Textual Analysis Of The Game Grumps

Commercials often advertise their product as a solution to a problem, these problems

could be dirty carpet, broken windows, or something spilling, in a stricter sense, they showcase

whatever that company has made and wants you to know about. A commercial done by internet

personalities, the “Game Grumps”, portrays the problem of not having a way to watch Japanese

cartoons. The “Game Grumps” is a youtube channel that releases “let’s play” type videos,

documenting playthroughs of video games with commentary provided by themselves.The

advertising portion itself was actually at the beginning of another video they released that was

more or less related, having sort of a commercial placement even on their own channel. As it

stands,

On the surface, it seems like a shallow commercial

filled with overzealous acting, sloppy camera work and odd writing, however, the writers did this

with a sense of strategy. The video also features pathos, logos, and ethos, all coming together to

please the community that the “Grumps” have formed.

In the first shot of the film, it shows two men, Dan and Arin, sitting on a couch, one

relaxed, one seemingly irritated. a few seconds later, the dialogue starts with Arin saying “Man

Dan!” in a very overly dramatic tone, and Dan replying with “What’s wrong Arin? my love”.

Right off the bat, we see the video appealing to the pathos of their audience. With the over the

top deliverance of dialogue and out of place romantic line, we see the first sense of the duo

understanding what appeals to their viewers, weird randomness and satire. The next few shots

introduce the conflict of the film, which is not having a way to watch Japanese cartoons, or

“anime”. Dan brings up the website Crunchyroll, to which Arin is amazed. The video is riddled

with pathos, designed to appeal to the audiences funny bone, while simultaneously trying

They start by stating how much they are allegedly receiving as payment

for the commercial “How much are we getting paid for this Dan?” Arin asks. Holding a handful

of wrinkled and messy bills he replies with “Eight dollars”, they then remark at how that is

enough to afford the premium membership fee of 6.95. By using a single digit, along with 5

cents less than the next dollar up, consumers perceive a price as being low, and then have a

subconscious want to buy or use said product. This is a common practice by services, because

certain studies have shown that having a marginally less expensive item, (5 cents less than 7

dollars) consumers are much more likely to purchase said product, what could have increased

sales even more would be to say that Crunchyroll was having a sale. Having experience with

selling merchandise, The Game Grumps use this to their advantage.

This is not the Game Grumps first commercial, being a relatively popular gaming channel

on youtube, they sell merchandise such as t-shirts and calendars. The representatives were

presumably aware of this and wanted their website advertised the same way, seeing as their