Smiles, frowns, and ideology.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m56F4EKN9hg

A minute-long American Express (AX) commercial recently caught my eye. As theorist Fredric Jameson would possibly do with the commercial (link found above), I am going to provide a brief ideological criticism of this artifact, focusing on our consumerist American society. 

Aesthetically, the commercial is comprised of 24 images showing common material objects as smooth and upbeat music plays in the background. The commercial begins, and the first 11 shots capture neutral-colored objects like a wallet, a vacuum, and a purse "frowning." The next 13 images are of brightly-colored objects "smiling." The only way of knowing that this commercial is for AX is through the narration, except for the end, when we see a picture of an AX credit card. The end is also where we see the slogan, "Don't Take Chances. Take Charge."

Important to notice is that the commercial is not focused on pushing consumers towards a certain brand, as is most of advertising. AX doesn't want this commercial to get viewers thinking about brand names or logos, which justifies that lack of any visible brands or logos in any of the commercial's image. This commercial, rather than telling us not to take chances when we must decide which brand to buy, is instead telling us not to take chances in our shopping experience altogether; rather, "Take charge" with AX. In a society obsessed with having the most expensive and most quality possessions, AX is suggesting that shopping no longer needs to be an experience with any element of fear, uncertainty, or chance.

The commercial also states, "The smallest things in life can become our biggest enemies," referencing the images of various products shown in the commercial. Again, they avoid the mentioning of specific brands, and focus more on shopping altogether. And, "Happily, there is the American Express charge card." The AX charge card is here to save the day; it allows us to "Take charge", or take control of a situation (shopping) that may be seen as out-of-control in America today. Only with this charge card can consumers eliminate all elements of surprise in their shopping; rather, they can be in command of their shopping with AX.

It seems that the ideology supporting the AX commercial is that we as consumers have lost control of our shopping experience in a highly consumerist society. Shopping with any card but AX is a gamble. AX is focusing less on the shopper's ability to decide which purchases to make, and focusing more on ensuring that those purchases are made with the best option possible. The commercial is suggesting that it is unacceptable for consumers to shop with anything other than an AX charge card. Other credit cards are mediocre and undesirable. The shopping experience is only right with AX.