FREE ESSAY ON CHEVY ADS

CHEVY ADS

More Than Four Wheels

In today's   fast paced   society, a   company's  reputation
is not  based   on  its   third  quarter   earnings  or  its
profit sharing,  but on  its advertisements.  When Budweiser
comes   up  in   conversation,   one   would     immediately
think   of    the Budweiser  frogs. When   the two   percent
milk runs out,  just  flip  through  a   magazine  to   find
five or  six of  today's celebrities  smiling   with a  milk
mustache.  When  a  company  has  thirty   seconds  or   one
magazine  page  to sell their  product, the  add has  to  be
sharp, concise,   and molded  to fit  the audience  of  that
specific  customer   base.    By  merely   looking  at   two
Chevrolet ads, one  could  easily tell  which customer  base
each ad is   targeted at; the Cavalier  for  the fun  loving
females and the Silverado for the macho men.

Page  seven  of  the  2001  Chevrolet Cavalier catalog shows
three girls,  whom all  have been  shopping, standing  by an
ultra silver  metallic two-door  Cavalier that  is parked on
the wrong side  of the street.  The three girls  have smiles
on their faces as they are loading their shopping bags  into
the trunk. The females just left the store called Deja Vu  a
Paris. The clothing  store has red  and pink flowers  on the
outside  ledge.  Just  down  the  street  from  the  upscale
clothing store is  a small bistro.  The top of  the ad shows
the  Cavalier  web  site.  Very  similar  to  the   Internet
Explorer  menu  bar,  the  Cavalier  web  site  has links to
everything from  the Z24  coupe to  the engineering features
on the 2001  Cavalier. Below the  menu bar and  to the right
there  is  an  online  conversation  between  Kate  123  and
Aaron.  Kate  tells  Aaron  that  her insurance company gave
her a  break on  the premium  because her  car has  antilock
brakes.  Aaron  responds  by  saying,  yeah, I got that too.
Kate finishes up by saying it (anti-lock brakes) cost  extra
on the Focus, Civic, and  Neon. Kate also mentions that  her
dad says  antilock brakes  can really  make a  difference in
steering  clear  of  trouble.  At  the left, a slogan reads,
"Choose style,  and substance,  forever fashionable."  Below
the  slogan  there  are  pictures  of  the  air conditioning
controls, a  shot of  the left  rear wheel,  a picture  of a
rear spoiler, and a picture  of a sunroof. The text  next to
the  air  conditioning  picture  mentions  how  "you'll stay
oh-so-cool"       with        this       never        extra,
always-standard-in-every-Cavalier feature. Next to the  left
rear wheel graphic, the ad explains that ABS will "stop  the
lock" on most  slippery surfaces and  throws in that  ABS is
an expensive option on other small cars. The optional  sport
package is  explained next  to the  picture of  the spoiler.
This  package  includes  a  "pumped  up"  rear  spoiler,   a
tachometer, and a premium  amplified audio system with  rear
woofer speakers. Next  to the sunroof  the ad reads,  "touch
the  sky,  day  or  night,"  with  this  electric   sunroof,
including a mirror mounted  backlight. In the center,  under
the menu bar,  the ad claims  Cavalier is the  lowest priced
car  in  America  with  standard  ABS, air conditioning, and
rear-window defogger. The ad  next mentions the safety  with
the steel body safety cage construction and Daytime  running
lamps.  Chevrolet  claims  they  are  committed  to   making
driving  safer.  The  ad  concludes by mentioning Cavalier's
good looks,  its 115  horsepower, 2.2-liter  engine, and the
option of  a four  speed automatic  or a  five speed  manual
transmission. 

Page eighteen of the 2000 Chevrolet Silverado catalog  shows
a Sunset Gold Metallic Silverado 2500 4x4 extended cab.  Two
men  wearing  hard  hats  are  pictured  in  the truck going
through desert mountains. The  vegetation is sparse, as  the
driving surface  is mostly  rock and  dirt. The  bed of  the
truck is  filled with  a toolbox,  generator, an  industrial
size pressure washer, and  an orange Gott water  cooler. The
items are tied down using latching straps, which are  looped
through the tie-down brackets. The headline of the ad  reads
"BIG  JOB.  BIG  TRUCK.  BIG  2500.".  The  text  then says,
"You've got a  serious job to  do." The Chevrolet  ad claims
that the  Silverado 2500  is the  truck to  help you  get it
done. The 2500  Regular Cab 4x4  has a Gross  Vehicle Weight
Rating of  8600 pounds  and a  base payload  rating of up to
3334 pounds.  Chevrolet dares  you to  never back  away from
your most demanding work. The ad reads, "like all  Silverado
models, the 2500  4x4 is one  powerful machine." The  Vortec
6000 V8 SFI  generates an impressive  355 lb.-ft. of  torque
at 4800  RPM-and a  heavy duty  five speed  manual overdrive
transmission  is  standard.  Chevrolet  claims with features
like  a  three-piece  modular  frame  and  integrated  stake
pockets in  the bed  help make  this truck  both strong  and
versatile.  The  ad  concludes  with  "Chevy Silverado 2500.
It's one big machine." 

