Chevy Ads Essay, Research Paper

Jimmy Van Epps Van Epps 1

English 101 8:00

Sevier

15 September 2000

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

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Kate 123 and Aaron_ma. 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

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Metallic Silverado 2500 4×4 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 4×4 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 4×4 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

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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

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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.