Mike Jones - My 6 4

Main idea: Cars make you look cool; therefor they get you friends and women.

Triune Brain: Being as this is a music video the attention of your Limbic brain is immediately captured. The story line throughout the video stays fun and flashy. They are constantly showing off their cars, going new places, and meeting up with different people. The music gives you a fun carefree vibe, where the singers are enjoying their life through driving around in their cars. Your reptilian brain is also triggered when watching this because of the references toward getting women and how they want you because they see you cruisin down the street in your sweet ride.

3 shifts/trends: the first shift is an Epistemological shift. We no longer have to just listen to music. Through sites like YouTube, our music is now accompanied by pictures and video. The singer can now get their meanings across even more to their audience through the videos they create or album covers. I think this video also represents a personal shift. This video puts an emphasis on everyone having their own car. Never do you hear songs or watch videos about how cool it is to use public transportation. Its all about owning your own car and having independence. We also see an aesthetic shift. This is where we see a shift from convergence of different media technologies. Even before you can watch this video you have to watch an advertisement first. This is the blurred line between entertainment and news.

5 “facts”: 1. If you own a car you will get noticed and people will be jealous. 2. You will get women (they will literally drop their panties for you when they see you in your car.) 3. You get to go where ever you want to go. 4. You will have friends with nice cars to. 5. Owning cars like they have in the video will make you just as cool as them. 

Principles: Pacing- The scenes are constantly changing and things are always moving continuously, grabbing your attention. The song and the video is moving at a fast pace so you don’t stop to think about each thing they are doing or saying and how realistic they are or not. Individual meaning- This video was designed to target a certain audience. Its geared towards the person that wants to live the lifestyle they are living with their flashy pimped out cars, clothing and constant travel. Emotional transfer- the video is transferring a type of lifestyle onto another. It taps into your emotion of wanting to live that luxurious carefree lifestyle, where you have enough money to buy, go, and do what you want, when you want, and with whom you want. 

Persuasive techniques: Bandwagon: everyone who is everyone owns a car. Even when he jetted off to a different state his friend will be their waiting for him with his car. Repetition: although the scenes are constantly changing the one consistent factor is the car. 95% of the screen shots have a car or some other mode of transportation. Big lie: owning a car like theirs gets you women and makes you cool. Strength: The people in the video who own/drive a car look cool and confident. They aren’t shy they are bold with their actions in order to get themselves noticed. They are self-assured with who they are and feel comfortable showing off. Beautiful people: Everyone is dressed to a T in this video. They are covered in expensive clothing and accessories. When they show the women they are insinuating you will get with a car like theirs, she is beautiful.

SEPRITE Themes:

Social structures: One thing that really stuck out to me is when Snoop Dogg says, “I love my car like I love my wife.” It reminded me of “Carjacked” when author Catherine Lutz talks about how cars have become more important to people then getting married and having kids. In this video the car is the most important thing to them and how they live their life, it is a huge part of their culture.  Another social structure that’s pretty evident in this video is race and gender.  There is very little diversity throughout the music video.  This relates to when Seiler talked a lot about the association between driving and masculinity. I think this video is very centered on that idea. There weren't any references to women driving, they are more looked at as one of the luxuries and prizes of owning a cool car.
The environment in this music video is more commercial and city based, appealing more to people who live or want to live that same life style.  There is also an emphasis on the technology that can make your car do different things like bounce up and down while you drive.  It’s completely unnecessary but it makes you and your car get noticed.  I personally find it unappealing but that type of technology is part of their surroundings and culture.  

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.

Project 1- Grease Lightning

Thesis:

A fast car that is like “greased lightning” will get you women.

Triune Brain:

The part of the brain that this music video targets is the limbic region. It is a music video, so of course the part of the brain that processes images and sound would be the most utilized. Males and females watching the video may also feel emotionally involved or attached to the young people singing as well. The video also can spark some flow within the reptilian brain. The video is about sex and males finding females, so that could attribute to the mating part of this brain.

