Welcome back, everyone. Please make up names for all of the women in the ad.
AJO - (1) Janelle (2) Liz (3) Beth
KT - (1) LaKeysha (2) Zoe (3) Sandra
JamFla (who clearly had been thinking about this for a while) -
(1) The Sassy AA woman – Grace. Grace is your go-to girl for all social events. She has a magnetic laugh and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. She is the daughter of a single mom and did modeling in middle school to help make ends meet. Her ideal man would be a cross between Sean Patrick Thomas and Taye Diggs.
(2) The Brunette – Carmen. Carmen mostly likely has never held a serious job because she has rich parents who buy her everything. The look on her face tells me she has a few trust issues due to many dysfunctional relationships with emotionally detached men, but is finally opening up to dating again. She's feeling the pressure of bikini season on the horizon.
(3) The Blonde – I had a tougher time with this name choice. If she had been chubbier I would have said Becky.. Out of the 3 she looks like the bitchy one (see her eyebrows @ :07) who is short on the phone to patients at the doctor's office (where she works as a secretary but tells everyone she's an Executive Assistant). She also secretly envies her friends and has a lot of college debt to pay off for her General Studies degree that she got in 6 years, so I'll go with the name Courtney.
Which of the above-named women in the commercial do you most identify with? Which do you dislike the most? Why?
KT - LaKeysha. Clearly Zoe is the outcast. She is trying so hard to fit in, laughing more heartily than necessary, wearing more eye makeup, expressing her "joy" of her yogurt more than the others. I can tell she doesn't really even like the flavor she's eating but LaKeysha made her switch just before they sat down and now Zoe is masking her sadness. When the grocery store runs out of my favorite yogurt flavor I berade my friends until they switch their yogurt with me so that I have the best flavor. It makes me feel more beautiful and powerful. Obviously I don't like Sandra, just look at her, showing off her white tank top tucked into her jeans, what a bitch!
JamFla - Just like Sex and The City, this ad has a perfect match for every girl out there regardless of age, race, shape or size. I identify the most with Carmen, given her likelihood of having Latina roots. I dislike Courtney because she is a blonde, and because she's a total bitch.
AJO - I dislike Liz the most because she she makes weird laughing faces (watch her at 5 seconds). Also she orgasms loudly when eating yogurt. Lastly, she thinks she is so perfect, she doesn't say anything about her clothes not fitting her right. She needs to get REAL!
I like Beth. My pants are too tight too! I can really relate to that!
Why won't the women hold the cups of yogurt with all four fingers at once?
JamFla - My guess is the gals all had mani/pedis right before they came to get yogurt, so they don't want to mess up the fresh polish. Their cup-holding posture suggests a subtle yet sensual etiquette of the femme fatale. Men are more confident approaching a woman wearing pastel colors holding a yogurt container like a martini glass with her chest looking perky and legs crossed effortlessly, rather than a sweaty she-beast in a softball uniform who looks like she's riding the pine with a burly-knuckled fist wrapped tightly around a pint. It's just too bad Dannon L&F doesn't make appletini-flavored yogurt, am I right? LOL!
KT - They fear that if they grip the cups with their entire hand the flimsy plastic will squirt the yogurt all over the other ladies faces and start a huge cat fight over who's yogurt caused a permanent stain on the other's shirt. Plus the daily yogurt party is clearly a substitute for afternoon coffee and holding the yogurt with fewer fingers reminds them of sipping out of a coffee cup.
AJO - Maybe they are drying their nails that they just got done? Or Maybe one of them is missing a finger and they don't want the other one to feel bad?
How did this commercial change your opinion towards Dannon yogurt? Towards women?
AJO - Dannon is stupid. Especially if they think women bring yogurt to the mall and eat it together and talk like that.
Most women I know hate this commercial, so it makes me proud of women! I can't blame the actors because as you know, work is work.
KT - It makes me feel like Dannon is taking a page out of the Kotex handbook and really showing women what it means to be a woman. It makes me think that all women watching their afternoon stories believe this is the only way to enjoy dairy. It makes me sad for all these women because they forget that there is also laughing cow cheese, skinny cow ice cream, and almond breeze almond milk or even silk milk substitute. I just don't think we all realize how many dairy or dairy-like options are out there. This commercial is really progressing the woman's movement by empowering women to choose to eat 20 less calories a day and put a big dent into the obesity crisis facing America. Way to go Dannon.
JamFla - I wasn't a yogurt-eater prior to seeing this commercial. Seeing this ad tells me a number of things right off the bat: 1) I could afford to be more carefree and sassier with my girlfriends. 2) Dannon yogurt understands the day-in and day-out lives of all women. If you're young and trendy, choose Light & Fit. Your pants will fit better and your self esteem will shoot through the roof! But - if you're over 40, Jamie Lee Curtis speed-walks while advocating being "regular" with Activia. 3) By eating Dannon yogurt light and fit, I can drop pants sizes faster than Courtney gets on her knees.
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Well, there you have it, readers - a truly terrible Dannon Yogurt ad that eats away at the soul of American society. Special thanks go out to our focus group members JamFla, KT and AJO for their participation. Be sure to check out their blogs for further reading enjoyment. And you can join in the action at home, too - just leave your opinions and feedback in the comments section below.
And finally, there is only one week left in our Terrible Reader Ad of the Month competition for April! Get your submissions in soon!
