Inspirational Athletes “Believe You Will”: An Analysis of the Guaranteed Rates Super Bowl 2021 Advertisement
Superbowl LV was a victory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but everyone knows the real win is the iconic Superbowl advertisements each year. One advertisement for Guaranteed Rates was especially notable because of its inspiring message. Their “Believe You Will” campaign depicts a blind man climbing Mt. Everest, a race car driver, a UFC fighter, and many other athletes all achieving their goals. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the athletes depicted in this advertisement and the denotative and connotative messages behind them.
Theoretical Framework
This paper will have sociological analysis of the advertisement as well as a psychoanalytical criticism. As defined by Berger (2019), sociological analysis is using approaches from the study of groups and institutions to analyze media and its place in culture (Berger, 2019). This type of analysis focuses on roles, class, ethnicity, race and other concepts related to culture. Psychoanalytic criticism is the use of Freudian and other psychoanalytic concepts to interpret media texts and meanings (Berger, 2019). Psychoanalytic criticism deals with the unconscious, dreams and symbols, desires and morality (Berger, 2019). There is also symbolism in the representation in the commercial with the blind man climbing the highest mountain and the UFC fighter being strong. With this analysis, I will focus on the symbols throughout the commercial and how they affect the denotative and connotative meanings of the message.
Semiotics is the science of signs and meaning-making which is ultimately a complicated way to interpret messages and culture (Berger, 2019). A sign is equivalent to the actual word as well as the meaning or concept behind that word. However, the meaning can be taken many different ways for one object or word because humans are different, and we interpret things differently. The meaning conveyed could also be false, but people could still believe it. Semiotics began with the linguist Saussure and the philosopher Pierce which are both far from media critics. However, the idea can still be applied to analyzing media messages. An example would be Commodifying September 11: Advertising, Myth, and Hegemony, where Dr. Campbell analyzed a Budweiser 9/11 Superbowl commercial. Commodifying September 11 focuses on myth and media and how 9/11 became a mechanism to sell products. While the Budweiser company was paying tribute to the people who had died that tragic day and wanted to portray their patriotism, they also used the tragedy to sell their product. Many other companies did the same thing because the event causes emotional appeal and draws their audience in. Advertising began to rely on the idea of American unity against terrorism which ultimately influenced the political response to 9/11. This Guaranteed Rates commercial is packed full of symbolism and different representations to critique.
I will also look at gender and race as part of my analysis because the people portrayed in the commercial are not very diverse. “Intersectionality is a concept often used in critical theories to describe the ways in which oppressive institutions are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another” (Intersectionality). Intersectionality has been based in feminist theory and will play an important role in the analysis of the Guaranteed Rates commercial because there are minimal representation of women or people of color. Underrepresentation of women in the media contributes to the overall issue of gender equality and can be seen in TV shows, news outlets, advertisements and elsewhere. According to a Harvard Business Review article, “In a 2015 report, women made up a mere 19% of experts featured in news stories and 37% of reporters telling stories globally” (Rattan et. al, 2019). This type of representation only furthers gender stereotypes. This is evident in the commercial because showing primarily white males on screen could be interpreted as the idea that only men can achieve their goals if they believe they can.
Summary of Guaranteed Rate’s “Believe You Will” Super Bowl Ad
The 60 second Guaranteed Rate ad begins with slow inspirational music to upbeat happy music to set the tone of the uplifting message. A group of guys are approaching Mt. Everest to climb to the top and the narrator says, “How did a bind man conquer Mt. Everest?” Then it shows a man looking inside his racecar and then shows cars racing around the track. “How did a kid who loved NASCAR just know in his heart, one day, he would win the brickyard in the Daytona 500?” Then it shows two UFC fighters and the moment one of them wins. “How did an underdog, always counted out, take down the biggest name in the UFC?” Then it quickly shows each of those people and the narrator says, “How? They all believed. They believed in themselves and they believed that their dreams, their goals in life, were more than just imaginable. They were possible.” Then they show a hockey player, two female UFC fighters and an ice skater. Then it shows a man holding a baby and a cup of coffee at sunrise and a father/daughter duo blowing out birthday candles. Then it shows an office with people sitting at computers. Then it shows a close-up of a phone screen that says, ‘Your dream home is possible’ and then a man and woman shaking hands in front of a house. The narrator says, “For those who believe in their dream of a new home, Guaranteed Rate is a mortgage lender with all the right tools, advice and financing to make that dream a reality.” The next shots are rapid images of citites and houses and then shows different people and children. “Home office, backyard, more space, better view, whatever you are striving for, you can make it happen. You can conquer that mountain.” It shows the guys on top of Mount Everest and then a screen with the Guaranteed Rate logo and slogan ‘Believe you will’. Finally, the narrator says, “You can if you believe you will!”