3 Shifts/trends:

                  The first major shift to be noted is the technological shift. When I first saw this movie, it was on a VHS tape and I was a young girl. Now I can type it into YouTube and watch it anytime I want. Almost any scene from any movie can be found somewhere on the internet now-a-days.
                  The second shift is more subtle, it is an economic shift within the music video itself. These young buys are working in a school garage fixing up a car and a small budget, and halfway through the video they begin to dream of a fancy car that has all the best parts. This would be an economic shift because the young men would then look like they were higher class and also have more resources for their car.
                  The third shift was a discursive shift. Everything that was stated in the music video could be part of a conversation, and that is how the music video started. The men were all just sitting around talking about how crappy the car was, and then Danny decides to lift their spirits and show them what the car in front of them has to offer. These shifts make the video all the more powerful.

5 Facts:

                  Five facts from this video are as follows: 1. Fast cars will get you respect, 2. Any car has the potential to be a great car, 3. Cars get you women, 4. If everyone works together and have a positive outlook, then many things can be accomplished, and 5. Men of this age always had access to a comb and cigarettes.

3 Principles:

                  The three principles used in this video are value messages, emotional transfer, and reality construction. The value messages are that a nice car can get people hookups with the opposite sex, and it can help them move up in society.  Emotional transfer is that all these guys are singing about this great car and it just makes the viewer happy and wants to sing along or help rebuild the car with them. It really gets the viewer involved. The last principle is reality construction. This video is so much like everyday life and it shows the tradeoffs of working hard, a great car, and the tradeoffs of slacking, a crappy car and no dates. This is relatable for any generation as long as cars are involved in their lives.

5 Persuasive Techniques:

                  The first persuasive technique is the use of “maybe”. Danny has a big view of what this car COULD look like and wants the boys to see his view. He knows that just maybe, if they had a few things here and there, the car could be great.
                  The second persuasive technique is plain folks. These boys in this video are just average high school boys with limited money, and parents that are not that involved. This appeals to the plain audience and makes them side with the actors in the movie.
                  The third technique used was beautiful people. While these men economically are plain, their looks excel. The two main singers, Kenickie and Danny are both very attractive men, therefore making women want to listen to them to be able to get with them and men want to listen so they can be like them.
                  The next technique was group dynamics. First Danny is the only one who knows the car can be something great, then after a big of singing and convincing, the other men see what he sees and they all want to work together to make this car into a sex machine.
                  The last major technique used was the bandwagon technique. Every other kid in this era was driving around nice cars and racing at thunder road so these boys wanted one too. And honestly even today once a boy hits high school he even wants one of those nice fast cars. The bandwagon comes with every generation and for most males it happens to involve cars.

3 SEPRITE themes/relation to readings:

                  In relation to the public of drivers, these kids were just experiencing the freedom that happened after all that was discussed in the book. These boys had free access to roads, limited surveillance, and fast cars. One thing I did notice though, was that there were few women drivers and no drivers of color, so this movie certainly wasn’t focused on the topic of sex or race. Just the actions of having sex and racing cars. It was purely about whites males and their cars, but also the love story between Danny and Sandy (Social structures)

                  Today we have built are society around cars and is it difficult for people to travel without the use of a vehicle, in this sense we have built our lives based on always needing a car. This movie illustrates that the car is the gateway to access to many excluded things, like in American Graffiti. For this movie the car grants access to the fair, shop class, and thunder road, while in American Graffiti it was to drive-ins, social spots, and paradise road. Cars are keys to accessing different environments we have built for ourselves. (Environments)

                  Relating to Carjacked, is technology. Lutz discusses how cars have become more and more advanced over the years, and in this video, the car becomes advanced within one dream, and then in reality by the end of the movie. It proves how far technology can take us, and how even back then people dreamed of more advancement with cars. (Technology)

VW Golf Car Commercial

Theme: “Not every old lady is reliable. Fortunately, every Golf is.” The VW car is reliable, durable, and will transport you through any car adventure while still looking like new. The VW Golf is the right car choice for any new driver and parents can feel comfortable letting their child drive it. 