When many women  are asked what  their favorite pastime  is,
most  women  would  respond  with  the  simple  response  of
shopping. Women love  to shop, and  when women see  shopping
bags, they get excited. So when Chevrolet designed this  ad,
it was no  accident that they  mentioned shopping and  their
other  favorite  pastime,  saving  money. By explaining that
the  Cavalier  is  the  lowest  priced  car  in America with
standard ABS,  air conditioning,  and rear-window  defogger,
and that the insurance premium is decreased with ABS,  women
think  they  will  be  saving  money.  And when anyone saves
money somewhere, they can spend more at another place.  This
is where the  clothing store plays  a part. Since  the three
women were  all shopping,  and one  of them  had a Cavalier,
Chevrolet is saying that you can have a new car and shop  at
the  same  time.  The  slogan  "Choose style, substance, and
forever fashionable" appeals  to many women.  With magazines
such  as  Vogue  and  Elle,  fashion  has  never  been  more
prevalent and  desired than  in today's  society. The  light
colors on the shopping  bags and the flowers  attract women,
as  pink  and  yellow  grabs  the  attention of the customer
base. The  menu bar  also holds  true to  the color  scheme,
with many purples,  greens, and oranges  present on the  top
of  the  page.  The  standard  air conditioning is mentioned
because  not  many  women  roll  down the windows after they
have done their hair.  Most women think that  watching stars
is one  of the  most romantic  things to  do, and  Chevrolet
took  this  into  account  when  they mentioned the optional
factory-installed sunroof, where the sky can be touched  day
or night.  Gross vehicle  weight and  foot pounds  of torque
usually  do  not  apply  to  anyone  that  doesn't tow heavy
equipment. So the only  engine specifications placed at  the
end of  the article  are the  skimpy 115  horsepower and the
measly 2.2-liter engine. Women want to look fashionable  and
save  money   with  a   car,  and   Chevrolet  did   a  very
professional job attracting this customer base. 

Men  love  big  powerful  machines,  and Chevrolet took this
into  account  when  designing   this  ad.  The   generator,
pressure washer, water cooler,  and tool box remind  the men
of how many odd  jobs they can and  need to do, and  why not
do those  jobs in  a big  truck. The  headline "BIG JOB. BIG
TRUCK. BIG 2500." just invites  the macho men to tackle  any
job. Most men have  no earthly idea of  what a GVWR of  8600
pounds, a  base payload  of 3334  pounds, or  what 355  foot
pounds of torque feel like, but they love to hear the  macho
words. Even though half of the customer base for this  truck
will never use  all that power,  they can puff  their chests
out further since  they have such  a big truck.  The scenery
simply  adds  to  the  tone  of  the advertisement. Men love
nothing better than  washing their truck  clean to just  get
it filthy by driving through dirt and mud, and the  openness
of the desert  gives the customer  base the idea  that their
options  are  unlimited  with  such  a  truck.  The language
throughout  the  rest  of  the  ad  remains tough and manly.
Phrases  like  a  three-piece  modular  frame and integrated
stake pockets just get the males testosterone flowing.  This
ad gets  the men  fired up  about how  big a  truck they can
have, and how  many jobs they  believe they could  do with a
powerful machine. To the disappointment of many, these  jobs
remain a mere fantasy  after the gargantuan truck's  newness
wears off.  Chevrolet gets  the testosterone  flowing in the
customer base  with macho  words and  impressive statistics,
and conveys  their message  about their  powerful truck very
effectively. 

By merely  looking at  the Cavalier  and Silverado  ads, one
could tell which  ad is directed  towards females and  which
one  is  aimed  at  the  males.  Even  though the subliminal
messages in  advertisements are  not always  picked out, the
customer base  still swallows  them hook,  line, and sinker.
The clothing store and  the desert provide a  great backdrop
for  the  article,  but  the  subliminal  messages  from the
backdrops play an even  greater role. In today's  fast paced
society, companies only have thirty seconds or one  magazine
page  to  grab  one's  attention,  but the effect this short
span of time has on an individual is monumental.