AT&T Hansel and Gretel

In this AT&T commercial, it is evident that the phone company is trying to gain customers by depicting that all cultures and ages are capable of using their services. With the use of the two fictional characters, Hansel and Gretel, it's trying to persuade the audience that AT&T is reliable for all cultures and types of people. Fairytales are a commonality that most cultures hold and in this way, a wide audience can get engaged and appreciate the reference that is being made.

As Hansel and Gretel were created ages ago, it is apparent that they are not fit to be walking around in a modern urban area. They are roaming the streets of the city in their outdated clothing, slowly dropping the contents of a basket full of bread crumbs, which makes them stand out like a sore thumb. In the original telling of the fairytale, the bread crumbs are a trail that they leave behind them so that they can trace it back to find their way home. AT&T however, changes this fairytale. When night turns to day and they finally run out of bread to track their travels, the audience is led to believe that they are stranded but Hansel and Gretel shock everyone when they pull out their AT&T phone with a built in GPS which uploads the route back to their cottage within seconds. In this moment, the commercial is indicating that the AT&T services are easily used because ancient fairytale children are capable of managing them and it implies that if you don't have modern technology such as this, you are the very slim minority.