http://driveelectricvt.com/blog/drive-electric-blog/2013/08/02/tesla-factory
Todd is coming to speak to our class on November 7th!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Cadillac Commercial Deep Dive
“Re-imagined, re-inspired, reinvigorated: all designed to reignite the soul. The all-new 2010 SRX, the Cadillac of crossovers. “
Theme: This Cadillac will transform you (the purchaser/driver) into a new and improved version of yourself. After all, the designers of this crossover have put a lot of work into re-doing…
Power Tools #1:
- This commercial is almost entirely appealing to the limbic brain. Its catchy music, reassuring male narrator, nifty cinematography, all illicit general good vibes from the viewer. Even more, important factors – such as safety, gas mileage, and price – that should (but often do not) play a role in buying a car are not mentioned; the neocortex is purposefully not engaged.
Power Tools #2:
- Epistemological shift: this shift is present, as the creators of the commercial relied more heavily on image than words. When words are displayed on the screen, they do not appear in full sentences or even phrases. The use of a single word is therefore more likened to symbols because it can only evoke a few emotions. Oppositely, a sentence connotes a wider range of interpretations.
- Technological Shift: a shift in technology is present through the way that I accessed this commercial – YouTube; although it originally aired in 2010, I can easily look it up three year later due to our digital information storage. From an data inquiry perspective, this shift is very positive
- Aesthetic Shift: through this Cadillac commercial the convergence of advertisement and art is apparent. The creative use of music and cinematography, fields that are seemingly unrelated to automobility, are testament to this point
Power Tools #3:
- Production techniques: as stated above, this commercial is employing a variety of techniques that appeal to the senses, causing consumers to have an emotional rather than rational reaction to Cadillac’s product.
- Value messages/Meanings: I feel that the value messages portrayed in this commercial are that the Cadillac can be driven (maybe not owned) by a range of ages and both genders. This overarching value message then elicits individual meanings for each person. For example, hip music, fast driving, and female driver appeal to the young person, male, and female drivers respectively.
- Pacing: the quick camera cuts in this ad also prevent the consumer from rationally thinking about the product, as the really don’t have the time to. Even though the ad is only about 30 seconds, I had to watch 5 times in order to properly analyze it.
Power Tools #4:
- Flatter: although it is not explicitly stated that driving the Cadillact SRX crossover will make you a better person, it is heavily implied. And since this car is supposed to be a new and improved extension of the buyer, the pleasant adjectives used to describe the vehicle are also meant to flatter the consumer.
- Beautiful People: The woman driving the car is not overly beautiful (as that may be intimidating to some), but she is definitely easy on the eyes.
Relation to Carjacked:
- Lutz suggests that gender norms are still played out in our contemporary culture of automobility. For instance, men typically know the mechanics of a car and enjoy driving fast, while women may be seen carting the family around. I feel that this Cadillac commercial may be the beginning of a gender-neutral car campaign (not as an attempt to foster gender equality, but simply as an attempt to increase sales). Evidence that the commercial is likely to appeal to both genders can be seen through fast driving, as well as the female motorists. Even the type of vehicle, the crossover, gives off a general feeling of ambiguity.
Relation to Republic of Drivers:
- The virtually empty streets in this commercial – with the exception of one other vehicle/free spirit – causes the audience to associate freedom with driving, as well a sense of adventure; even in a cityscape that has been traversed by millions of people, driving the Cadillac SRX will add novelty to the expedition.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Kia Optima 2011
Cleopatra Doley
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_CRONANoyI
KIA optima “one great ride”
Thesis: Everyone wants to ride the KIA Optima because it can take you anywhere.
Triune Brain:
The storyline catches the attention of the reptilian and limbic brains first and foremost There’s a lot of explosions and special affects to capture the viewers attention. The car starts off on earth, and then gets transferred to aliens, and then another dimension, and is very exciting the whole time. The music is very dramatic and helps the viewer to have an emotional connection with the car. However, as the car goes through many scenes, the reader cannot rationalize the car’s structure because all of the images go so fast and the commercial gives the viewer no actual information on the car, therefore the Rational Brain is not addressed in this commercial, only the reptilian and limbic Brains.
