Western Health Advantage

This advertisement first aired about a year ago, and after seeing it once more active on TV, I decided to write about it. The commercial features a mother talking about how her family decided to choose Western Health Advantage as their primary healthcare provider. In the background, we see the son running around in a superhero costume, the daughter stealing money from her mother's purse, and the husband coming in wearing motorcycle gear. All the while the mother keeps on talking about her healthcare plan, ending with, "Because as time goes on, I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of...changes."

I have relatively mixed feelings about this advertisement. On one hand, I appreciate the wit and humor behind the commercial. The fact that the picture of the family over the fireplace doesn't at all match the personalities of the actual members is a bit funny. But I also feel that this ad also shows that the mother seems to have lost control of her once perfect-looking family, something that I'm not quite sure that I appreciate. She seems to be aware of this fact as well, by her frequent pauses and bouts of hesitation. She even makes a point to stare directly at the camera, never breaking eye contact or losing her smile, as if she can hope to hide her current situation by not acknowledging it. It seems to me that this is how they are getting at their target audience of middle-aged women, especially mothers, by getting at one of their biggest fears: the loss of control within their own home. The commentary that the health care plans Western Health Advantage offers are flexible and have a range of choices is nothing but an added incentive.

Still, even with the loss of control within the family, it is clear that the advertisers are also using the technique of plain folks. From the portrait on top of the mantelpiece, we are made to think that this is an "average" family. This is reinforced by how the mother is dressed up, in a plain yellow shirt with a scarf tied around her neck. In other words, normal, ordinary clothes one would wear around the house. The furniture and nearby fireplace is nice, but not extremely high class, to show that this is a great plan that is right for almost any middle-class family. Even the dividing factions apparent in the ad emphasizes the "normality" of the entire piece, as every family is known to have its ups and downs.