Volkswagen Game Day 2013 Commercial | Get in. Get Happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0xPWAtaa8
Thesis: Driving a volkswagen makes you happy.
Triune Brain:
This commercial mainly targets the emotional brain, playing on peoples emotions of grumpiness and happiness. It appeals to the emotional brain by connecting with how everyone feels on a monday and then dramatically shifting to a very happy worker. The commercial uses music to appeal to the emotional brain during this shift and by the end of the commercial there is music blasting and the entire mood of the commercial has shifted from being grumpy in the office to happiness in the car.
3 Shifts/Trends:
Epistemological shift: For the duration of the commercial there are no written words at all. It uses solely images and music to appeal to the viewer. This enables the viewer to simply engage their emotional brain, and never forces them to work too hard by making them read and understand something.
Technological shift: A obvious yet worthwhile statement about the technological shift in which we access this information. Originally aired on the television, this commercial can now be viewed over and over on youtube and is now being viewed from a blog. Now if it If it were ever to be missed while watching TV you could still go to the internet and see it. Not to mention that most televisions now allow you to rewind and rematch what you just saw!
Discursive shift: There is an interesting discursive shift from the “objective” viewpoint that working in an office and mondays are not fun, to the view that everyone should just ‘be happy man’. This is seen in the commercial with the one happy guy that is going around, loving mondays and life overall.
5 Facts:
If you drive this car you will be happy. If you drive this car you will want everyone else to be happy. You will be more popular at work if you have this car. Your boss will like you more. You will be a more optimistic person in the workplace. The days will be perfect and sunny once you own this car. You will be a better worker if you own this car.
3 Principals
Emotional Transfer: This principal is fairly straight forward. The video plays primarily on the emotional level, using both music and images. The media taps into that feeling that everyone gets on a monday when you have to go back to work, that feeling when things are not going well in a staff meeting or when the vending machine breaks. Using these techniques it then shows how you can be happy, and that is by owning a Volkswagen. This will make the workday that much easier to get through and more enjoyable. How clever!
Value message: I think an unintended value message from this commercial is a somewhat racist view on people with Jamaican accents. throughout the commercial the only people throughout the commercial that are happy have Jamaican accents, implying that if you are Jamaican, you are happy, and never showing them as being sad. This isn’t necessarily a bad stereotype, but a stereotype none the less.
Pacing: I find the pacing principal very interesting. Even though they are not talking about the car, but just telling a story and have happy people, at the end they say “Volkswagen” And even though the whole commercial may be moving too fast throughout, you will subconsciously remember that and associate happiness with volkswagen..
5 Persuasive Techniques
Plain Folk: This commercial appeals to the average 9-5 office worker and makes them feel as if they are missing out if they don't have this car. Showing people in the office that don't have it as unhappy and pessimistic.
Big Lie: They use the big lie technique to say “if you drive this car, you will be happy, work harder and be happy working” Obviously this would not always be the case and is somewhat of a ridiculous claim.
Bandwagon: In the commercial the really happy guy tells a coworker and his boss to come on a ride with him, and when they get back they are both super happy and excited. Showing that whoever gets into the car will step out happy on the other end and with no worries.
Bribery: Relating back to the bandwagon theme, when the happy Volkswagen driver gets his coworker and boss to come with him, they come back and he is instantly more popular. Basically saying that if you are driving this VW, you will be cooler and people you work with will like you more and be happy to be seen with you.
Humor: This commercial also uses humor, by having one guy speaking in a very dramatic Jamaican accent and super happy in an office place where everyone is low key and bummed out. just what he talks about and the way he addresses people in the commercial makes for some laughs. Such as when he is talking to his coworker at the vending machine about the sticky bun.
3 SEPRITE Themes
The Environment in which this commercial takes place is very important. They are relating to the suburban office worker that needs a car to get to work and tying in with the plain people idea, showing people in a generic office where everyone is upset until they step outside into this wonderful VW.
In terms of social structure I think that this commercial very much relates back to American Graffiti in terms of having a car. In American Graffiti the car was a status symbol and everyone was much happier when they were behind the wheel or even just in a car as opposed to being on foot. This relates back to the commercial because as soon as the people that are really upset and unhappy get into the car, they become happy and excited and carefree!
This commercial also relates to economics. If you buy this car you will be happy working, and therefore be a better worker and work more. Thereby increasing how much money you have and the ability to pay off the car.
Pacing: I find the pacing principal very interesting. Even though they are not talking about the car, but just telling a story and have happy people, at the end they say “Volkswagen” And even though the whole commercial may be moving too fast throughout, you will subconsciously remember that and associate happiness with volkswagen..