Limbic: Explosions -> fight and flight
Shifts/Trends
The cultural shift is illustrated in the speed of the commercial. We are forced to be process information quickly, and visually. our culture is moving to fit more images in a small time frame to get across a message quickly.
The epistemological shift is shown clearly because we're viewing this on youtube. It has no words, and can be viewed by almost anyone in the world with internet and a working computer.
5 "Facts"
- If you use this car, everyone will be jealous of you and want to use this car too.
- if you use this car, you will go on many adventures.
- This car can travel through different dimensions.
- This car is wanted by everyone and everything.
- This car can whether any circumstance. like being handled by a sea monster, for example.
3 Principles
- Value messages: if you’re friends are jealous of your car, you will have the best car. The value of this car is based in the jealousy of other people.
- Production techniques: are digital and very vivid. The viewer is enticed by many scenes, all of which don’t correlate too well together because they’re literally from different dimensions. The are very few realistic attributes added to this car.
- Pacing: The pacing between each scene is incredibly fast. It doesn't give the viewer time to consciously process all the frames, and therefore it's much more difficult to analyze.
5 Persuasive Techniques
- Bandwagon technique: If everyone else on earth, from outer space, and other dimensions want this car, why wouldn't you? This commercial said everyone else wants this car, you, the viewer, should be buying what everyone else wants and making them all envious of you.
3 SEPRITE themes
This car relates to the liberation of cars as expressed in Republic of Drivers by Cotton Seiler. helps one to view the car as a strong trans-dimensional object that everyone wants, and can take you anywhere in the universe. That theme travels through out the commercial, taking the viewer from one scene to the next at an extremely fast paste!
Then, Seiler writes about the experiences of White women with automobile culture. In this video, their oppression is being upheld because White women are portrayed as props in this video. One White woman is seen handcuffed with a man by a police officer who stole their car. She doesn't have much of a role. Then, on the boat White women are seen in bikinis. This is to illustrate the man's dominance in the situation, and to express his masculinity by over feminizing the women around him. (Also, he may or may not be in Brown-Face. I'm not sure.)
Seiler also talks about the different experiences People of Color (POCs) have with automobiles. I Thought this commercial was interesting, but there are 2 POC clips were all the way at the end of the commercial and in the helicopter, and it seemed like some sort of Aztec native group (?) and it seemed like they were worshiping the car in the middle of a ritual. And the fact that this group of people were depicted to be stranger than the aliens before hand. The commercial grows in “strangeness” through out each scene, starting with a White couple, then a White cop, and then continues on with a helicopter, a yacht, a sea creature, an alien, and then Aztec(?) people. It was just unsettling how “othering” this commercial is to that culture they were trying to portray. It's making fun of Native traditions and religions to portray them as "worshipping" a car. Also, the POC in the helicopter might have been middle eastern (?) and he is shooting a missle-looking car-claw from his plane. That was also depicting him in a negative light as the attacker. But really, at the end of the day, putting the one middle eastern person in the commercial to shoot a missile looking contraption usually isn't the best idea if media wants to battle islamophobia and contributes negatively to islamophobia. It's quite unfortunate how negatively this commercial illustrates POCs.
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_CRONANoyI
KIA optima “one great ride”
Thesis: Everyone wants to ride the KIA Optima because it can take you anywhere.
Triune Brain:
The storyline catches the attention of the reptilian and limbic brains first and foremost There’s a lot of explosions and special affects to capture the viewers attention. The car starts off on earth, and then gets transferred to aliens, and then another dimension, and is very exciting the whole time. The music is very dramatic and helps the viewer to have an emotional connection with the car. However, as the car goes through many scenes, the reader cannot rationalize the car’s structure because all of the images go so fast and the commercial gives the viewer no actual information on the car, therefore the Rational Brain is not addressed in this commercial, only the reptilian and limbic Brains.
Limbic: Explosions -> fight and flight
Reptilian: Music and special affects -> creative and captivating
Rational: not addressed Shifts/Trends
The cultural shift is illustrated in the speed of the commercial. We are forced to be process information quickly, and visually. our culture is moving to fit more images in a small time frame to get across a message quickly.
The epistemological shift is shown clearly because we're viewing this on youtube. It has no words, and can be viewed by almost anyone in the world with internet and a working computer.
