Rosetta Stone: “The Fastest Way to Learn a Language, Guaranteed!”
Has anyone ever NOT seen commercials for this product? Sometimes I’d see multiple times in one day, especially if I was watching cable.
It’s advertised as the “World’s Leading Language Learning Software,” so fast and easy that it’s the language program of choice for several government entities, such as the State Department, Army, NASA, as well as numerous “Fortune 500 Companies.” Is it really the best out there? Hard to say, but their commercials would like you to think that popularity and quality are synonymous. Lots of people buy it, so it must be good, right?
The product name and logo are based on another Rosetta Stone, the Ancient Egyptian artifact that features the same passage written in three different languages, and the discovery of the stone in 1799 was crucial to the deciphering of several previously unknown Egyptian hieroglyphs. By modeling the image of their product after such an important find, the makers of the Rosetta Stone software are trying to evoke an image of a similar kind of breakthrough-- use this software, and you, too, will experience a whole new level of language comprehension that you never thought possible!
The packaging itself is bright, cheery. Optimistic, like sunshine. People of various ethnicities smile at you as vibrant colors surround them. Learning a new language is no doubt a difficult and ambitious endeavor, so it makes sense to me that the packaging should be as inviting as possible, especially when the product is as expensive as it is; according to their website, the software can run you anywhere from $299 (for just one language level), to $699 (for five levels), and if you really want to splurge, the TOTALe online package, which includes access to an online community and native speakers in real-time, can be purchased for $999 (on sale from $1,999).
This product has no apparent gender bias in itself, but one version of the television commercial made it clear to me that the company does have a fondness for a very specific market…
Sex sells, right? I can’t imagine that this obvious display of cleavage was accidental. This commercial, which I’ve seen more often than any other version, is geared towards men. The other commercials I’ve seen featured a much older man (roughly 55-65 years old), and Michael Phelps, who had just won multiple gold medals at the 2008 Olympics. Quite a contrast, I'd say-- the version featuring the older gentleman (who struck me as the silver haired professor type) especially. Men aren't the only target demographic for this product, but it seems as though they are considered a very important portion of the customer base.In addition to purchasing the software directly from the company, Rosetta Stone can be bought from several retailers, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
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hi J. Moore,
ReplyDeleteGood article. I would say that you are probably right about who the company is targeting here. The only Rosetta Stone that I continue to see over and over in magazines shows a young men, who based on the picture could easily be an illiterate farmer, and explains how he met and Italian model after he was able to speak Italian to her. I think that their choice of characters is funny and it could not be more unrealistic, but hey, after all, Rosetta Stone is selling like hot cakes at office depot!