A Rhetorical Analysis Of Ford's Son Coming Home Commercial

Rhetorical Analysis of Ford's "Son Coming Home" Commercial
Ford's "Son Coming Home" commercial depicts a marine returning home from war. As he arrives at the airport to a little boy's salute (0:00-0:21), his family arrives to pick him up without the marine's father. The commercial follows them on their ride home in the mother's Ford sedan through the small hometown city with yellow ribbons tied to poles, onto the tree lined streets of a traditional American neighborhood and arriving at a home to the American Flag on porches (1:05-1:21). Family and friends are there to welcome him when he arrives, except his father. The first thing the marine does is take a shower and then goes to join his guests. After a short, but encouraging conversation

with his brother and sister-in-law, he reminisces about the past heroes in his family that have returned home before him. He joins his mother in the kitchen when his father ultimately pulls into the driveway in his 1969 Mustang Cobra. He meets his father outside in the driveway. The conversation starts slow and awkward with simple nonchalant exchanges. The conversation turns to the Cobra, and the awkwardness turns to understanding about coming home from the war. Just like watching a new developing relationship, you can see the respect build between the father and the son. When the garage opens to show the son's 2005 Mustang they had purchased for him, albeit unspoken, you can see the love and respect that the father has for his son (4:01-4:08).
Ford effectively convinces car buyers to buy their vehicles by using the Ford brand recognition in conjunction with a Marine and his family. Taking the audience on an emotional roller-coaster from being proud to be American, happiness that the marine made it home safe, sadness for the father, the nostalgia of the old days, the understanding that grew between the father and the son, and the love and gratitude with the present of the new Mustang felt at the end. Ford wants to reach out to any current and prospective car buyer that has the desire to have the same patriotic pride shown in the commercial. Ford, with the exception of the vehicles, simply used their logo at the end to equate this strength, loyalty, and pride to their brand.
Ethos
Ford uses the placement of the three different vehicles to show this families loyalty to the Ford brand. First, the mother's four door sedan: a stereotypical mom's vehicle. As Phil Patton says in his New York Times article (2004) "The perk here is size. [']Space is the ultimate luxury,['] said George Bucher, the Five Hundred's designer.", making the Five Hundred appeal to the family that spends a lot of time traveling in the car. Second, the 1969 Mustang Cobra: a stereotypical man's muscle car. According to Shnack.com only 867 produced and came with "A 375-horsepower "Semi-Hemi" big block with NASCAR intentions…" Ford also shows the 2005 Mustang: the more modern, younger man's hot rod that was getting ready to appear on showroom floors. This shows their credibility on many levels of the car buyer's scale, proving there is a vehicle for everyone.
Ford also displays their credibility by showing safety and reliance. The mother lets the younger son drive them home from the airport in her Ford Five Hundred (0:38-0:41). Most mothers, very concerned about the safety of their new drivers, look for a vehicle that can provide that safety and reliability that will keep their children safe. Ford uses the mother's willingness to hand the keys to her son as a sign faith in their vehicles.
Ford continues to prove their credibility with the father stating "Heck, everyone in my squad came back from the war looking to get one of these things" (2:58-3:02). They portray that owning a Mustang pony car has been a dream of a solider for many generations and has not lost its appeal through the years. Ford is using the respect Americans have for the military to make buyers respect Ford vehicles as well.
Ford effectively uses the ethos of loyalty by one family owning three different Ford vehicles, the ethos of strength and reliability when the mother trusts her younger son to drive her car, and pride and respect by using the father's dream of coming home and buying a Mustang enticing car buyers to buy their brand based on these qualities.
Pathos
The commercial starts the viewer off with feelings of patriotism and respect, from the marine starting his journey through the airport, to the little boy saluting him as he walked by (0:00-0:21).

The little boy represents what most Americans feel when they see soldiers returning from their deployment, and watching that young man showing a huge amount of respect tugs at your heartstrings. They patriotic feeling continues with the "come home safe" yellow ribbons tied around town (1:05-1:08), the flags hung from the porches as they pull up to the house (1:15-1:21), and the pictures hanging on the wall that grab the marine's attention (1:43-1:45). These are things that most Americans pass every day without thinking twice about, but to those returning from war, they mean everything. The commercial ends with the simple words "We at Ford wish everyone in the Armed Forces a safe return home. For your service, you have our gratitude." (4:39-4:45). This is how most Americans feel when our troops are getting deployed. Ford relays the message for all of us who respect and appreciate our troops. These images inspire a sense of respect and gratitude for protecting us. Just as that marine protected us and fought for his country, Ford may want to carry this message to their vehicles saying they protect us, and they too, will fight for the American

