Thesis:
The driver of a Smart Car experiences enhanced mobility, allowing exclusive access to places from which larger vehicles are restricted.
Triune Brain:
Immediately we are exposed to music; an upbeat, lyrical song engages the limbic brain and causes the listener to associate the commercial with positive thoughts. This commercial also engages the reptilian brain, as we sympathize with Kobe and his young Asian friend as they attempt to take FLIGHT from this elephant, who is in fact chasing them in an attempt to EAT the little boy. Finally, the neocortex is briefly engaged as text flashes across the screen at the end of the commercial, delivering the Smart Car tag line and the message “<<Big, in the city.”.
Shifts/Trends:
Obviously, this advertisement is an example of an epistemological shift, representing the change from word to image. This advertisement was composed of primarily images, rather than text. It is also important to consider the aesthetic shift associated with this video, as we are able to view it on our smart phones, our laptops, and in class, on a projector. The multi-platform technology allows us to view this video on these different devices for added convenience. Finally, this video could be construed as representing a technological shift, (from analog to digital) as we viewed the video on YouTube, and can find it, copy it, and re-watch it on our personal computers at our own leisure.
5 “Facts”:
-The Smart Car is extremely maneuverable, with an excellent turning radius
-If you drive a Smart Car, you will be a member of an elevated group of open-minded
people.
-The Smart Car has an on-board navigation system
-The Smart Car has a low clearance, allowing access to tight places
-The Smart Car has a stylish exterior and interior
-The Smart Car is strong enough to have an elephant stand on top of it...
3 Principles:
-Reality Construction/Trade-offs: We see the Smart Car performing in a closed movie set, where there are no other vehicles and the normal means of getting around is a golf cart. We are not being told how the car performs in "real" situations on the road, or provided with safety features.
-Emotional Transfer: Upbeat music and cute kids in a fun, exotic atmosphere leave the viewer feeling like the Smart Car is a responsible and exciting choice for a vehicle
-Pacing: The Smart Car flies through the video, leaving us constantly trying to keep up, mentally. There are multiple different movie sets, and lots to look at in each of the complex scenes.
5 Persuasive Techniques:
-Group Dynamics: The actors in the commercial have a sense of camaraderie immediately, despite the fact that they had just met. It erases any idea of solidarity.
-Warm Fuzzies: The kids dressed in costume, the elephant, as well as the cute music all invoke the ‘Awww’ emotion in the viewer.
-Testimonial: Kobe Bryant drives a Smart Car, why don’t you?
-Card Stacking: We only witness the Smart Car in action on a closed movie set. It does not give any safety features, or provide any information about how the car would perform on a highway, or in another setting.
-Humor: The commercial attempts to appeal to our sense of humor, as Kobe chauffeurs a small boy dressed in a giant peanut costume away from a hungry elephant.
SEPRITE Themes:
-The theme of cars as a facilitator of adventure. We as consumers are constantly bombarded by the ideas that cars will bring us someplace wonderful, that we’ve never been before. This commercial is no exception, as Kobe Bryant drives through "space" and "ancient Rome", while seeing monsters, angels, and all sorts of characters along the way.
-The commercial appeals to all members of our social structure. Young people find humor in the elephant and relate to the age of one of the main characters. Women are appealed to through the use of children, and other cute techniques, like highlighting the warm fuzzies. And to appeal to the men, they added a world famous basketball star (who a lot of ladies like too).
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