I am a sucker for love. Reading about it, being in it, watching my friends be in it... you name it! Romance is my kryptonite. One day while scrolling through twitter, I was continually seeing posts with phrases like "I'm balling!" and "#relationshipgoals" so of course I had to see what all the rage was about! I clicked on the video attached to the tweets: An Extra Gum commercial titled "The Story of Sarah and Juan". Twitter was right. I was in tears within the first 30 seconds.
With no words spoken in the video itself, the song "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" played in the background. "The Story of Sarah and Juan " comes to life as a classic love story of boy meets girl-centered around the consistent sharing of gum, specifically, Extra Gum. Meeting in high school by the lockers, Juan keeps the story alive by drawing pictures on the gum wrappers of their most prominent and precious moments together. Starting with their first kiss to the day Juan proposes to Sarah, the gum wrappers are used as a canvas to preserve these occasions. Ending in an art gallery with the wrappers beautifully framed on the wall, the story ends with one final wrapper: a picture of Juan down on one knee, holding a jewelry box. As Sarah turns around, the picture comes to life and we see Juan down on one knee, holding a ring. *sniffle* Does anyone have a tissue?
The soul purpose of this TV commercial is to persuade viewers to purchase Extra Chewing gum. Its hidden purposes are to inform and entertain the audience. The Extra brand has taken on a theme in some of their most recent commercials: love.
Other gum advertisements don't typically add a storytelling element to their ads, setting Extra apart. These ads found their spotlight on social networking platforms rather than on standard television. Extra Gum didi not release these videos as a series like Geico's "Flow" commercials, but they are rather releasing these commercials of "love" as more of a campaign.
I believe by launching this campaign Extra is trying to send a message saying that some of life's best moments aren't always found in the big things but rather, the small things. A message we can all hold close to our hearts. Uploading these advertisements onto their YouTube channel, the incorporation of storytelling and keen ability to relate to their audience through The Story of Sarah and Juan is what caused this particular video to go viral.
If you don't know by now, I love this commercial. I watch it when I'm lonely, need a good cry, or before I fall asleep at night. This video gives me all the warm-fuzzies and reminds me that true love is out there. After the last four years riding solo, I have come to realize that if you want something real and authentic you have to wait for it, be patient. I hope every single one of you get to experience Sarah and Juan's story for yourself one day. Best wishes.
