Basic Trope: A television or radio commercial advertises the exact thing a character was just wishing they had.
- Straight: Alice is complaining about how she feels like she’s going nowhere and is looking to fix her life. Suddenly, in a commercial playing on her television, the narrator asks “Feel like you’re going nowhere? Looking to fix your life?”
- Exaggerated: Alice is wishing she had a job that payed well, had a good work environment, and gave her the experience she needed to become a professional animator, preferably at Disney. Suddenly, a commercial plays on her television: “Are you looking for a new job that pays well, has a good work environment, and will give you the experience you need to become a professional animator, preferably at Disney?”
- Downplayed: Alice is looking to improve her life and do something different. Suddenly, a commercial plays on her TV, and the narrator mentions that their product is “life-changing”.
- Justified: The thing Alice wished for was something many people wish for, so it’s often advertised as a selling point in commercials.
- Inverted: ???
- Subverted:
- The commercial says “Feel like you’re going nowhere? Looking to fix your life? Well, we can’t help you with that! But we can save you money on car insurance!”
- Alice walks right past the TV.
- Double Subverted:
- The commercial is a partnership between Insuri Co. and LifeStart, a self-help program that does promise to fix Alice’s life.
- Alice walks right past the TV to look at a pamphlet she just got in the mail, advertising a self-help program that can fix her life.
- Parodied: Alice wonders if commercials are becoming sentient, if they read minds, and advertise everything that she wants. A commercial proceeds to narrate, "Have you ever wondered if commercials are becoming sentient? If they read minds? If they advertise everything that you want?"
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: No especially targeted commercials play.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "Wow, these commercials are getting really specific."
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Alice turns off the TV, claiming that she doesn’t need help from a stupid commercial.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "Why don’t the characters ever get scared when a commercial parrots their exact words? If that happened to me, I’d assume the advertisers were spying on me."
Tired of reading about how to play with a trope? Looking for some real examples? Then you should try the main page!
