2013 BMW 3 Series Commercial

Thesis:

                The main idea that BMW is trying to get across is in the final words of the video, “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. The advertisement wants you to think that this car has everything you would ever want in a vehicle.

Triune Brain:

                The commercial appeals to the limbic brain by tapping into the humor aspect of emotion. The commercial addresses the old mantra of husbands not liking their mother-in-laws to sell BMWs. Also, when the driver finds out that his mother-in-law in waiting for him inside the house, it taps into the reptilian part of the brain causing a fight or flight decision, eventually choosing to flee the driveway thanks to the car. They hope that the viewer of the commercial would identify with the feeling in order to sell them a BMW. Finally, the commercial appeals to the neocortex, or rational, part of the brain by calling a BMW the “Ultimate Driving Machine”, they assume that rational people buy cars based on what gives them exactly what they are looking for in a car and imply that a BMW is that car.

Three Shifts:

Aesthetic shift- This car represents a shift from the car originally being only a mode of transport to being an all in one machine. Cars used to be just for getting from place to place, but now you can get cars with TVs, DVD players, video games, and even something that reads you your email while you drive. The car has slowly become a multimedia platform since its inception.

Technological Shift- I viewed this commercial on my laptop on YouTube, as I'm sure most students did. While I have no idea if this commercial with the bleeped out foul language played on television, as some car commercials do, YouTube gave BMW another platform to advertise its vehicles, hoping to convince someone to buy one.

Cultural Shift- Due to the fact that this commercial is on YouTube, it allows the company to gather information about how it is received. In earlier years when commercials were only shown on television, it was much more difficult for companies to know how their advertising efforts are working. On the internet, the can see how many times their video has been watched and see what people have been saying about it in the comment section, allowing them to better shape future advertisements and sell more cars.

Facts:

                The most important fact BMW is claiming is that their cars are the Ultimate Driving Machines, and nothing less. They also suggest that the Connected Drive feature will get you out of things you would rather not be doing, such as hanging with the mother-in-law. The commercial also portrays the car as a form of escape. Based on the setting and actor in the commercial, it appears that the makers are saying that the BMW is for upper/upper-middle class white people.

Three Principles:

Reality Construction- Why does he not like his mother-in-law? Does she not approve of him or is it something different?

Emotional Transfer: The commercial is trying to tap into the emotion of husbands disliking their mother-in-laws. Also the feeling of always needing to be in the know and have information, such as one’s email, always accessible.

Individual Meaning- The meaning this commercial portrays to me is that this car has everything you need. That’s why they included the tagline “Ultimate Driving Machine” at the end of the commercial.

Five Persuasive Techniques:

Hyperbole- “Ultimate Driving Machine” is spoken and in words in the commercial, but who is saying it? BMW. They use hyperbole as a sales technique to influence your decision on buying a car.

Humor- Taps into the common notion of some men not liking their mother-in-laws and vice versa and plays off it in a humorous way. Also plays off the intimation of vulgar language with the car horn beeping during the last email being read.

Plain folks- They chose a somewhat average looking male to act in this spot I'm sure to appeal to people thinking BMWs were for the rich and fancy, and convincing them otherwise.

Symbols- Surprisingly the BMW symbol does not flash on the screen at any chance possible. Usually there would be a shot of the front or back of the car to show the symbol or possibly on the dash inside the car, but not in this commercial. The symbol is used for brand recognition.

Big Lie- The commercial claims that the Connected Drive system can get you out of things you would rather not do based on the commercial. But whose wife is really going to let them get out of hanging with her mother? And how often would the timing of the email occur when it did?

Three SEPRITE Themes:

Social Structures- This commercial is appealing to the white upper/middle class men in America. BMW clearly knows their customer base and tapped into it for this ad. As read in Carjacked, this is a very successful technique in advertising.

Technology- The commercial is clearly appealing to the novelty of technological advancement, which in this case is your car having the ability to read your email to you.

Ideology/Religion- With the current trend of always being connected this commercial shows that their car can keep you in the loop because if the Connected Drive system. Most phones allow access to email, internet, Facebook etc. on them now allowing people to communicate in various ways at the touch of their fingers in mere seconds. This ability is even being built into refrigerators furthering that culture.