Analysis Part 1
The preferred reading of this commercial is an uplifting and powerful one. The athletes achieving their goals makes the audience believe they can too. Guaranteed Rate’s first Super Bowl commercial reflects their own business model with the “Believe you will” attitude which ultimately leads to success. Liederman writes, “This campaign was made possible after a successful year: Guaranteed Rate’s business grew by 50 % from 2018 to 2019 and doubled in 2020, according to CMO Steve Moffat” (2021). Guaranteed Rate Companies is a U.S. residential mortgage company with growing success, and they believe their customers will be successful too, if they choose to have a mortgage through their company. The inspiring athletes in the beginning of the commercial include Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb Mt. Everest; Ryan Newman, a NASCAR driver; Dustin Poirier, a UFC fighter; Seth Jones, a hockey player; Rose Namajunas, a female UFC fighter and Starr Andrews, a figure skater. All of these athletes have achieved their dreams and had successes even with major challenges in their way.
Additionally, disabled people in the media are often misrepresented or underrepresented. According to Disability Planet, the media portrays ten different stereotypes for disabled people including: an object of pity, an object of curiosity or violence, evil, the super-crip, atmosphere, laughable, his/her own worst enemy, a burden, non-sexual, and unable to participate in life (Media Representation…). The blind man, Ryan Newman, appears multiple times in the commercial as an inspiring person. This could be perceived as Newman being an object of pity and the audience feel bad for him being blind and climbing Mt. Everest, a difficult task. However, it can also have a positive connotation, where because he achieved his challenging goal with a disability, then anyone can do it.
However, out of the six athletes, only two of them are women which proves the underrepresentation of women in media. This underrepresentation of women could portray the message that women are not as strong as men and cannot accomplish what men can. On the other hand, the overall denotative meaning of the message is that anyone can achieve their dream if they believe they can. The women portrayed are also UFC fighters and therefore, are strong and independent which could also be encouraging for women watching the commercial.
Analysis Part 2
The second half of the commercial focuses on real people such as a white man holding a baby, a black man and his daughter blowing out birthday candles, a group of white men working at computers and a white woman and man shaking hands in front of a house. This half of the commercial is more relatable for the target audience and determines that anyone, not just athletes, can achieve their dreams if they believe they can. It also relates to Guaranteed Rate’s initiative, which is to offer advice and financing related to buying your dream home. The narrator ends the advertisement by saying, “Home office, backyard, more space, better view, whatever you are striving for. You can make it happen. You can conquer that mountain, you can, if you believe you will!” (Graham, 2021). This message allows the audience to feel invincible and ensures that they can do anything.
While the second half of the commercial is uplifting and more relatable, it is not necessarily relatable for everyone. Out of the four examples of real-life people, there is only one example with a person of color. The underrepresentation of women and African American people is an issue of intersectionality and can give off the wrong message that only white males can achieve their dreams or only white males can buy a house. Neither message is positive nor uplifting which is supposed to be the goal of the commercial.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Guaranteed Rate’s commercial can be portrayed as a positive, encouraging message for someone trying to finance a home. The combination of the powerful narration, uplifting music and images of successful athletes lets the audience feel that they can also achieve their dreams. Then the commercial confirms that feeling by showing images of everyday people living their happy lives. However, the connotative reading of the commercial is that women and people of color are less likely to succeed in financing homes which further influences gender and race stereotypes that this country is trying to get past.
The sociological analysis of this commercial depicts the underrepresentation of women and race and that only white males can be successful. The evidence in this commercial proves that we still have unequal culture in the U.S. The psychoanalytic criticism of this advertisement focuses on the symbols such as the images of different athletes and their most successful moments. This symbolizes winning which is part of the bigger message ‘Believe you will’. The symbolism represents resilience and strength of all kinds. “Prime time TV has recently included some remarkable representations of people with disabilities, but its history is filled with stereotypical and disturbing portrayals of the ‘handicapped’ (Campbell et. al.).” The blind man climbing Mt. Everest is a newer, more positive representation of a disabled person. The images also prove that you have to believe and work hard in order to achieve your goals.
References
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Liederman, E. (2021, February 05). Guaranteed rate’s big game ad offers an uplifting message. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/the-first-blind-man-to-climb-mount-everest-and-other-athletes-star-in-guaranteed-rates-first-super-bowl-ad/
Rattan, A., Bohnet, I., Georgeac, O., & Chilazi, S. (2019, July 08). Tackling the underrepresentation of women in media. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2019/06/tackling-the-underrepresentation-of-women-in-media#:~:text=Print-,Around%20the%20world%2C%20women%20are%20far%20less%20likely%20than%20men,of%20reporters%20telling%20stories%20globally.
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Vivienne Cookmeyer 