Tax Season Media Deconstructed
Who Created the Message TurboTax is a well-known program used to do your taxes on your own, guided through the program. It also has live assistance available through its program. The program is owned by the company Intuit Consumer Tax Group whose headquarters are located in San Diego, California.
What creative techniques are used to attract my attention? The creators attract attention from the consumers of their commercial by showing a variety of interests and ideas that they could be doing instead of spending time on their taxes. The commercial hits many different interests, from simply spending more time with someone, to exploring beautiful places in the world. There is a huge variety of interests displayed to catch a variety of interests of their consumers.
How might different people interpret this message differently than me? Many adults have their systems for how they do taxes already. They may not think a great deal about the different options they have if they already have their systems in place. A younger person might bypass the commercial as a whole if they don’t have a job or need to do their taxes. Because it’s close to tax season, I am sure they’re playing the commercial on a loop!
What viewpoints of world views are included or left out of this message? I am of course no expert on world views, but I feel as if Turbotax put significant effort into representation in their commercial, including gay marriage, a variety of ethnicities, adventures both big and small for a variety of interests, and even just napping with their child. And although it makes it look very appealing to use Turbotax to create an adventure, it leaves out information about the program, how to get assistance with it, or how easy it is to use - these are things I imagine consumers of the program would want to know.
Why is this message being sent? This message is being sent because tax season is approaching and the company wants people to start preparing for taxes by purchasing their product. They are working to convince their audience that using their program will make their lives easier this tax season and they will be free to do more things they want to do.