Triune Brain:
The limbic brain is targeted in two ways in this commercial.  The first way is through the song that plays targets our emotions as the consumer and gives us the feeling of “this is what we’ve been waiting for."  The second way it targets our limbic brain is from the images we see throughout the commercial.  Seeing the old woman's flashbacks or watching the father and son inspect the car, gives us a sense of nostalgia and we can empathize with the commercial. 
The commercial also captures our neocortex or or "rational" thinking brain. At the very end of the commercial, we finally are exposed to some texts that explains the thesis of the commercial.  It says "not every old lady is reliale, but fortunately, ever Golf is," as well as offering a deal at the end of the commercial "Now 3500 euro advantage on the VW Golf Tour."  The text at the end helps target our neocortex and helps persuade us to buy the car.  The Reptilian brain is also triggered for the "flight or flight" response or whether to buy the car or walk away.  The father and son are looking at the car from an unknown seller and after a careful examination of the car and friendly smiles from the old lady, they decide to buy the car.  

3 Shifts/Trends

Epistemological shift, the move from word to image, is apparent. This commercial relies on image to get the consumer to buy the product. The only words that appear in the commercial are at the end, where it explains the thesis of the commercial.

This commercial is an example of a technological shift. Car companies like VW can now use multiple technological platforms to advertise their product. This commercial first appeared on Dutch television a few years ago, now you can watch it on YouTube, copy, and share it.  The internet has become a powerful advertising medium.

The commercial demonstrates an example of an aesthetic shift. Advertisers can put together various media forms in order to create a successful advertisement. This commercial includes multiple mediums of music, film, the written word, and symbols. Advertisements no longer rely on one medium to convey a message.

5 Facts
1. You can’t always trust who you buy a used car from, but you can trust the VW Golf.
2. The VW car is durable and can last through any driving adventure.
3. The VW Golf is fit for any driver, whether it’s an old lady or a new young driver.
4. The VW Golf is safe and reliable and it’s a car that parents can feel comfortable to let their kids drive in.
5. The VW Golf is fast car and can leave other cars in the dust. 

3 Principles
This advertisement uses many production techniques. The director of the commercial used various camera angles. In the commercial the old woman had flashbacks and the camera would cut between her memories and what was happening in the present. The director would use sound, like an engine "vrooming" or tires squealing, and cut away from the music and transition from one scene to another. The commercial would also pan in and pan out and it was captivating to the eye. 

Another principle used in the commercial was individual meaning. The VW Golf symbolized nostalgia for the old woman and we are exposed to a few great memories of her driving that car. It was almost like she didn’t want to let go of the car. For the young man, this car would be his first car and it symbolized something new and exciting. 

The third principle I noticed was emotional transfer. This innocent-looking old lady is trying to sell this father-son pair her old car and as the viewer, but we keep seeing old flashbacks of the woman driving the car. She has a clear emotional tie with this vehicle and it's almost like she doesn't want to let it go, but we also see the eager young driver excited to buy his first car.   In this short one minute advertisement, this commercial taps into our emotions of our own personal car experiences and we get this sense of nostalgia of either buying a car, or as a parent helping their child buy a car, and illustrates the bond we had with a car at one time. 

5 persuasive techniques
This car advertisement uses humor. We don’t expect a little old lady to be such a dare devil on the road and each little flashback makes the viewer laugh, or when we see the dad perform these ridiculous tests on the car and his over exaggerated body language. We stop thinking when we laugh. The commercial doesn’t explain much about the car, but we want to go buy it because the commercial made us laugh. 

The commercial uses nostalgia that comes from the old woman and her flashbacks.  The advertisement reminds us of past relationships we have had with our cars and gives us the idea that the VW Golf is the car to make your next memories in. 

This advertisement uses “warm fuzzies” to sell us the car, but instead of a cute furry animal, it’s a cute, innocent, little old lady.  

 This commercial uses diversion by targeting our emotions rather than selling us on the car itself. No real facts or statistics are presented about the car and we can only infer certain information about the car.  We only know the model of the car is a VW, but we don't know the year it was made, the mileage, safety features, anything.  We can only assume the durability of the car from the old woman's flashbacks.  

