Healthy Choice Ad Deconstruction

1. Whose message is this? Who created or paid for it? Why?

Healthy Choice, in order to sell Healthy Choice steamers microwave dinners.

2. Who is the “target audience”? What is their age, ethnicity, class, profession, interests, etc.? What words, images or sounds suggest this?

Middle class, white Americans who are between the ages of 30 & 45. Professional, upwardly mobile, childless.  

3. What is the “text” of the message? (What we actually see and/or hear: written or spoken words, photos, drawings, logos, design, music, sounds, etc.)

A modern, very ikea-esque kitchen is the setting of this ad. We hear a brutally honest conversation between a mother, her daughter and the daughter's husband. The things they are saying aloud are things that (stereotypically) people think but don't say aloud.

4. What is the “subtext” of the message? (What do you think is the hidden or unstated meaning?)
That cafe steamers doesn't have hidden ingredients - that it is an "honest to goodness" meal, and not the TV dinner it actually is.


5. What kind of lifestyle is presented? How?

Upwardly mobile, busy, professional, but hip.

6. What values are expressed?
being honest to oneself, but also snarky and a bit judgemental - especially when it come to growing old. 

7. What tools of persuasion are used? See "The language of persuasion"
Association; Beautiful people; Humor.

8. What positive messages are presented? What negative messages are presented?
The relationship between the husband and wife seems positive. The product and the idea of "honesty" is certainly positive. Negative messages are the relationship between the mother and the daughter - basically anything revolving around the mother, including her own self-image.

9. What groups of people does this message empower? What groups does it dis-empower? How does this serve the media maker's interests?
 Empowers young, professional, kid-less and upwardly mobile- basically it's target market. Dis-empowers the parents of the target market - aging baby-boomers. The busy professional is too busy to come home and make dinner, or to prepare lunches for the short lunch break - therefore it empowers them and makes them feel more akin to the characters presented in this ad - thus, making them more likely to buy Health choice steamers.

10. What part of the story is not being told? How and where could you get more information about the untold stories?
How healthy is Healthy Choice Steamers? It is still a TV dinner after-all. Also, how much do they cost? There is a vague reference to the dinners "not costing a lot" but it still wasn't clear... which makes me think they are still more expensive than a regular TV dinner. I could easily go to the supermarket to compare prices - or a price comparison website to find this information. I would probably start at the Healthy Choice Steamers website to see if they had nutritional information listed to answer the first question. Once I got that information (which could also be obtained from the side of the box at the supermarket) I could also compare it with USDA standards on recommended nutritional information.