Maserati Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement
Cars have been a very important part of society for decades. In modern America there are about 834 cars per 1000 people and the industry is worth about 1.7 trillion. This means that nearly everyone will have a car, and some will have multiple. While practicality is a major factor in this statistic another large factor is the way cars are advertised. Cars are marketed using everything from magazine advertisements to television commercials. While selling cars is the goal, these ads/commercials also sell the buyer some sort of fantasy. Advertisers target specific demographics of people and offer them their fantasy through the purchase of their product. This ploy is a large factor in the trillion-dollar car

industry.
Toyota is one of the largest players in car sales. Toyota is known amongst most Americans to be a safe, adventure friendly, and practical car brand. This reputation is leveraged to cater toward the target demographic of either middle class families or middle-class workers. Toyota sold around ten million vehicles worldwide from March 2016 to March 2017 because of this reputation. Their advertisements also work to ingrain this idea into the potential buyers’ minds. For example a 2016 super bowl ad they ran. In this ad 4 men rob a bank and come out to find their getaway vehicle getting towed. They then go ahead to find and steal a new 2017 Prius. A police chase then proceeds where the Prius manages to escape the police, once by driving backwards while the driver uses the backup camera to fake out police. The chase then becomes a national spectacle where people across the us begin to fall in love with not only the Prius but the drivers also. There is a scene where on a talk show a female is asked which one of the four men she find the most attractive and she says the driver. While on the chase police run out of gas, but the Prius just keeps going. The next scene is at dusk and the driver falls asleep nearly crashing into nearby police vehicles, but the pre-collision system prevents him from crashing and alerts him. They then continue to drive right past the sleeping police. A few subtle things in this ad work to sell potential buyers many fantasies. They sell the buyers adventure via the police chase. Toyota sells a sense of safety by showing the backup camera and pre-collision system. Toyota sells a sense of love and support with the scene with the woman in the talk show. Toyota also sells the practicality of this vehicle by showing how long it can go without refueling and how spacious it is. These senses all form a fantasy that many middle-class families or workers want. They wish for adventure, safety, love, and practicality. This and many other ads are why Toyota is the most bought vehicle worldwide.
Jeep is also a very respected and large car company. They work to sell a very different fantasy to their potential buyers. Jeep is known as a Rugged, powerful, and adventure friendly car brand. Their target demographic is low to middle class hyper-masculine men. Jeep was able to sell around 200,000 jeep wranglers in the year of 2017. One of their ads they ran in November 2017 starts out by showing the jeep driving though different types or terrain. It shows the jeep driving through the desert, through mud, through the snow, over rocks and through shallow water. Then a green movie trailer screen usually with ratings reads “The following preview has been approved for all audiences by the jeep brand. This adventure has been rated JL. Intense Off-Roading and Mind-Blowing Excitement. This material suitable for adventurous people only”. A deep voiced man proceeds to say, “in a world where the road ahead changes, we embrace every challenge, and bask in the thrills”. The screen continues to show the jeep in all the different terrains. It also shows some glimpses of the inside of the car. It shows the satellite gps, smooth wheel, and the stick shift. He then says, “the path has evolved but freedom drives us forward because legends are forever”. This ad sells the fantasy of ruggedness by showing the car drive through all the difficult types of terrain. It shows Power by showing its drive through mud and over steep hills. Its shows the adventure friendly side throughout the entire commercial. The green rating screen was also import as it challenges the audience because it says only for the adventurous. This then is like forbidden fruit if the audience doesn’t believe they are that adventurous. It will push them to be more adventurous, starting with buying the jeep.
Lincoln is also a high scale car brand. Lincoln is known for its classiness but uses ads to sell the potential buyers not only that, but also wisdom, adventure, and manliness. Their target demographic is upper-class men. They sold around 112,000 units in 2016. An ad the rolled out in October 2014 starred Mathew McConaughey. It starts with him driving at night in a Lincoln with a deep and contemplative look on his face. He then proceeds to say” sometimes you gotta go back to actually move forward, and I don’t mean go back to reminisce or chase ghost, I mean going back to see where you came from, where you’ve been and how you got here, see where you’re going. I know there are those that say you can’t go back. Yes, you can. Just have to look in the right place”. Meanwhile he is still driving through the city. In the next part of the ad he is in the middle on nowhere where a bull is blocking the road. The monologue goes “that’s a big bull. I think that’s Osiris. 1800 pounds of do whatever the heck I want. I can respect that. Take the long way huh. Thank you, Osiris”. He then proceeds to drive through a beautiful desert landscape. The first ad sells the fantasy of classiness and wisdom. The second add sells the fantasy of adventure and manliness. The wisdom is portrayed by Mathew McConaughey’s deep and reflective monologue. The adventure is sold by him leaving the city and going to the middle of nowhere. The manliness is portrayed by him confronting the huge bull and respecting its size and power. All together they sell a fantasy the is geared towards the upper-class men promising them attribute they may not have.
Maserati is an expensive and exotic car brand.

They are known for speed, power, adventure, and freedom. Their target demographic, simply put, is uber-rich men. Maserati sold around 14000 units in the year of 2017. An ad ran in June 2017 starts with a view of a beautiful Italian city. It then cuts between a Maserati, a woman, a fire breather, and gravel flying in the air. Then it shows two different Maserati’s driving neck and neck and cuts to two black stallions running. One Maserati is blue the other is red. In the red one there is a man and presumably his significant other. I the blue there are three females. It ten cuts to a map where someone proceeds to mark from Modena, through Tuscany, to Elba island. The cars are then seen driving extremely fast through many beautiful landscapes and cuts showing the man and woman enjoying themselves in a meadow and swimming. It also shows the woman rubbing sensually on the cars leather. Then it shows the three females and emphasizes that there is one open. The cars then meet on a winding road above the sea and the red one speeds off. Ten its cuts between the red Maserati and an old Maserati, and the new one drives right past it. This signifies out with the old in with the new. This car sells the fantasy of power, adventure and freedom. It shows power with the loud sounds of the engine. It shows adventure with the trip from Modena to Elba island. Most importantly it sells freedom by showing the car drive excessively fast and through the country. Not only does it sell freedom from society but freedom from the laws. The cars were flying at speeds obviously above the speed limit. The open seat finishes it off showing the audience tat they could be one of those people. That there is a sea just waiting for

them.
A trend seems to form when these ads are compared. A common theme to all these ads is the promise of adventure. What does this say about today’s society? Does this mean that in todays society most people are bored and looking for adventure, or does this mean something deeper? Notice that even at the drastically different target demographics they still crave adventure, rich or poor. Today most people have very repetitive lifestyles. They go to work 9-5, eat out, go home, relax and then go to sleep. They will repeat this cycle for most of the entirety of their life as the normal retirement age is 65. Whether they are rich or poor they will live repetitive or boring lives. This lifestyle is what makes people crave adventure. Something to stimulate them that’s out of the normal. Something to help them get in touch with their inner self. These car ads sell the consumers this fantasy. All the consumers need to do is buy the car and adventure will come.
Berger talks about ads promising transformation through purchase and ads providing solutions to dissatisfactions people have. These two truths can be seen clearly in the structure of the 5 ads looked at. They all sell the target demographic a cure for their boredom or transformation into a different kind of person. The person they really want to be.