Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pick your car, mate :)

OK.... so we are all aware of the fact that the commercials we see on TV are basically the same. How many of us are simply tired of seeing commercials that try to achieve exactly the same as the other commercials advertising a similar product? I know I am. The idea for this blog actually came to me when I was reading White's article. Mimi White said one very important thing that made me realize how deeply mesmerized by the commercials we as the audience really are. As one of the biggest assumptions regarding TV commercials, White describes the fact that even though many commercials advertise the same common merchandise, "they vary in (...) how they structure their appeal to potential consumers" (p.162). So... even though we've seen thousands of commercials trying to sell the best dish washing detergent for example, it greatly varies in their approach (while one shows the cute animals being cleaned out of the oil spill, another simply focuses on how great it makes the women's hand feel). But the most important aspect of this part of media is, however, the fact that we as consumers aren't fully aware of these differences between commercials, because they seem so natural to us, that we do not even realize when the same item is sold by simply placing a different brand name on the merchandise.

So I wanted to look at the car commercials that we've seen on TV. Car seems like the most common item there could be. But the way the producers advertise their cars is by putting a different brand (in this case, a make) name on the car, and trying to show the amazing qualities this specific car possesses that make it different, and thus better from the other cars.

So here are couple of different car ads that show how the same item (car) is advertised in different ways by presenting its distinct qualities.


Audi Commercial
(better than the Lexus that everybody seems to be getting; you get an Audi, and you're different and unique from the rest of car owners).




Mazda Commercial
(it is so much better than "any other car" that even the car races choose Mazda as their leading car that will bring them to victory).



Lexus Commercial
("The Pursuit of Perfection"- this car is simply perfect).



Toyota Commercial
(This new generation Prius is the greatest, because it is environmentally friendly, bringing the "harmony" between men and cars).



Dodge Commercial
(This Dodge is not a lot of things, and it doesn't have many 'valued' aspects, but it "scares the **** out of" Pinky, and that's why it is the best choice- it is simply unbelievable).

2 comments:

  1. Very true. It's interesting because as consumers we're supposed to be drawn to advertisements that are different, that draw the eye and are unique. But in actuality, a lot of the ads we see say a lot of the same things.

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  2. In the Mazda advertisment, the voiceover is done by Patrick Dempsey, who not only is famous for being "McDreamy" but also races cars. So I suppose that the Mazda ad serves as an example of White's "celebrity personality as a commodity"...

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