Blog #3: More Than Just Marketing

The Super Bowl is one of the most watched sporting events on television each year. People who don’t even understand the concept of football are drawn to various Super Bowl parties for the social interactions, the food, that half-time show, and to analyze the countless commercials. 

The minds behind the commercials always use different tactics to draw the audience in and make them interested in whatever they’re selling or promoting. There’s always a mix of tearjerkers and sex appeal, but this year there was a large influence of American Pride.  This theme of American Pride was shown in a Chrysler commercial featuring Bob Dylan. It talks about the emphasis Americans have always placed on buying products that they know to be “Made in America”, and how Chrysler also values this characteristic in a product. The American pride theme was also evident in commercials for Coca Cola (with “America The Beautiful” being sung in the various languages present in the US population) and Budweiser (which told the story of a soldier’s homecoming and said that every soldier deserves a “Hero’s Welcome”).

By far, Chevrolet made my favorite commercial. It was entitled “Life”, and was not intended to promote any of their trucks. The commercial opens with a scene of a Western plain at dawn. Everything is peaceful with soft, slow music playing in the background. The camera then pans to a road with a truck winding its way through the plains. In the passenger seat of the truck is a somber looking woman who is leaning against the window watching the scenery pass by. The woman looks tired and worn out. She has short, choppy hair, and you get the impression that she is ill. Her husband looks focused on the road ahead of him while driving. While the sun is rising over the hills, the car continues to travel down the road. As the woman watches the sun rising, she slowly smiles, her eyes glistening with tears. She reaches over to rub her husbands arm and, as their hands meet, a smile spreads across his face. They aren’t even looking at each other, but you can feel the love between them. As the truck drives off into the distance, the words “This Tuesday is World Cancer Day” flash across the screen, followed by “Join Chevy and the American Cancer Society in celebrating survivors and those who support them on the road to recovery”.

To me, this was a very selfless commercial by Chevy. Instead of promoting their latest truck and bragging about all that it is capable of, Chevy made an ad that brings awareness to one of the most serious illnesses facing the world. Informing people that Tuesday is World Cancer Day, Chevy is shedding light on the fact there are people who have defeated Cancer and who deserve to celebrate their achievement. At the very end of the commercial, Chevrolet’s symbol and slogan flash across the screen as a way to sell their brand. But by creating an ad that promotes a Cancer awareness day, it portrays Chevy as a company that cares about more than just their bottom line. Watch the Commercial Here