For my flow analysis assignment, I wrote about the planned flow of the CW network– in regards to the show All American specifically. Before you open your mouth to say I am obsessed with this show, I want you to understand that this is not just an ordinary show. It is a show created and handcrafted by God himself. It addresses important issues in this society while also breaking down the stereotype of different groups. Without promoting the show too much, I just want to give a small post appreciation to the writers and producers of the show–as well as the beautiful actors.
Nevertheless, I was able to zone my attention on the way that the network caters not only to the demographics of the network but also to the particular storyline when it comes to the commercials they presented. I analyzed 2 episodes of the show but in this post, I will only focus on only one episode. Through this analysis, I learned a lot about how a network can structure its ad choices in order to connect with the show. Moreover, I will talk about how the advertisements in episode nine go hand and hand with the memorable moments in that episode. Here is an overview of my flow notes:
Keys moments in Season 3 episode 9
All American – Season 3: Episode 9 : Testify
About 42 minutes each episode
-Coup wants to drop out of school to start music career
– Olivia addiction relapse (pills and alcohol), she needs comfort
-Olivia gets in a car accident with Spencer –while drunk
Commercials Before Start of the show
- Charmin (toilet tissue)
1st break
- 1.Cloud service (HPE, storage)
- 2.Bounty (Napkin)
- 3.Nationwide (retirement)
- 4.Petco (pets)
- 5.Chase (banking)
- 6.Mentos (gum)
2nd Break
- 1. Petco (pets)
- 2. Charmin (toilet paper)
- 3. Airheads (candy)
- 4. Intel Evo (laptop)
- 5. Suburu (car)
- Microsoft surface (sponsoring All American)
3rd break
- 1.Apple (iPhone 12)
- 2.Fruit of the Loom (underwear)
- 3. Bounty (napkin)
- 4. Strayer University (school)
- 5. Lost girl (CW show)
4th break
- 1. USAA (insurance)
- 2. Kohls (clothing store)
- 3. Dominos (food)
- 4. Kia (car)
- 5. Excel energy (energy)
- 6. Lost girl (CW show)
5th break
- 1. Premiere of CW shows (Funny you should ask and family feud)
- 2. Kohls (clothing)
- 3.USAA (insurance)
- 4. Turbo tax (tax)
- 5. Nationwide (insurance)
- 6. Mentos (gum)
- 7. Strayer University
Total- Household Products/ Toiletries (4)- Finances(6)-Cars (2)-Food/snacks (4) – Electronics(3) -Clothing Store(3)- Misc – pets(2) – education(2)
One of the most memorable scenes from episode 9 is when Olivia gets in a car accident with Spencer. This scene was the perfect segway for the insurance ads that came back to back. I realized that the targeted audience of this network is young adults– who usually have the highest rates for car insurance. This is a very smart way to advertise after we see it happen in the show because our minds will already be in a place where we feel for the characters. So, it is easy to feed off of that emotion and sell us an insurance brand that we can not forget about.
Next, it was the random advertisement about Strayer University that sealed the deal for me. Before the commercial break, Coup talks about wanting to drop out of school while her mom is convincing her that she is making a wrong choice. The ad about the university speaks to the scene in which they are trying to show us that signing up for school is the right choice. This observation further supports my claim that the content of the show is working together with the flow. Overall, it was interesting seeing how the CW brand coincides with the organized flow to cater to the demographics they reach, which is something that I can not unsee now after studying it.
