Marketing
is something that is necessary within any business. The consumers must be aware
of the product and how it may satisfy their wants or needs. Within Engineering
there are all sorts of ways to appeal to the consumer. A company can put
emphasis on their brand or logo to make it known, they can show their work
force and the ideas behind their company, or they can prove to the audience how
advanced their technology is. The Volvo commercial uses the strategy of showing
off their advanced technology with a man who is clearly full of mystery to
demonstrate how great of a product they can supply. As I watched this
commercial I was full of preconceived ideas about this man in the commercial
and the company of Volvo itself.
The
commercial starts off by staring at the featured face of an older man who looks
to be around his fifties. I observed a face aged by a life full of experience
and wisdom, yet I got a sense that the man has faced tough times throughout his
days, giving him a strong confidence in his abilities. Why did I think this? I
saw wrinkles on his face. His jawline was well defined, and the man’s hair was
a brown color that seemed as if it was in the process of turning gray. His eyes
are closed as if he is meditating deeply on a specific thought or many
thoughts. This left me questioning. Why are his eyes closed? Is he relaxed and
calm or is he trying to avoid seeing something? What is going through his head?
A narrator started speaking with a masculine voice that contained a slight
accent in it, while a soft melody played in the background. I assumed the
accent was German or Australian or something non-American from the way that the
narrator didn’t form his words completely and they seemed to drag on slightly
longer than a regular American accent. I assumed the narrator’s voice was this
of the man. The voice had a certain booming power that seemed to match the vibe
the man gave off.
Just
then the man’s eyes open up and the camera pans out slowly. I saw he was most
definitely relaxed. He was standing still but I couldn’t tell what he was
standing on. I felt like he was a freaking ninja or something the way the man
remained so calm. He also had his arms crossed as if he was making a bold
statement that he was a bad ass and that you don’t want to mess with him or you
will seriously regret it. The gloves he wore were the kind you might see on a
street fighter and this only supported my idea even more. The camera zoomed out
further and further. I could tell he was in the air standing on the mirrors of
two different semis. I listened to the words the narrator said “I have had my
ups and downs, my fair share of bumpy roads and heavy winds. That’s what made
me what I am today.” I was shocked. Now my assumption of the man thinking he
was a bad ass became a fact.
I
noticed that not only was the man standing in between two semis, but that those
semis were going backwards! It took a bit to notice, but the lines on the road
were a clear indication of the direction. The simple fact that the semis were
going backwards with a man balancing in between them was a clear indication of
how good these semi drivers must be. No ordinary semi driver could back a big
rig up with a trailer on it this well. Then the semis started to inch further
away from each other until the man in the middle was doing the splits. I
thought this guy has got to be in his fifties and he is doing the freakin
splits. He has to stretch every day for at least an hour because I am pretty
flexible myself and there is no way in heck I could do the splits. I mean this
guy is the definition of dedication. I thought he must have been in the
military or something with this kind of discipline. He was crazy. Now not to
mention these semi drivers, they had to be professionals or there was a
computer controlling the vehicles because their driving was spot on. I could
see the shadows of the drivers so I knew that real people were in control of
the vehicles.
Since
this was a Volvo commercial, I assumed they were trying to get the message
across that their system is the smoothest of any tractor trailer available and
their steering is easy and precise. Obviously, these thoughts came to my head
from the fact that a man was doing the splits between two semis that were going
down an open airport runway backwards. This engineering was quite advanced.
They must have an advanced dynamic steering system in order to perform such a
stunt. As the commercial approached its end, the melody in the background took
over. The camera was fully zoomed out, and you could see that these semis were
still backing up while the man did the splits between them. In the background
there was a sunset and I couldn’t help but think to myself that the creators of
this commercial had set this up perfectly for the viewer to continue pondering
on their fascinating product. It felt like the end of a long war movie where
the main character dies and you can’t help but feel like you will be stuck mourning
over this fictional characters loss forever.
This
Volvo commercial certainly uses the ethos side of rhetoric to create an
association between the badass man and their company. They drew in my attention
by making me feel a sense of awe about whom the man was and what he was doing. I
then saw that the semis in the commercial were Volvo semis and automatically my
mind linked this logo with the emotional idea of amazement that came about from
the man doing splits between two semis going backwards. I am sure this may also
relate to the logos idea in rhetoric because logically the Volvo semis in the
commercial must be designed to perfection in order to completely such a task. Their
steering systems had to be very sensitive as well as the overall design of the
semi because the way it moved with ease backwards is not something a regular
semi could do.
This commercial caused me to think about so many more details than those
that were visually present about the man and the Volvo semis. I automatically
started making assumption about the man in the commercial, and the feelings of wonder
brought about many thoughts regarding who he was and what he was doing. I tried
to answer these questions using my rhetorical analysis, and this caused me to connect
with the commercial. I believe this form of advertising used by Volvo is genius
due to the fact that the emotions I had about the man being a wise and strong individual
carried over into my opinion about Volvo. I associated the two together, and
even though I don’t know a whole lot about Volvo I think they must be pretty
good at their engineering, or at least pretty good at engineering their
steering dynamics and control. As a consumer I definitely have a positive opinion
about this company and their designs, as well as how they market their
products. Citation:
"Volvo Trucks - The Epic Split Feat. Van Damme (Live Test 6)." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
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