The Swiffer Duster “Are you listening, Morty? ” commercial is great in many ways. There is an obvious appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos, which many ads are unable to establish any of let alone all of them, and they are presented in a natural, flowing fashion. The stars of the commercial, Lee and Morty Kaufman, add something special that manages to make the ad memorable and distinct. Because of the nature of the commercial, it is also able to appeal to an extensive audience.
All of these things are needed for an ad to be traditionally successful, but the Swiffer Duster commercial manages to go above and beyond this. The claim of the Swiffer Duster commercial is that the Swiffer Duster makes it easier to keep a home clean. The grounds show this throughout the entirety of the 30 second commercial as Lee and Morty test and review the Swiffer Duster. The commercial first shows the couple as Lee goes through her usual process of cleaning with her old duster.
She climbs up on her table to clean the chandelier and on a rickety chair, of which she almost falls off of, to clean her china cabinet all the while with Morty buzzing around her nervously trying to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Then, with her home having just been cleaned, they show Lee using the Swiffer Duster. She goes through her house more quickly this time and without having to climb up on anything to do it. There is a shot of how much the Swiffer Duster is picking up that her old duster didn’t pick up.
The commercial ends on a cut to her trying to tell Morty how great it is while she’s still using it and he’s falling asleep in his chair. This last bit of the commercial is where the ethos is established. By showing how much the product works and how much someone who has actually used it likes it, the company sets the idea that they are credible. There are two main age groups to which this commercial markets towards. On the surface it appears that it is being marketed towards older people because of the ninety-year-old couple testing the products.
The ad shows that the Swiffer Duster is easy for older people to use and that it is also safer than traditional dusters because of the extending handle and the adjustable angle of the duster itself keep people from having to climb up on various objects just to clean. This is what makes it marketable to another age range, though. The sandwich generation, better known as middle-aged consumers, would be inclined to get the Swiffer Duster for their aging parents so that they don’t have to worry about them getting hurt.
Middle aged buyers also have a second reason for buying. They are guaranteed that not only will dusting go much more quickly with the Swiffer Duster because they too wouldn’t have to climb on things to dust with traditional dusters, but their house will also be cleaner. This is particularly notable for them because time is so valuable for parents also helping take care of their parents. The audience of this ad can be assumed to be somewhere around middle to upper middle class.
An older audience is usually on a set income so they won’t be making extravagant purchases, but the lack of need to make big payments, such as a house or car payment which would most likely already have been paid off, puts their income level in this bracket. The part of the audience labeled as middle-aged can also be put in this bracket because they will be more willing to put more money into a name brand cleaning product and they would be more likely afford it anyway. People in upper class would not likely be very focused on what cleaning products they use if they even choose to clean their own homes.
Lower and lower middle class will be less likely to purchase a brand name product because of the price tag that would be attached to it. This commercial uses a great deal of both logos and pathos to appeal to the audience. However, pathos is what is mainly used. All of the logic falls in with what is shown to create credibility and therefore is only shown in a small part of the commercial whereas pathos is shown throughout the entirety of the commercial. To make a bigger impact on the target audience, elderly and family oriented people, the pathos appeals greatly towards family values.
Lee and Morty are shown as a healthy old couple. Despite being in their nineties and having been married to each other for decades, they still worry about one another’s wellbeing and call each other cute pet names like ‘babe’. This advocates to people who believe in long-lasting relationships, that the love should be retained through the whole experience, and that it should be so clearly displayed. The ad also applies for those family oriented people who want to keep their homes clean to produce a better, healthier environment for their family without having to waste time to do it.
They can do a better job of keeping their home clean and it’ll take less time leaving more of the day to be spent with loved ones, just as the ad claims. The clip of Morty falling asleep in his chair also communicates to many people who have spent time with parents and grandparents that have comparable moments. They picture their own family having such discussions and acting in a similar manner and it makes it easier for them to picture themselves owning the Swiffer Duster. This ad is most certainly successful.
It appeals to the majority of American adults through its values and affordability, which is great for its consumption rate. It is able to create ethos and logos without just throwing information at the audience. Instead, it shows it to them through a natural flowing conversation of two real people in their natural environment. The overall cutesy feeling from the continued ethos of this style aids in the idea that, if this very real happy couple is happy with this product, the audience ought to be too.
There is not one thing that Proctor & Gamble, the company that owns the Swiffer product line, did wrong with this commercial. It is presented in a great way and accomplishes everything that it was made to do. The colors, brightness, and clarity of it make it pleasant to look at and Lee and Morty make it pleasant to watch. Most commercials and ads are unable to accomplish the realness that this commercial does and it is largely due to Lee and Morty. If they had changed the couple or the location it is likely that this ad would not have been nearly as successful as it is.