The last persuasive techniques I noticed was at the very end of the commercial was bribery.  For about five seconds, there is an offer of a 3500 euro advantage on a Golf Tour.  This is the last thing the viewer is exposed to and gives the consumer the idea that they are saving money if they go purchase the car now.  

3 SEPRITE Themes

Social Structures: The commercial attracts multiple buyers from the new driver to a more experienced old driver (the old woman selling the car). This commercial doesn’t just target one demographic and appeals to a wide audience. In this advertisement, the VW Golf doesn’t discriminate between age or sex. The social structures in this commercial remind me of the gender roles illustrated in  "Carjacked."  Although this ad plays on stereotypes of driver's like the old woman being a reckless driver and endangering people on the road or illustrating the father's mechanical knowledge on the car, the advertisement itself of who drives the car is free of any gender or age discrimination. 

Ideology: The commercial illustrates the eagerness of new drivers (and even older drivers) and the freedom they get behind the wheel. In “Car Jacked,” the authors explored these themes of freedom and independence of teens and young adults when they get their licenses. Teens no longer have to rely on their parents for rides and they can become independent. They have the ability to just hop in a car and drive away, giving the driver a sense of power and autonomy. The car has become a rite of passage and we can see it in this commercial. Instead of a teen getting their license, the young man is buying what appears to be his first car.

 Environment: Where the car is being purchased appears to be a nice suburban area and the car is being driven around town.  As we've read in our books, most car commercials are filmed driving on the open road, coast highways, or in the wilderness to illustrate that sense of freedom on the road, but this car was filmed driving around town with other cars on the road.  This car commercial targets a different use for the car, but the car still demonstrates that it can take a beating on the road. 

Green Police

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   Thesis: If you drive an Audi A3 TDI you will help save the environment

   
   

   Triune Brain:

   Limbic- Definitely the music in this piece, a parody of Cheap Tricks 70’s song The Dream Police, it adds to the excitement and thrill to the plot of the police chase. It’s certainly a humorous parody which triggers that emotional sense of laughter. 

   Neocortex - I think the neocortex is certainly triggered here as it essentially goes thorough various environmental concerns and tells the viewer essentially ways of saving the environment, allowing for a thoughtful experience, and reflection on one’s own actions. 

   Reptilian - Perhaps the reptilian is fitting as it is essentially a police chase. It’s not necessarily an action packed thrilling chase, but I think fight or flight is depicted here 

   
   

   3 shifts/ trends:

   Epistemological Shift: This video is off Youtube, tells a story through the combination of words and images,  the images tell a comical story of the environmental movement

   Technological Shift: This commercial accurately demonstrates a technological shift because of the media platform that is used to access this commercial, originally the media platform I presume was via television, and now it is accessible through the media platform of Youtube. Through the advancement of technologies we are able to continuously access information through different digital forms.

   Personal Shift: I think that personal shift is demonstrated here because Youtube is a media platform that allows for participatory action, viewers can respond and react to the videos we view, and essentially have a conversation with fellow viewers. 

   
   

   5 facts:

   You should use paper instead of plastic

   Old batteries should not be thrown away

   Orange rinds are compostable, you should compost.

   You should not use incandescent light bulbs

   42 miles per gallon on the highway and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.

   
   

   3 principles:

   Value Messages: The value message is essentially to live a conscious environmentally friendly lifestyle by practicing the various measures they suggest. It ties into practicing an environmentally conscious way of living, from the simple things like composting to the bigger things like choice in cars. 

   Individual Meaning:  After reading some responses and reactions to this commercial, I realized that people interpreted it differently. On its website, Audi says its fictional green police are "caricatures" of the environmental movement. It said that humorous ad are most apt to 87% of consumers attention, but some individuals responded by questioning if this commercial isn’t just humorous but actually mocking the environmental movement. 

