With boyfriend season quickly approaching, Extra Gum advertisers have already made millions of viewers feel lonely with "The Story of Sarah and Juan". In only a few days after releasing the commercial, critics are already declaring it to be the greatest love story of the year. The commercial's producers brilliant used of realism, color, contrast, symbols, and icons force viewers to ache in order to give the message that by sharing extra gum, they too can find the love of their lives. This is important because some consumers that were touched by the commercial are going to see Extra Gum in the super market and think about the feelings they got after watching the commercial and in turn, purchase Extra Gum in order to find their soulmate too.

An important aspect of setting the mood for the commercial was the use of realism. The commercial opens with two high schoolers catching each other's eye in what appears to be the social time before school. Anyone who has graduated high school knows that this social time is when everyone mingles with their already significant other or flirts with potential significant others. By opening the commercial with this scene it gives a scenario majority of the viewers can relate too. The commercial then transitions to locker time and the cliche (but cute) dropping of the books in order to get someone's attention is used to make the two high schoolers meet; this is also the first time Extra gum is advertised when the girl offers a piece to the boy. This is such a realistic scenario in everyday life that it greatly contributes to the sentimental or lonely feel producers were trying to achieve to sell Extra Gum.

In the commercial, warm colors were used entirely through the commercial. With rich browns and reds to emerald greens and mustard yellows to warm oranges the commercial was given a "warm" color scheme. By choosing these colors it made viewers feel "homey" as these colors are the norm of most people's houses. In contrast, if the commercial had used a vibrant red it could have given a more seductive feel rather than romantic feeling of the warm colors. The warm colors are also very similar to the colors associated with fall, and by relating these colors it furthers the commercial being released in this fall season when more and more people are transitioning into the acclaimed boyfriend season. The warm muted colors are also beneficial because when Extra Gum is flashed, the bright green case stands out against the other colors of the commercial, reminding audience members of the purpose of the commercial- to sell Extra Gum.

As the commercial progresses and the couple becomes more serious, the producers begin to use contrast to make a statement. The first scene this is obvious is the girl and boy mingling at the locker. While they talk it is obvious the room and people around them are slightly blurred or out of focus and moving at a barely noticable slower-than-normal pace. This type camera shooting also occurs in the airport scene and the final proposal scene. Producers used this effect in order to keep audience members focused on the couple and their love story rather than life happening around them. In addition, the blurring can also mean to represent the belief that people in love often forget that life that is happening around them. Shooting the commercial in slow motion gave it the feel of a flashback which also contributed to making the commercial seem sentimental to viewers. By focusing on the love story that started from sharing Extra Gum, audience members will become in a way "emotionally attached" to this product.

Moreover, the producers included a very obvious symbol in the commercial- the Extra Gum wrappers. From the very first date, the boy in the couple saved his wrappers and drew special moments from their relationship on the inside of the wrapper; audience members will immediately recognize this and realize they will most likely have an important role later in the commercial. Memories like their first kiss, their school dance, their picnic, and ultimately their engagement are all being recorded forever on a wrapper of Extra Gum. Since most couples have a "thing" that summarizes their relationship (whether it being a song or a special restaurant), the use of gum wrappers as the symbol of this couples relationship is a clever way to subtly remind people the purpose of the commercial is to buy Extra Gum in order to have a love story as great as the one witnessed.

Finally, the most special part of the commercial is the use of icons- or lack thereof. In many widely known commercials producers immediately think to use actors that are looked up to and widely known. However, in the "Story of Sarah and Juan" Sarah and Juan appeared to be everyday people- someone that audience members could have gone to high school with or lived next door to. These unknown characters added to the realness of the story and made the love story easier to grasp. By using non-iconic actors, the vibe of the commercial was maintained to be a relatable love story that anyone can achieve by sharing Extra Gum.

In summary, Extra Gum has made perhaps the most personable commercial of the year. By a clever usage of realism, color, contrast, symbol, and icons Extra Gum will without a doubt see an increase in sales simply because lonely consumers have been shown it is the solution to finding a significant other. If more commercials were as visually brilliant as "The Story of Sarah and Juan", more people would be likely to actually watch commercials. 