The Personal shift is illustrated because we can view this on youtube, and comment on what we think of the commercial.
5 "Facts"
- If you use this car, everyone will be jealous of you and want to use this car too.
- if you use this car, you will go on many adventures.
- This car can travel through different dimensions.
- This car is wanted by everyone and everything.
- This car can whether any circumstance. like being handled by a sea monster, for example.
3 Principles
- Value messages: if you’re friends are jealous of your car, you will have the best car. The value of this car is based in the jealousy of other people.
- Production techniques: are digital and very vivid. The viewer is enticed by many scenes, all of which don’t correlate too well together because they’re literally from different dimensions. The are very few realistic attributes added to this car.
- Pacing: The pacing between each scene is incredibly fast. It doesn't give the viewer time to consciously process all the frames, and therefore it's much more difficult to analyze.
5 Persuasive Techniques
- Bandwagon technique: If everyone else on earth, from outer space, and other dimensions want this car, why wouldn't you? This commercial said everyone else wants this car, you, the viewer, should be buying what everyone else wants and making them all envious of you.
- Strength: They also show how strong the car is, and how it can take you through so many adventures in your lifetime.
- Hyperbole: Their exaggerated claim is that the car can go through different dimensions and arrive at every location safely.
- Beautiful People: beautiful people are shown on the boat, they are obviously upper-class.
- Group dynamics: groups of aliens, groups of "Native" people, both want the car, even goes as far as to worship the car and summon it from another dimension.
3 SEPRITE themes
This car relates to the liberation of cars as expressed in Republic of Drivers by Cotton Seiler. helps one to view the car as a strong trans-dimensional object that everyone wants, and can take you anywhere in the universe. That theme travels through out the commercial, taking the viewer from one scene to the next at an extremely fast paste!
Then, Seiler writes about the experiences of White women with automobile culture. In this video, their oppression is being upheld because White women are portrayed as props in this video. One White woman is seen handcuffed with a man by a police officer who stole their car. She doesn't have much of a role. Then, on the boat White women are seen in bikinis. This is to illustrate the man's dominance in the situation, and to express his masculinity by over feminizing the women around him. (Also, he may or may not be in Brown-Face. I'm not sure.)
Seiler also talks about the different experiences People of Color (POCs) have with automobiles. I Thought this commercial was interesting, but there are 2 POC clips were all the way at the end of the commercial and in the helicopter, and it seemed like some sort of Aztec native group (?) and it seemed like they were worshiping the car in the middle of a ritual. And the fact that this group of people were depicted to be stranger than the aliens before hand. The commercial grows in “strangeness” through out each scene, starting with a White couple, then a White cop, and then continues on with a helicopter, a yacht, a sea creature, an alien, and then Aztec(?) people. It was just unsettling how “othering” this commercial is to that culture they were trying to portray. It's making fun of Native traditions and religions to portray them as "worshipping" a car. Also, the POC in the helicopter might have been middle eastern (?) and he is shooting a missle-looking car-claw from his plane. That was also depicting him in a negative light as the attacker. But really, at the end of the day, putting the one middle eastern person in the commercial to shoot a missile looking contraption usually isn't the best idea if media wants to battle islamophobia and contributes negatively to islamophobia. It's quite unfortunate how negatively this commercial illustrates POCs.
Range Rover Evoque
Range Rover Evoque
Thesis: You can’t leave it, once you've touched it.
Triune Brain: This commercial appeals to the limbic brain.
It opens with a yeti in the snow-covered mountains, who happens to stumble to
the sight of a Range Rover Evoque. While the yeti enters the car, sits down,
and grips the steering wheel, we here calm and soothing music, appealing to the
sounds and music portion of the limbic brain. This commercial also uses the neocortex when it projects "You can't leave it, once you've touched it." The reptilian brain is projected through the standoff between the man and the yeti -neither run away that we see.
3 Shifts/Trends: The first shift is the epistemological
shift from word to pictures and images. Rather than just hearing about how the
Range Rover can take you to the mountains and find yeti, we can see both the
yetis’ discovery of the car and the surprised response of the driver. This
commercial also shows the aesthetic shift and the convergence of technology.