   Production Techniques: I thought the production technique was great, it was humorous and the music definitely added excitement, well the video moved at a quick pace, especially with the police running through the scenes, which definitely added suspense and urgency, almost like on a bigger scale, the sense of urgency for the environmental movement as a whole.

   
   

   
   

   5 persuasive techniques

   
   

   Humor:  This commercial wasn’t necessarily laugh out loud funny but I think it definitely has some humor portrayed, kind of quirky humor. (On its website, Audi says its fictional green police are "caricatures" of today's "green movement." It says studies show that humorous ads are most apt to grab 87% of consumers' attention.)

   
   

   Plainfolk: ordinary citizens are arrested for using plastic instead of paper, throwing away batteries, not composting orange rinds, using incandescent light bulbs and setting their hot tub thermostats too high.

   
   

   Simple Solution: I think simple solution was portrayed here, while they give the viewer various methods of saving the environment; recycle, efficiency, composting, and then lastly, driving a Audi A3 TDI, will help save the environment, but in reality the issues of our depleting ecosystem go beyond these simply solutions, we need drastic change. 

   
   

   Strength: I think in a way it demonstrated strength and power. The way the car just accelerates to pass all the other cars is kind of hypocritical as accelerating quickly is worse on gas then accelerating slowly, but I think what the producers were going for was this power and strength that this car promotes, by almost being better than all the cars and people the car is passing as it’s better and more environmentally sound. 

   
   

   Group Dynamics: I felt that the two groups represented here were that you’re either environmentally friendly or not, which is visually show through the ending clip when the one guy with the Audi get’s to drive by everyone else. (Either/Or)

   
   

   
   

   Three Themes:

   The theme of self curation which we saw in American Grafitti, and expression through ones vehicle, I think this video shows how one wants to be portrayed through their vehicle, as one who cares for the environment. I remember when the Prius first came out and I remember thinking that each person I saw must be environmentally friendly, this way of association through people’s vehicles, whether it’s true or not says a lot. The same way I interpret Subaru’s to be outdoorsy adventurous drivers. I think freedom, mentioned in American Grafitti was represented as well, physically you see the driver get to take off past everyone, yet I still don’t know what to think about the idea that it’s an environmentally friendly car advertisement but it’s still a car, still using gas, but I guess in this sense it provides freedom to enjoy the open road knowing you’re having a thirty percent less impact on green house gases then before. One ironic part I realized after watching it a lot, the guy with the Volkswagon colorfully painted bus, who you’d stereotypically think of as environmentally friendly, was stuck in the Green police lane, not passing as environmentally friendly. 

   
   

   I think this commercial definitely relates to Carjacked. In Carjacked they talk about how automakers are targeting one key demographic: children, trying to get them hooked on their vehicle choice early. While this commercial doesn’t necessarily target children, I think, however,   it’s definitely targeting a group of people, or a group of ideals. The way the automakers work to attract a certain type of person, in this case it’s those that compost, and use paper instead of plastic, recycle batteries, practice efficiency, etc. When people think back on the commercial, they’ll remember the catchy Green Police song, and the actions of the individuals being caught for un-environmentally friendly actions, therefore when they’ll look back they’ll associate this car with this ideals and mottos of conscious individuals. 

   
   

   Lastly, I think this film relates to Republic of Drivers because of the idea and battle between individualism and conformity. Here he appears as the only individual in the group of cars, the only one to have a “green” car, yet the environmental movement is a collective effort. In chapter five of Republic of Driver’s there is a quote, “car infrastructure fosters the illusion of individuality but actually creates the collective.  This commercial shows the individual, but I think the commercial is promoting the collective. 

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

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.  

Deep Dive

Thesis:

            Driving a Volkswagen will make you happy.

Triune Brain:

            The Limbic brain is engaged through the emotional cue of laughter, which it interprets as pleasure, and leads to me also feeling good. The upbeat, positive music playing in the background also engages the Limbic brain, contributing to a feeling of happiness. The Neocortex is engaged at the end of the commercial when the message "It's not about the miles, but how you live them" comes on the screen. The reptilian brain is not very engaged during this commercial, and I think this was intentional. The reptilian brain is helpful for times of danger, or stress, but this commercial is trying to convey calm, joyous feelings- the opposite realm from the reptilian brain.

