...Talking about Talk Talk

Talk Talk - Click here for another funny movie.

Communication: it is probably the most necessary thing on earth. No matter what one chooses to do in life, one will always have to communicate with others around oneself. To survive and to get anywhere in this life, we all need to understand each other and have ways of communicating. Just like everyone needs to eat, everyone needs to communicate. This commercial about “Talk Talk” plays off of that basic human need, like a lot of commercials do. If they talk about something that people need, they can twist it into saying that in order to do that better their particular product is necessary. It is a great persuasion technique. Talk Talk employs this method as well as using the rhetorical appeals to create a gripping and memorable commercial.

Talk Talk presents a better way of communicating. It tells the audience in the commercial that, “whoever you are, every call you make to each person on your land line is free, forever.” That is a pretty good offer. The commercial does not say anything about a catch, for example, how much you have to pay in order to be a part of Talk Talk. But the interesting thing about that is that as a normal viewer, you do not think anything of that. All that was going through my head the first time I watched it was, “wow, these people are amazing.”

This is the commercial’s best aspect: the amazing visuals in provides. As stated in Envision, “in our visually saturated world” making a point through the pictures one presents in an argument is of the utmost importance. Our eyes act and process faster than our ears. The proof of this is everywhere around us. 90% of what we say is our body language and not the actual words we speak. When an actor moves on stage the movement is noticed above any speaking part (which is why actors generally stand still when delivering a line). If someone says that they are fine, but their face is full of sorrow, which do we tend to believe?
That being said, the Talk Talk commercial is very well done because it catches your eye and forces you to pause and pay attention; it’s just that fascinating. The visual is also very subtle so that you don’t even realize that you are being persuaded, but instead you are caught up in the enjoyment of the pictures created by the people in the commercial.

Talk Talk uses many people who come together to create something bigger. They make moving pictures to match everything the speaker is saying. The crowd of people wearing pink and red shirts forms a heart while others in gray and black come together to create an arrow that pierces it, and afterwards, the people in pink and red regroup to form two little hearts. All this happens as the speaker says, “People in love.” The people then work together to form a boy and girl holding hands and waving to represent “good friends,” a buggy that rolls along to represent “new moms,” and two kids tossing a ball back and forth to demonstrate “families.” This is a great appeal to pathos because it speaks to all different people, and we each can relate to one of those things.

On a smaller level, they could have just shown us, for example, a normal picture of a buggy. That they chose not to do this was very powerful. Instead, the people in the commercial work together to create one. This is essentially the entire point of the commercial: people together. It is people working together, people communicating together. When you watch the commercial closer, for a second or third time, you start to look at not just the big picture, but also each individual person. How do the girls who make up the “ball” that the kids play with stay on the right track? They must get dizzy. And it’s really neat how the talking mouth is created with the two people holding hands and swinging their arms. And, the people who form the buttons of the phone are really cute! A fascinating commercial such as this one, in which there is always something to look at, is really affective.

The dialogue fits perfectly with the pictures, as well as the simple and relaxed yet upbeat music. In contrast to the complex pictures created, the spoken message is short, sweet and to the point. A few short phrases serve as examples. The following single sentence answers the question, “why do I need this product?” And then the narrator finishes the commercial by giving us the name, Talk Talk, and reciting the slogan, “Let’s do it together.” This sums it up beautifully, with a name and a slogan that will stick in your head. Furthermore, the entire commercial has already showed us “Let’s do it together.” The words in this case act as a confirmation of the pictures, and example of logos at work.

Another way the commercial uses logos is its casual if-then argument. If you join Talk Talk here’s what will happen: you’ll be connected to people, and you’ll be able to call all the people that you need to call and care about for free, forever. The data they are presenting could be skewed in some way, however. Because of the simplicity of the commercial, it doesn’t tell you everything. There’s a cost, of course, and there’s probably a limit as to whom you can talk to for free when you join, and they probably have to have Talk Talk as well, which would make it more complicated. But why get into all that? The point of the commercial is to hook and keep the audience’s attention and to make a strong impression. And the commercial definitely accomplishes its goals.

As stated earlier, pathos also really works in this argument. The commercial establishes an immediate, intimate connection with the audience. The audience is greeted with images of everyday people, just like you and I, forming bigger pictures, also of everyday people. So, the commercial connects with the audience on both the levels. On the one level, the watcher will think, “wow, what they are doing is so cool!” and will imagine themselves as a part of it, which is the goal of the commercial, to create a unified, cooperative way of thinking. On the second level, which the person watching might not even be aware of, they will understand that this commercial is speaking directly to them, because while the majority of the people watching the commercial are not new moms, most are good friends, family members, and/or lovers. Therefore, realized or not, viewers begin to think, “That’s me. This could be good for me, too.”

Although much more difficult to find and analyze, the Talk Talk commercial actually employs ethos along with the other two forms of rhetorical appeals. Sometimes in the use of ethos an image is sold rather than a product. I believe that is what’s happening here. The commercial does not inform the viewer as to how they can become a part of this Talk Talk. It doesn’t even give them a number to call to find out more information. What it does do is plant images in your head that you will remember for a long time. I won’t soon forget the people coming together to form the simple words, “Talk Talk.” Nor will I forget the catchy slogan, another way the makers of this commercial use ethos. “Let’s do it together” is a very appealing phrase that a viewer will remember.

So, what the people of Talk Talk do so cleverly through the ethos, as well as logos, pathos and the other aspects of argumentation and appeal, is sell their companies reputation, and they do it very well. This short, catchy, and very unique commercial is something that anyone who watches it will not soon forget.