Nissan Commercial

1996 Nissan Commercial “Toys”

Thesis

Nissan strategically put this commercial out during the time when “Toy Story” was released and their new red convertible was able to bring dolls to life and had the most beautiful dolls riding in it.

Triune Brain

This advertisement uses the Neocortex brain to make the viewer think about the possibility, that if they drive the new Nissan Convertible then they will be able to look as cool as the man in the commercial.  In the commercial the music is song that repeatedly says, “you really got me going” meaning driving more and the people in the commercial are all beautiful dolls representing people.  The images and the music in the background of the song are using the Limbic brain.  The Reptilian brain is used in the commercial because the “people” that are portrayed as people are considered beautiful and are the driving factors to making this commercial successful.

Shifts/Trends

This commercial is a great example of aesthetic shift because it aired on television in 1996 and over fifteen years later I am able to watch it on YouTube from the convenience of my computer.  It used the setting of a child’s playroom as the background for the film and uses the idea of cultural shift, because the child’s play car and dolls come to life to make the commercial.  The commercial is also a discursive shift because the meaning of the commercial is left up to the viewers, although the message is direct it can be interpreted in different ways.

Facts

The Nissan commercial portrays that beautiful adventurous  men drive red Nissan convertibles. It also says that people who drive this car can drive in and out of traffic or other obstacles.  Another point is that they can beat out the competition which would be other cars, but it was a cat in the commercial.  Only Nissan cars can drive that fast.  To find a beautiful woman you have to drive a Nissan.

Principles

This commercial leaves a lot of room for individual meaning, if I had watched this commercial as a child I would have thought it was not as interesting.  Watching it now as an adult I found it more interesting too because I understood it better and it reminded me so much of “Toy Story.”  They created it to look identical to Toy Story because during that time period it would have lured more people into buying the new Nissan.  The value messages of the commercial focus on the beauty of the driver and the woman that gets into the car, and if you drive this car you will be able to get beautiful women just like her into your car.  The production techniques used were different angles moving from room to room to capture him driving his car in and out of traffic(which was furniture).

Persuasive Techniques

Simple Solutions was used to describe if you drive this cool new Nissan convertible you will be able to pick up girls.  The technique of symbols was used because the commercial used only dolls and toys instead of people, but it did follow a similar backdrop as the movie “Toy Story.”  Although this commercial was filmed around the time when “Toy Story” was filmed, viewing it now brought a sense of warm fuzzies and nostalgia because it brought me back to my childhood when you thought that toys could be real and how toys have such an imagination to a child.  Strength was used when the main character used his adventurousness to jump and do flips off the bookcase and is strong enough to make it all the way to the car and then weaves in between all of the furniture to get to the woman.

SEPRITE THEMES

Social Structures

The commercial applied to any gender or age of a person because it was filmed with toys to attract children to want their parents to have the car, but it appealed to older generations because of the people driving the car.  The advertisement did gear towards a higher level of income because they used a women dressed in nice tennis clothes that then changed into a beautiful dress to get in the car.   This commercial reminded me of  “Republic of  Drivers” because I felt that the book focused so much on the appearance and social status of people driving cars and how people of certain race, gender, and socio economic statuses were not socially allowed to drive cars.

Technology

The commercial was centered around the Nissan convertible which without technology would never be possible.  The commercial uses the technology of making toys come alive also. The car focuses on how people are getting from one place to another and how they are able to move and avoid objects such as the cat in the commercial.  Even though he was not going a long distance, from one bedroom to another he was able to move quicker than walking.  This relates to “Carjacked” with some of the same themes that cars are used out of convenience and not always necessary.

Environment

The commercial opened with the main character, still as a toy then we jumped off the bookcase and jumped into his car.  He then used his binoculars to find the beautiful woman’s house and then she came out of the house and got into the car.  The commercial was filmed all inside of bedrooms and a hallway and the children toys were the main background.