dream.
Ford finds ways to use happiness and humor throughout the commercial to keep the viewers watching and anticipating what will happen next. The mother and brother arriving at the airport with such joy and anticipation of seeing their loved one is an overwhelming happiness to feel (0:26-0:36). The little brother coming down the stairs interrupting the marines stare with the phrase "What's up Buzz" is perfectly placed humor to make the viewer chuckle (1:47-1:52). When the marine tells his father about using the car for his first date without him knowing was hysterical (3:25-3:48). Most viewers can probably relate to telling on themselves when they got older and knew they could not get in trouble any longer. When the garage door opened and the marine got the first glimpse of his new Mustang, the shock and happiness radiated off the screen. (4:01-4:08). Ford found a way to insert happiness and humor into the commercial at appropriate times to lighten the mood just as the viewer would be getting a sad feeling. Ford uses happiness and humor in hopes that a car buyer will go out and out and purchase any Ford vehicle of their choice.
There are times during the commercial that the sadness, but understanding is heartbreaking and heartwarming simultaneously.

The brother and sister-in-law introduce him to his nephew for the first time in a touching moment when you realize how much a deployed marine misses while overseas. His sister-in-law just simply tells him they are proud of him (1:27-1:42). When the father tells his son that when he was overseas thinking about coming home to buy a Mustang occupied his mind, the look on his son's face spoke a thousand words of understanding. The viewers now have a sense of understanding as to why the father was not at the airport or at home waiting when he got there (3:03-3:07). The father says "I know how it can be, coming home, that’s…" and the son replying "Yep" is the most heart wrenching moment in the commercial (3:10-3:18). While the son had people happy to see him return, the father probably did not get that kind of reception coming home. When the son cannot find the words to say thank you, the father says he is just glad he is home, it is a very sentimental moment (4:24-4:33). Through the entire commercial, it is unclear how the father really feels, but this scene puts all those questions to rest. These parts of the commercial made the family seem relatable to most Americans. They could be our own family or friends. Just as these moments are relatable, Ford hopes that you would also find their vehicles relatable to your family.
Ford uses pathos to show pride and

loyalty with the use of the little boy, the yellow ribbons, the American flags, the old military pictures, and their final wishes at the end of the commercial to prove their pride. They use pathos to show strength with a veteran that has a hard time with emotion to equate such a strength to owning a Ford. All come together to form a untouchable combination that would make car buyers want to support a company like Ford.
Logos
The use of a 1969 Mustang is a great symbol sowing that the car was perfect inside and out and has withstood the test of time making the Ford brand a logical choice for any car buyer. Even after thirty-five years, it still looks and runs like the day it was new. It is clearly treasured and well taken care of by the father. Ford knows that consumers like to purchase vehicles that will last and hold up to the time test and they found the perfect way to show it.
In one commercial they found a way to appeal to all different consumers. Whether you are a mother, a younger person just learning how to drive, an older veteran who prefers classics, a young man fresh off deployment, and everyone in between they have a vehicle that will fit any lifestyle or dream. Despite when the vehicle is acquired, it will still be your dream for many years to come. The only logical answer would be for car buyers to buy a Ford when all this strength comes to together in one company and the pride that the owners of their vehicles show.
As mentioned in the ethos section, the mother letting her younger son use this vehicle to learn to drive applies to the logo description as well. If a mother is willing to let her newly licensed son drive a Ford, everyone should feel safe driving a Ford.
Kairos
The timing of this commercial is perfect. It came out in 2004 when some troops were coming home, nevertheless many were still getting deployed. The American pride and patriotism was still high from the attacks on the World Trade Center. Many families were hoping for their loved one's safe return. Ford is also sharing in their wishes of a safe return, making them a part of that family standing at the airport waiting on their plane as well. Playing into the timing aspect of the commercial, it also hits home with many of the Vietnam troops that were never welcomed home with respect and all the publicity of the Iraq war veterans coming home had to be tough for them to watch. Ford acknowledged this in a very respectful and sincere way with the father. That acknowledgment was long overdue and probably won a lot of hearts. Ford uses this commercial to convey to car buyers that despite what is going on in the world, there is always a reason to buy a Ford.
Conclusion
Ford uses ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos to convince car buyers that they should buy their brand because they have the same strength, loyalty, and pride as the American people. The use of the three different vehicles, the mother letting the younger son drive and the dream of the father show the loyalty and strength of the brand. Ford uses the little boy saluting, yellow ribbons, American flags, and simple words to prove their pride in America. Using the older Mustang, the appeal to different types of consumers, and the different uses for a Ford makes it the only choice for any car buyer that take pride in their vehicles. Being released at a time when emotions of war are running high, its timing reminds those who have a family member or friend deployed that they have a "loyal friend" in hopes that you turn to your "friend" when you are in need of a loyal vehicle.