Stride Gum - Supermarket

Visual Description
The commercial starts out with an average guy walking out of a grocery store and chewing his Stride gum. He's about to reach for his car keys when a giant, random, foreign stranger in a bright red wrestling suit approaches him and says "Hey!" The strange man acts super friendly and begins talking in a foreign language (Swedish, Finnish, something of the sort) as if he's complimenting the guy who's chewing the gum to trick him into coming closer. The wrestler pats his arms for a job well done, and then spreads his arms wide to go in for a hug. At this point, you can see the gum chewer feeling pretty awkward. He slowly tries to back out, but before you know it he's being held in the air and thrown up against the soda machine without anyone in or around the store noticing. Finally the wrestler gets him to spit out his gum, and the screen freezes to make the message clear via bold text and the sound of a serious narrator: "SPIT OUT YOUR STRIDE GUM AND CHEW ANOTHER PIECE, ALREADY! OR WE'LL FIND YOU." Now that the mission's accomplished the wrestler drops the man on the floor, and two nerdy guys in business suits quickly run out to confiscate the chewed up piece. The man in glasses yells "Get his gum!" and "Let's get out of here." The three mean nervously look around to make sure no one in the area had noticed what just happened and then run to the orange Stride getaway van.

Meaning of the Ad
The message in the ad is that Stride's gum is "the ridiculously long-lasting gum." It lasts so long that the company has its own headhunter team to force users to spit out their piece and chew another. Stride's customers pose a threat to the company because if all customers pulled a "Violet Beauregarde" and only chewed one piece forever, they wouldn't be able to sell more. This ad encourages you to spit out your gum and try the new flavor, Sweet Cinnamon, or they'll take matters into their own hands. They usually only create new commercials to introduce new flavors because if your old flavor lasts long, a new taste would be the main reason to buy a new pack.

Target Consumer
Stride is marketed towards young adult male gum chewers within the 18-30 age range . Its series of commercials feature regular guys just walking through normal settings: in the office, across the street, or in this case, out of a store with a few groceries. The commercials use a twist/misdirection method in presenting the slapstick comedy that appeals to men. After all, guys just seem to love watching other men get ridiculously hurt.

Product Benefit
Stride's flavors last long. According to Drew, the executive VP of marketing at Stride, "The No. 1 complaint of [gum] chewers is that flavor doesn't last long enough" and that "Stride was born out of that fact (USA TODAY)." The gum is also sugar-free and contains less than 5 calories per piece.

Consumer Benefit
Nobody wants a dry mouth or a piece of gum where the flavor lasts for only a couple of seconds, so the product benefit is also the consumer benefit. Gum with lasting flavor is satisfying, leaves mouths fresh and moistened, and in a way, can help the users save money since they won't go through the pack as fast as the average gum. The argument/benefit is more logic based (the gum lasts long) than mnemonic. It's also healthy, and a great alternative to constant snacking. The "Sweet Cinnamon" flavor is exactly what it is. There's a sweetness to the flavor that doesn't burn with the spiciness that other Cinnamon flavored gums have.

Tone and Voice
The tone could be taken as serious and semi-threatening because of the direct message: spit it out, OR ELSE! However, its meant to be humorous and like the gum, ridiculous. The idea that mysterious men would beat you up to kidnap your gum is far-fetched, something that would never happen. This ad is just one of many in the "ridiculously long lasting" campaign, and the sitcom like ads work in appealing to its target male audience. It's a great campaign that presents the message clearly, entertains, and calls for action.