The commercial opens with two children coming into a room. One asks "What's THAT?" and the other proudly answers "My Furby!" The camera then pans over to the the table where said Furby sits, blinking and looking around. The Furby really does nothing at all, except for look incredibly scary, but the children hold it and pet it in amazement. The voiceover then goes on to promise that the Furby can see you, understand you, and can even catch colds from other Furbys. (In the commercial, this was regarded as the coolest thing ever.)
This ad uses appeal #1, making Furby owners seem like kind, nuturing children, kids you'd want to be like. It also uses appeal #2, promising you that your Furby will appreciate all the love and affection you give it. Still one more appeal used is #3, promising that you will be rewarded once you teach your Furby a new word or song. The part about having more love in your life (appeal #5 ) applies, as well, as the commercial suggests that your Furby will love you back. It also subtly uses appeal #10, implying that if you DON'T adopt a Furby, you don't have a heart.
As an eight year old who was desperate for a real pet, I bought into it all and begged until I got a Furby.
In reality, the Furby did none of these things the commercials promised. It did not understand me or love me back; all it did was sit on the table, make unintelligible noises, never turn off--not even when the batteries were taken out--and, in the case of the two Furbys I bought, self-combust. No, I'm not kidding. I have to say, though, the commercial was VISUALLY honest. Whatever the voiceover promised, the video showed the Furby doing exactly what it did in real life, which was pretty much nothing. The only difference was, in real life there was no cheerful, Furby-themed music playing in the background, and there were no hyperactive children dancing around singing the Furby's praises. Without those things, the toy was often boring, and, when it had one of its "episodes," somewhat frightening.
I recently learned they all got recalled.
