Century Link & Alltel Media Deconstruction Reflection

I do agree to the claims made in both deconstructions.  The Century Link deconstruction was more positively deconstructed, but the Alltel one was more critical.  I liked them both and thought they were both well presented.

As with all ads I feel that they want to sell their product, so they will stretch the truth beyond measure and fool viewers into thinking we need what they have.  It is a story old as time.  They have hidden fees and want to rip off the consumer for every penny they can.  They feed off those who are trusting and uneducated about their true methods.  It is quite scarey.  I have been fooled more times than I want to admit, but thankfully my husband has a solid head on his shoulders and can sit down and work the math on each offer to determine the best product and service for the value.  I am very fortunate to not be so easily swayed with his guidance and influence.  Many people don’t have that in their lives, so they get scammed left and right. 

I think the Alltel ad does promote a stereotypical view and shows the perspective of one type of family, when they could have chosen characters more relatable and less cookie-cutter.  I think Alltel is promoting their plans and trying to get the consumer sucked into their deals or plan packages, but like everything else in particularly the cell phone plan world, hidden fees and data usage added costs are more in the fine print and a smart consumer will ask questions and get estimations before choosing the plan that best suits them. 

I think my media deconstruction of both ads would be quite similar to the ones done for us in this assignment.  The points made were relevant and intelligent in their reasoning.  Advertising in general is very tricky and rarely does a product deliver 100% of what it say it will for every consumer.  Some companies keep things more general and apply to your needs directly, and I think I like these kinds of adverts better.  They don't fool you per-say, they just explain what the product was made for and if it fall into a want/need category for you, then great!  The tricky, slippery forms of ads I hate.  The ones that make bold statements or try to emotionally appeal to peoples vulnerabilities, their weaknesses, these are the times I detest them and will go out of my way to not support them or endorse their products.  There is a fine line here, and too many companies cross that line for my liking.