5 Persuasive Techniques
Plain Folk: This commercial appeals to the average 9-5 office worker and makes them feel as if they are missing out if they don't have this car. Showing people in the office that don't have it as unhappy and pessimistic.
Big Lie: They use the big lie technique to say “if you drive this car, you will be happy, work harder and be happy working” Obviously this would not always be the case and is somewhat of a ridiculous claim.
Bandwagon: In the commercial the really happy guy tells a coworker and his boss to come on a ride with him, and when they get back they are both super happy and excited. Showing that whoever gets into the car will step out happy on the other end and with no worries.
Bribery: Relating back to the bandwagon theme, when the happy Volkswagen driver gets his coworker and boss to come with him, they come back and he is instantly more popular. Basically saying that if you are driving this VW, you will be cooler and people you work with will like you more and be happy to be seen with you.
Humor: This commercial also uses humor, by having one guy speaking in a very dramatic Jamaican accent and super happy in an office place where everyone is low key and bummed out. just what he talks about and the way he addresses people in the commercial makes for some laughs. Such as when he is talking to his coworker at the vending machine about the sticky bun.
3 SEPRITE Themes
The Environment in which this commercial takes place is very important. They are relating to the suburban office worker that needs a car to get to work and tying in with the plain people idea, showing people in a generic office where everyone is upset until they step outside into this wonderful VW.
In terms of social structure I think that this commercial very much relates back to American Graffiti in terms of having a car. In American Graffiti the car was a status symbol and everyone was much happier when they were behind the wheel or even just in a car as opposed to being on foot. This relates back to the commercial because as soon as the people that are really upset and unhappy get into the car, they become happy and excited and carefree!
This commercial also relates to economics. If you buy this car you will be happy working, and therefore be a better worker and work more. Thereby increasing how much money you have and the ability to pay off the car.
Fiat 500 Abarth Commercial
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMjavRu4v5c
Thesis- Seeing the Fiat 500 Abarth is a moment you will not forget, like being teased by the model who speaks a different language.
Triune Brain
The commercial definitely targets the reptilian brain. It avoids the fight and flight, which is observed in many other car commercials and goes right for the desire to have sex. The model (Catrinel Menghia) seduces the man into being intrigued with the car. The commercial introduces her first purposely so that they could seamlessly transfer the lust for her to lust for the car. The limbic brain is also targeted with music, which feels exotic, exciting, and sensual (more reptilian stuff). I cannot find anything that targets the neo cortex.
Shifts and Trends
There is a cultural shift in that YouTube records that my profile has seen this video. All of the dialogue (besides the pitch) is in Italian, and with this commercial being made for the US this is an epistemological shift because the image is the primary focus. There is also a technological shift because this commercial can be viewed on YouTube whenever as opposed to television.
Five Facts
Seeing the Fiat 500 Abarth is like having an intimate encounter with Catrinel Menghia. The car is Italian, which is a good thing. It means that as a man you have a chance with sexy women. As a woman it could make you sexier. Seeing one is something you do not forget.
3 Principles
Production techniques are used throughout this commercial. For one the two are in the same picture for much of the scene. Most communications between people is in the shot-reverse-shot form but this includes them both to make it more sexual. The majority of their interaction is also shot in an eye-line match of the man, which causes the audience to identify with him more.
When the car is finally introduced the principle of pacing is used. There are about six cuts in four seconds with a lot of action happening within each scene.
Individual Meaning may be present in that different genders see different things in this ad. Men see it as seductive and woman may see it entirely differently.
Persuasive Techniques
The man in this commercial is a regular person making very identifiable. The woman is a beautiful person who sells the seductive nature of the car. Hyperbole is used in the only English line in the ad, “You’ll never forget the first time you see one.” The model could be seen as a symbol for the car. Diversion was used because Catrinel had ¾ of the total screen time leaving about 15 seconds for the car. The production techniques were also persuasive as previously discussed.
SEPRITE Themes
The first theme that I observed is social structures. Age, gender, and ethnicity are very relevant in this commercial. Both people are young, of opposite genders, and the model is Italian (she’s apparently Bosnian but still speaks Italian) like the car.
Ideology is present in the Italian patriotism displayed by the model, the car, and the cappuccino. These are all things that Italians take pride in.
Lastly environment. The whole commercial is in an urban setting, which could be used to sell how the car is compact and European.
http://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/current-events/fiat-500-usa-superbowl-ad-translation-italy