This Cingular commercial first aired a couple of years ago to show customers how the “conversation behind cell phones” is changing from the typical argumentative one, to one where the mother and daughter actually agree; the words “I love you” can even be heard at the end of this short exchange. The funny thing is, while the two are expressing nothing but kind words toward one another, if you don’t listen carefully, the whole thing might sound like a heated argument.
At Skills to Success we teach people that the majority of the message you send to people is actually in how you say something, as opposed to what you actually say. This cell phone commercial is a perfect example of this philosophy. The two are agreeing on the “cute” and “small” new cell phone, but their aggressive and argumentative tone suggests more of the traditional and let’s says, less agreeable cell phone conversation that might be more typical of a mother and daughter.
How to defeat the KLA with Humor
The repentant former KKK leader Johnny Lee Clary explains how Reverend Wade Watts, an NAACP leader, disarmed him by being cool, funny and brave, engaging in some first-rate psy-ops. Be sure to listen through to the end for the chicken story.
Former Ku Klux Klan leader Johnny Lee Clary (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)
Aquafina Commercial
Much like the first Cingular commercial this Aquafina commercial plays with our expectations and the “traditional” conversation that goes on between a coach and umpire. The coach character even remarks, “people expect me to come out here and be upset, so I’m going to kick some dirt!” right after he has just praised the umpire for a great call. Even though the two characters are yelling at each other throughout the commercial, the actual words they exchange are pleasant enough (for example, a friendly “Say ‘hi’ to the Mrs.” is thrown in at the end.)
Amy Walker
Despite the many convincing European, Australian, Russian, and even Canadian accents included in this video, Amy Walker was actually born and raised in the United States. This video is a simple way to illustrate, yet again, the importance of how you deliver a message. Amy roughly sticks to the same line in each part of the video (“Hello my name is Amy Walker and I was born in _____.)but changes her accent—how she delivers the words—and therefore, the meaning of the message.
So much of what we perceive is on a subconscious level, that even small things like accents effect how we read a person. Of course we usually aren’t aware that the exact same words said in two different ways might affect our opinion of the message, or even the person; but take a look at the different accents, and really ask yourself how your perception of Amy changes with each one.
Mime Video
In this video we have a mime—no not your run of the mill, painted face, stuck in a box in Central Park type—but someone who pantomimes each and every line of a song. And it is funny; much funnier than the traditional box sketch. The song isn’t particularly funny; in fact, the words are reminiscent of most other sappy love songs; but funny? Not really. The reason this video is so funny, is again, how the message is delivered.
The words by themselves are not important here. If you listen to the song on its own it isn’t nearly as entertaining. On that same note, the man’s actions by themselves are not particularly funny either. Sure, without the music he looks pretty silly; but it takes both the words and the delivery, to really make this thing work. While the actions truly give this song a whole new meaning, the two have to work together to deliver one, final message: This song is hilarious (with gestures included.)