I can watch this on youtube on my computer, smart phone, iPod, notebook , etc. One trend I saw in the filming of this was the use of panning and scenes. It's a very slow paced commercial with only a fair amount of different cuts in the short picture, creating a smooth and calming effect.
5 Facts :
1. Yetis do exist.
2. You can drive to the peaks of mountaintops with this car.
3. You cant’ leave the steering wheel once you've touch it.
4. Yetis don’t like getting their pictures taken.
5. The steering wheel will make a yeti cry its so warm and comforting.
1. Yetis do exist.
2. You can drive to the peaks of mountaintops with this car.
3. You cant’ leave the steering wheel once you've touch it.
4. Yetis don’t like getting their pictures taken.
5. The steering wheel will make a yeti cry its so warm and comforting.
3 Principles: The first principle I noticed was Reality
Construction. The commercial creates an alternate reality where one can drive
to the tops of mountains and interact with yetis. This can be seen as a good thing to get in touch with nature, but in reality it would be much more difficult and expensive. There is also an Emotional Transfer as
we see the yeti sheds a tear of joy an comfort, a truly beautiful moment. This
commercial did have a value message and its that this car take help you get to the outdoors and even in the winter when its really cold because it now have heated steering wheels.
Persuasive Techniques: The first technique we see is humor
and the yeti discovering the great warmth of the steering wheel, as well as
when he rips the steering wheel off the car and the bag later explodes in his
face. The next technique is the warm fuzzies when we see the yeti begin to cry.
We also see hyperbole in the phrase “You can’t leave, Once you’ve touched it.”
It appeals to plain folks as well, the average adventurous man would want a car
like this. I thought this whole commercial was an example of diversion for Range Rovers. To me this commercial says our car is great and really expensive, but look- we have heated steering wheels, warm enough to bring tears to a yeti's eyes.
SEPRITE: Environments was the first theme I saw. This car
can take you to all sorts of different environments, including the mountains.
It is using the environment as a way to attract people to its automobile and showing how you can go great places and see great things with the car. The
next theme I noticed was technology, now we not only have the technology to get
you to the top of that mountain, but we can also keep your hands nice and warm
will you get there. This relates to the economics theme also, because just as
we learned from Seiler, the car seems like it is available for everyone, but
only certain socioeconomic classes can afford it.
Amazing 90's Volkwswagen ad
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BIOW9fLT9eY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Thesis
Driving a Volkswagen is conducive to meaningful friendships and making memories.
Triune brain
This ad really stimulates the limbic brain by acting on the audience's emotions via romantic images and music. There is a huge starry sky, a rural landscape where only the highway is illuminated, and a moody Nick Drake song. This ad captivates the limbic brain so strongly that the neocortex and reptilian brains don’t need activating.
Shifts/Trends
Technological shift: I saw this on youtube, where many other Volkswagen advertisements are accessible. Before youtube, video advertisements could only be seen on television, where the audience does not have a choice as to what appears on their screen.
Epistemological shift: This advertisement represents a shift from word to image. The ad uses images and music as its method of communication, rather than words.
Economic shift: Nick Drake’s music didn’t sell well during his lifetime. Decades later, Volkswagen included a song of his in one of their ads, positive that the ad would aid them in selling cars.
Facts
A Volkswagen provides you and your friends with meaningful experiences. Driving at nighttime in a VW is more meaningful than going to a big party. A moving VW is a great place to look at nighttime scenery. (Text at the end of the ad says – “The Cabrio/Drivers wanted”) The VW wants to be driven.
Principles
Individual meaning: This ad communicates a very powerful emotion in a vague way, so the viewer can feel like the ad is about his or her own unique memories.
Value messages: The ad portrays the value of friendship, and asserts the VW as the perfect place to spend time with friends.
Reality construction: Nostalgia distorts the way people think about their past. This ad persuasively constructs a reality where the viewer’s youth is just as good as they remember it.
Persuasive Techniques
Group Dynamics: The group of friends driving around in the VW eventually decides that their time is better spent together in a small group than with drunken strangers.
Nostalgia: The music, imagery, and plot of this ad are all nostalgic. Driving a VW feels like reliving moments the viewer nostalgic for.
