For my Advertising Theory and Practice class, I had to analyze the third quarter commercials for the Super Bowl. One ad that really stuck out to me as powerful was Audi's "Daughter" commercial as a part of their #DriveProgress campaign. When taking a closer look at the commercial after our class discussion about rhetorical analysis I realized that Audi was employing an associational cluster. By producing a commercial in which the message came from a father worried about how he would explain to his daughter gender inequality, Audi then associated their brand with being "progressive." The implicit suggestion then could be that by owning an Audi car you will be seen as forward thinking like the company. For someone who might not know much about cars, they could be swayed by the message that Audi presented during one of the biggest television events of the year.
The ad was met with some pushback from people, in my opinion most of the comments on the video were just flat out ridiculous, but at the end of the day Audi was being talked about and the ad was memorable so I think the company achieved its goal.
Natalia, that's a really great example. Until taking this class I wouldn't have thought about those profit motive tactics that are very successful on progressive ideals. An instance like this one would make me think better about the company and that is exactly what they are aiming for. While still a political stance on a controversial issue, the message is meant to go further than just the message itself. The message is meant to connect the company with like minded individuals so as to drive up consumer loyalty and profitability. Its a really smart tactic, but I don't think I would have thought as deeply about these motivating factors before this semester. Profit motives can drive even the most positive of messages, like gender equality in this instance.
ReplyDeleteNatalia,
ReplyDeleteWonderful post and great use of "associated clusters". You are on-point with this analysis. While products have employed "lifestyle" advertising for some time, I must say I was rather surprised at just how many companies connect that "lifestyle" with a strongly political stance. It's quite a financial risk when thinking about profit maximization especially given the dichotomous political climate we live in. Not to mention how divided people generally are about the wage gap.