Ozzy vs. Bieber Ad

So last weekend was the infamous day of commercials, Superbowl Sunday!  There are so many people who look forward to the commercials more than the actual game, so I can't imagine the amount of money that companies spend not only buying that chunk of time, but also on creating the commercials themselves.  Because of this, it's safe to assume that these commercials are the best that they can come up with, so it seems weird when a commercial is less than impressive, but this week I'm going to talk about one that I found hilarious.  The Best Buy commercial with Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne.

 

The ad is for Best Buy's buyback program in which they buy old or outdated electronics.  Firstly, the ad makes a statement about how quickly technology goes out of date nowadays.  They're not even able to finish filming the commercial before a new phone is released.  Although it's an exaggeration, it is very true that there is new technology being released almost nonstop.  To play on this idea, the commercial starts out with Ozzy Osbourne starring in the commercial.  He was very famous about thirty years ago, but now he's in his sixties.  It's made very clear in the ad that he can't keep up with the new technology, so they bring a new star, Justin Bieber to replace him just as they were replacing the phone with a new version.  

I realized also that the stereotype of men being incompetent was used.  We discussed in class how decades ago women were portrayed as helpless, but after women's rights movements, that changed.  In this ad, Ozzy's wife has to come in and try to help him with his lines.  Not only does this play on the useless man stereotype, but also that the older generation in general is having trouble keeping up with new technology, which I'm sure we've all seen with either our grandparents or parents. 

I think it was very smart rhetorically to include both Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber in the commercial.  By using huge stars from two different generations, it makes it easy for practically everyone watching to be able to connect.  Also by choosing Ozzy, someone who has maintained at least some of his fame through the years, and Bieber who is a huge phenomenon right now, they increase the likelihood of people recognizing both stars.