Symbols: The VW logo is displayed in front of a starry sky at the end of the ad.
Big lie: Driving a Volkswagen is conducive to meaningful friendships and making memories.
Either/or: The viewer is persuaded that riding the Cabrio throughout the night is better than anything else they could be doing.
Seprite themes
-Social structures: the ad makes a divide between partygoers and the people in the car, and makes those in the car seem cooler.
-Ideology: people use the car as a means of performing freedom, as described throughout Republic of Drivers, which is especially important to people who don't have the amount of power they want. These are high school kids, who don't yet have the power of independence, who use the car to feel free.
-Technology: there is irony in how the kids in the car (a highly complex piece of technology) use it as a means of experiencing nature's visual beauty and stimulation (wind). Even if it's not experiencing nature, it's the same feelings people experience when deeply connected with a certain slice of nature.
-In Republic of Drivers, Seiler talks about the highway as a place to perform freedom. In the ad, the passengers opt out of going to a party, favoring the highway.
-In Carjacked, Lutz & Fernandez talk about how romantic notions of driving for some people stems from the image of a man driving a vehicle with a woman at his side. In the ad, a man is the driver, and numerous women are passengers.
Thesis
Driving a Volkswagen is conducive to meaningful friendships and making memories.
Triune brain
This ad really stimulates the limbic brain by acting on the audience's emotions via romantic images and music. There is a huge starry sky, a rural landscape where only the highway is illuminated, and a moody Nick Drake song. This ad captivates the limbic brain so strongly that the neocortex and reptilian brains don’t need activating.
Shifts/Trends
Technological shift: I saw this on youtube, where many other Volkswagen advertisements are accessible. Before youtube, video advertisements could only be seen on television, where the audience does not have a choice as to what appears on their screen.
Epistemological shift: This advertisement represents a shift from word to image. The ad uses images and music as its method of communication, rather than words.
Economic shift: Nick Drake’s music didn’t sell well during his lifetime. Decades later, Volkswagen included a song of his in one of their ads, positive that the ad would aid them in selling cars.
Facts
A Volkswagen provides you and your friends with meaningful experiences. Driving at nighttime in a VW is more meaningful than going to a big party. A moving VW is a great place to look at nighttime scenery. (Text at the end of the ad says – “The Cabrio/Drivers wanted”) The VW wants to be driven.
Principles
Individual meaning: This ad communicates a very powerful emotion in a vague way, so the viewer can feel like the ad is about his or her own unique memories.
Value messages: The ad portrays the value of friendship, and asserts the VW as the perfect place to spend time with friends.
Reality construction: Nostalgia distorts the way people think about their past. This ad persuasively constructs a reality where the viewer’s youth is just as good as they remember it.
Persuasive Techniques
Group Dynamics: The group of friends driving around in the VW eventually decides that their time is better spent together in a small group than with drunken strangers.
Nostalgia: The music, imagery, and plot of this ad are all nostalgic. Driving a VW feels like reliving moments the viewer nostalgic for.
Symbols: The VW logo is displayed in front of a starry sky at the end of the ad.
Big lie: Driving a Volkswagen is conducive to meaningful friendships and making memories.
Either/or: The viewer is persuaded that riding the Cabrio throughout the night is better than anything else they could be doing.
Seprite themes
-Social structures: the ad makes a divide between partygoers and the people in the car, and makes those in the car seem cooler.
-Ideology: people use the car as a means of performing freedom, as described throughout Republic of Drivers, which is especially important to people who don't have the amount of power they want. These are high school kids, who don't yet have the power of independence, who use the car to feel free.
-Technology: there is irony in how the kids in the car (a highly complex piece of technology) use it as a means of experiencing nature's visual beauty and stimulation (wind). Even if it's not experiencing nature, it's the same feelings people experience when deeply connected with a certain slice of nature.
-In Republic of Drivers, Seiler talks about the highway as a place to perform freedom. In the ad, the passengers opt out of going to a party, favoring the highway.
-In Carjacked, Lutz & Fernandez talk about how romantic notions of driving for some people stems from the image of a man driving a vehicle with a woman at his side. In the ad, a man is the driver, and numerous women are passengers.
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