Analysis Paper, Revised Draft

What You Drive or What You Deserve?

What kind of car do you drive? Whether the question is directed at you or not, this tends to be a fairly frequent concern in today’s society. A person’s status or character may be redefined in your opinion when you see what they drive.  Imported Italian sports car? Wealthy CEO. Minivan? Family man. 1941 Ford Pickup? Retiree with a hobby. These are relatively common assumptions made today. So wouldn’t it also be reasonable to assume that a specific car is advertised to target a specific group of people? Yes that’s reasonable.  As a result of this conclusion it is easy to ignore the Jaguar commercial if you don’t think you fit in that demographic, but watch more closely. You may find that the advertisers are more inclusive than you thought. Luxury or not, car commercials do their best not to discriminate their audience based on a mere matter of money, instead they focus on a very broad target group; anyone who can drive.

Our first ad, the Nissan 2015 Super Bowl commercial, titled "With Dad", follows the life of a man as a father. Throughout the commercial, the man is forced to live his life divided between his car racing career and his family back home. After his son is born, the man finds it harder and harder to continue with his career and he begins to feel regrets about missing so much of his son's life while he is away. Also shown are pieces of the son's life as he grows up watching his father on the television instead of having him at home. It ends with the father retiring from his racing career and coming home to his son. When the father comes home and goes to pick up his son in their new Nissan, there is an overwhelming feeling of relief. The son is not only glad to have his father home, but also that he is safe, and the man is obviously relieved that he will no longer be missing out on life with his son. The company is very clearly stating that they are about more than just a car, they are invested in the consumer's life and values.

                Nissan is very clearly trying to reach out to anyone with, or planning on having, a family. It speaks to the average car owner, not just as a family man (or woman) but as a regular human being. True, most people don’t have such an exciting or dangerous job as a racer, but everyone, at some point_, feels like they miss part of their lives because of other obligations. This message is emphasized by the cast of the commercial. Everyone shown is a regular person doing regular things, there are no celebrities telling the viewers they can appear just as successful by driving this car. In the background, there is a familiar, melancholy song playing that perfectly parallels the emotions of the characters and those that any parent would feel as they watch their child grow up.

The next example, the Kia Matrix commercial from the 2014 Super Bowl, is a little less direct with their message, and a little sillier. It shows an attractive couple who, as they leave a date, meet the character Morpheus from The Matrix. He offers the couple the chance to compare old luxuries and new. At first the couple are content with what they have, they just want their car so they can leave, and like most people they seem a little dubious about a taking advice from a peculiar stranger. However, once they are in the new Kia, they experience a new brand of luxury and quickly realize that what they had before was not nearly as amazing as what they could have.

Though the term “luxury” is normally associated with success, the ad still does it’s best to entice an audience of regular people. It is safe to say that most normal people won’t encounter Morpheus just on the street, or have a stranger offer them such an extreme gift, but on average most people experience something similar to the emotions hinted at in the ad. It is fairly common to feel flustered, or maybe even tricked when trying to make a big decision like buying a car. No matter how many questions are asked, the seller may have left something out, and the buyer may then feel like they haven’t gotten what they really wanted. This commercial plays on that fear, it suggests that the audience has been deceived, and whether they were content in the past, they can only be dissatisfied now that they have been exposed to the truth. Regardless of finances, it is not unusual for people to want to feel good about themselves and their possessions, to want to treat themselves to a least some luxury in their lives.

Lastly, in looking at Matthew McConaughey’s 2014 commercial “Intro” for the Lincoln MKC, we again see the theme of self-satisfaction. While driving his Lincoln MKC, McConaughey talks about reflecting on life, knowing where you came from. He drives through a city at night. To no one in particular, he talks about "going back" and knowing where you came from. He mentions that some people think you shouldn't reflect on life, that that doesn't get you anywhere, but he disagrees. Looking back provides you with insight into who you are and by extension what you want. The whole commercial is about the viewer as an individual.

                Unlike the other two, this ad shows only a celebrity face, but that of a well-known actor that many people admire. Like the other two ads, though, the message is still for any viewer who can drive. The whole commercial talks about the person in the driver’s seat, never are the features or benefits of thee car directly mentioned. It is only suggested this car is great because a great person is driving it. It also suggests that that greatness is achieved not through heroic action or fame, it is reached through being your own person and living your life without regret. Similarly to the first commercial, Lincoln is trying to show the viewer that they care more about the individual’s values than about how great the car is. The commercial makes a very personal statement about and individual's life and values, showing this car is not about how much money you make, but what you want in life. It suggests that it’s not the car that makes the person great, but that the driver deserves something as great as they are, merely because they are their own person.

                Though the commercials may vary in themes or tactics, the main points they make are all the same. It’s not about the money, it’s not about the status, it’s about you being who you are and having what you deserve. What could be a more universal message than that? It will always be easy for people to judge others based on their possessions, to categorize themselves into social groups because of how they appear. But, the fact that these car commercials have been advertising is not that we are separated, but that everyone has similar values, so everyone deserves these cars.