Others have blogged about this Target commercial earlier, but I wanted to chime in and also upload and link to a higher quality version. While I was watching TV over a week or so ago, I was fast forwarding through a bunch of commercials on my DVR when I noticed that there seemed to be a bunch of Asians in the commercial – so I quickly rewound and watched the commercial in full.
I was delighted. Target was highlighting “Shannon,” a mother of two and wife, taking care of herself and her family with products at Target where she can “Expect More. Pay Less.” I think this was the first time I’ve seen an Asian American simply portrayed as the normal, all-American family for a major nationwide brand. To many, this may be making something out of nothing, but for those who actually pay attention to such things, it’s always nice to be pleasantly surprised. Just like when I saw Art in an eHarmony ad, an Asian American couple on a date in a Wells Fargo commercial, or Larry in an ad for CareerBuilder.com and having nothing to do with being Asian or not.
In general, I’ve always liked Target’s commercials; they’ve had always a certain level of creativity and hipness, and their choice of music and playfulness with everyday products has really improved their brand and business, and made it cooler to shop at Tar-zhay rather than Walmart.
