Born to Assist: Chris Paul

January 13, 2013

Blog #13

When I was watching the Lakers playing Thunder on ESPN the other night, this commercial came on during a timeout.  It was a state farm commercial starring Chris Paul.  The target audience for this commercial is for people looking to buy the best insurance, NBA fans, and Chris Paul fans.

The commercial starts off with identical baby twins were separated at birth in the hospital.  They were both really good at assisting others. One went on to become a successful state farm agent.  The other grew up to be a great play maker on the basketball court.  In the end, they bump into each other in the elevator and they recognize each other as the door closes.

The testimonial technique is heavily used in this commercial because they use a famous NBA star in Chris Paul.  The need to nurture is in the beginning of the commercial because you see identical baby twins.  Also, the wit and humor technique is being used because they show Cliff Paul who is actualyl Chris Paul wearing glasses and a mustache.  They also use Chris's basketball skills of passing and show it two different ways in this commercial. 

I found this commercial to be odd at the beginning because I never knew babies were born with glasses.  I did like the story line of the commercial though because it was very interesting with the twins.  It was cool how they took Paul's NBA skills of great passes and assists and demonstrated that in two different ways.  I laughed when I first saw Chris Paul wearing glasses and a mustache.  I felt like I watched the twins' whole life in 1 minute...literally.  The end part was cool to, how they met up but before they could say anything the elevator door closes.

I think that State farm could've added something bout their insurance to make this commercial better.  Also, some people who don't know a lot about the NBA might not get what's happening.  Other than that, I felt this commercial had a nice plot to it and the two stories were tied together very well.  Chris Paul assisting and State Farm helping others are very similar and they chose the perfect athlete to play the part.

I find it interesting that when I was watching a Clippers game, fans took this commercial to the next level.  Since Paul is a Clipper, fans were wearing a mustache just like in this commercial. Clippers fans absolutely love this commercial and are showing their approval.

Overall, I think this commercial is very effective.  It caught my attention right away when I saw Chris Paul because I am a huge NBA fan.  This commercial was very funny and had a neat plot.  State farm could not have chosen a better athlete than Chris Paul, currently averaging 9.5 assists which is 2nd in the league.  State Farm definitely got the word out about how well they are with assisting others by using Chris Paul.