Lacy Roper
Ivy Heinrichs
Kelly Canzanella
Media/Visual literacy Project: Orbit Gum
Orbit gum was launched in 2001 by the Wrigley Gum Company. Orbit’s advertisements are aimed at a variety of different demographics. It relies on funny commercials and original ads, which set it apart from other gums. Wrigley understands that in today’s world of YouTube and TiVo, advertisements have to stand out and grab the audience’s attention. Not only are the Orbit ads creative and fun, but they’re highly popular and this has led to Orbit’s success. The Orbit logo is “Dirty mouth, clean it up with (flavor type of orbit gum), for a good clean feeling, no matter what.” The commercials feature Vanessa, a perky spokesperson, who is always at “the scene of the grime.” Vanessa is on a never ending quest to prove that Orbit Gum leaves the mouth feeling clean…no matter what. The commercials usually feature a popular celebrity or ordinary individual, who is the victim of a “grime” crime. Orbit advertisements usually end with their signature white smile, which demonstrates how effective their gum cleans and refreshes. The Orbit advertisements that we chose to interpret are departures from the other ads because there are no heads, no faces, and no signature white smiles.
According to Wrigley’s website, the name “Orbit” comes from the sorbitol that sweetens it. The gum contains about 1.32 grams per stick of sorbital. One of the main definitions for the word Orbit is: To revolve around (a center of attraction). If this is one of the definitions that Wrigley’s had in mind when naming their product, then it would seem fitting that they had intended for this gum to be the center of attention and stand out from other gums. When Orbit gum was launched in 2001 its intended buyer was geared towards attractive younger consumers. Since its launch seven years ago, Orbit has become one of the top five chewing gum brands in the United States.
The first ad features a female figure that is center page, with her left arm straight down and her right arm turned up, which is holding a green Orbit’s box. She has a Victorian lampshade for a head, a huge gold necklace, and a light bulb for a face. The ad also incorporates the colors of green and orange. She’s dressed in seventies casual, wearing an orange terrycloth jumper and its texture is a contrast to the retro wallpaper in the background. The colors green and orange are complementary to each other; they’re bold colors and grab the viewer’s attention. Orange is a very pleasing to the eye, it invokes happiness, stimulation, and it’s also a very aggressive color. Green symbolizes growth, nature, well being, and freshness. She’s wearing two gold necklaces and gold represents wealth and prosperity. The smallest necklace is black and gold swirled into an oval. The second necklace is huge, circular, and it accentuates her breast, bringing the viewers attention to her form. The circular necklace could also be symbolic of the Orbit definition. The advertisement implies that the woman is a lamp, possibly standing in a hotel room. So, the woman finds Orbit and the light bulb in her head goes off and she realizes she needs this gum (for whatever reason).
The second ad features a male figure that is center page, with his left arm straight down and his right arm turned up, which is holding a blue Orbit’s box. He’s wearing a seventies looking lampshade, a two-toned leisure suit, and a light bulb for a face. The ad also incorporates two different shades of brown. The color brown tends to blend into the background; it represents convention, stability, wholesomeness, and orderliness. He’s wearing a taupe vest and a brown dress shirt. Unlike the female, he has no other accessories, but the light draws the viewer’s attention to his chest. He seems to be standing in front of shag carpet. Just like the female, the ad seems to imply that the light bulb in his head goes off and he realizes he needs Orbit Gum to clean up the “grime.” It is also possible to look at these two ads in a negative sense because both of these figures have had their heads replaced with lampshades and light bulbs. Are these people thoughtless because they no longer have brains? What is this image attempting to say about the Orbit consumer?
We think these ads are aimed towards young adults. It seems to us that they’re in a hotel/bedroom and something “grimy” just happened and Orbit’s Gum is there to clean it up. The ads are identical in form, except for accessories, but they both have the same hotel/bedroom look about them. The Orbit box in the female ad is green and white. The Orbit box in the male ad is blue and white. There are several circular images on these boxes, the O of Orbit and the white circle around the words. The term white is large and centered across the boxes, which could be an image for their signature white smile or symbolic of the products possible definition. Each ad seems to represent the seventies pop culture, with its clothes, jewelry, and background. Since the ads are themed for the seventies, they project the values, lifestyles, and points of view from that time period. When we think about the seventies, we think about shiny happy people, shag carpet, leisure suits, certain colors (orange/brown), and terrycloth jumpers. These ads are very ambiguous and can be interpreted several different ways. One could view them as retro, since retro is popular with the teenagers these days. This is one of Orbit qualities; its campaign is very trendy, intriguing, and it keeps the audience wondering why they chose lampshades for heads. People view things differently and our analysis is just one of several.
