenes. It has changed the feel of the advertisement, to make the viewer question its motives. The man ultimately get wants he want. The voiceover comes on: "Now there is a color for everyone. The Blackberry Pearl collection. T-Mobile. Stick together." Blackberry reminds me of fruits I use to pick as a child and the freedom that this ad does not connote. Pearl is something expensive and rare, that my mother always wears. I remember its warm touch on my 3 year old hands. My mom expressed gentle protectiveness over her pearls. I could touch it, but I had to be careful with it. The Blackberry Pearl gives a gentle, but precious freedom to its users. The color enables that user to express its creativity, instead of just having 'blue.' This ad frees the user from the shopping scene and perhaps the Blackberry Pearl would have freed me from my childhood experiences as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2jje8MS0Nw