 3 Shifts/Trends:

Personal shift- I viewed this ad on YouTube, which allows users to browse and  upload videos, but it also allows users to comment and rate what they see. As of this writing, this particular add had over 600 comments. Further, there was a bar that came on the screen, which when clicked, was a link to a Volkswagen site where I could "share my story" and read the stories of other happy Volkswagen customers.

Discursive shift- We don't know what is so funny, but we feel drawn into and a part of each clip of laughter in this commercial. We aren't shown a funny scene, we are thrown into each scene as if we are in on everything with everyone else in the clip.

Epistemological shift- Oddly, this ad is about laughter, but it isn't funny and I didn't laugh while watching it. We don't see what was so funny. But, the sound of laughter coupled with the images of laughing faces did significantly affect how I felt- inexplicably I was happy.

5 "Facts:"

Driving a Volkswagen is like laughing- it feels good. Driving a Volkswagen will make you happy. Everyone laughs, and everyone is happy with Volkswagen. The best way to live is to be happy. The people get progressively older as the commercial goes on, so it's not that its not about the miles, it's despite the miles you can still be happy; your Volkswagen will keep you happy through it all, for a long time to come. Being happy is easy.

3 Principles:

Emotional Transfer- The commercial taps into the wisdom that laughter is contagious. It is trying to have me associate good feelings with Volkswagen. It is literal emotional transfer- like peeling a rub-on tattoo.

"Reality" Construction- What is so funny? It is impossible to tell what is funny in any of the clips- there are no clues as to what happened even a few seconds before laughter. It creates a kind of current of happiness which sweeps you along for the ride before you have time to question it.

 Ownership- It seems Volkswagen owns this commercial, as it was uploaded by the company to its own You Tube channel. I assume that the Volkswagen Group, who is the ultimate owner of Volkswagen (Along with Audi, Porsche, amongst other luxury cars manufacturers), produced this commercial to increase sales of Volkswagens.

5 Persuasive Techniques-   

Humor- The commercial itself isn't funny, but rather centers around the desired outcome of humor- laughter. It also put me in a good mood, another aim of humor.

Plain Folks- No one in any of the clips is famous. These are just everyday people who could be you friend or relative. It helps you feel like you're part of the commercial, because it could so easily be a scene from you day to day life.

Repetition- The same thing happens in each clip, though the subjects change. And each clip is about the same length of time.

Diversion- The commercial makes it seem as if there is nothing but happiness associated with owning or driving a Volkswagen. It conveys ideas far removed from the unhappiness of crashes, traffic jams, speeding tickets, debt, and any of the innumerable other bad things that can happen with and to cars.

Warm Fuzzies- Again, they're tapping into the idea that laughter is contagious. It made me feel happy, watching all of the laughter.

3 Seprite Themes:

Despite the time Seiler spent in Republic on the discrimination of women and ethnic groups on the roadway, there is pretty good diversity in this ad. There a lot of women, almost every other person is a woman. While I'm pretty sure the majority of people shown in the ad are white, a good number of them are non-white, and a majority of those who are non-white are black. Regardless of race or gender, however, everyone shown appears to be upper middle class.

Lutz and Fernandez speak to the fact that car manufactures often portray their vehicles as taking their passengers far off roads, as with the SUV ads in the early 2000s. All the people in this commercial seem to be at home, or at least somewhere they're comfortable (the beach, a familiar restaurant, ect.). If it's really "not about the miles," then it really doesn't matter how far you go, or what environment you end up in, your Volkswagen will keep you comfortable and happy.

Lutz and Fernandez also speak to the fact that car manufacturers market their products by trying to get inside the heads of their customers and try to reflect the ideals of their customers through their advertising, so the customers see themselves as fitting those ideals. This ad, like Socrates, posits happiness as the chief good. We don't see what makes anyone laugh in the ad, but just the fact that they're laughing is good. And anything that makes you happy it seems to say, must be good.