Eric Oswald
Mr. Brett Strickland
English 111
1 October 2010
Dodge Challenger Commercial Analysis
With more people buying imported cars, the American automakers had to step up and convince people that domestic cars have something to offer. This Dodge Challenger commercial attempts just that. It tries to restore the respect the All-American cars once had. The Dodge Challenger represents a modern take on the muscle car. This car symbolizes power, as well as engineering and manufacturing excellence. This T.V. advertisement makes its audience realize the pride and effort it took to make these machines.
The ad begins with the images of a British Revolutionary War soldier. He is running through the woods in a panicked state. He looks back as he’s running as if something is chasing him. There is a quiet sound of violin music in the background. Eventually he makes it back to what looks like a battlefield where the rest of his regiment is standing in formation, looking like they are ready to defend themselves from an impending attack. He begins to speak with his officer about what he had seen. The viewer cannot hear what is being said, but they can imagine what is happening. The British soldiers remain in formation, and raise their rifles and take aim at what they know is coming. Then all of a sudden, you hear the roaring of a HEMI engine. The faces of the Redcoat soldiers are that of undeniable fear. The sleek, shiny, black Challengers come speeding out of the woods and onto the battlefield. Dirt is being thrown from the tires, and clouds of dust surround the backs of the cars. An American flag is being flown from the window of one of the Challengers. The British soldiers begin to break formation, and run for safety. Just then, you see an in-car shot of George Washington behind the wheel. Some of the Redcoats are bucked off their horses as the horses become frightened from the sound of the cars. The ad then cuts to a scene of George Washington standing proudly next to the new 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT-8. An announcer then says “Here’s a couple things America got right: Cars…and freedom.” The ad ends with the background of the black and red striped Dodge flag, and simply the words “Dodge Challenger.”
Any T.V. commercial is usually trying to sell the audience something, whether it’s a product, or just an idea. This ad in particular tries both. Dodge wants people to drool over the new HEMI Challengers, and hopefully, some people will go to their local dealership and buy one. But this commercial goes a bit deeper. Not only are they trying to sell cars, but they also want to sell people their idea of “buying American.” They believe that their cars are far superior to imports. This commercial has some symbolism to support this. The Revolutionary War motif is a play on the auto market. The Yankee soldiers represent the domestic car manufacturers. The British Redcoats are a symbol of foreign cars. The commercial shows how the competition should fear their new American-made beast of a car.
This ad is aimed towards the older American motor-head crowd. Dodge is focusing on the people who remember the muscle car days, and long for a chance to own a muscle car once again. The new Challenger is a “modern-retro” car. The new Challengers are made to look like a modern interpretation of the classic muscle car from the early 1970’s. The Challengers in the ad are top of the line SRT-8 models that feature Dodge’s 6.1 Liter HEMI motor. This engine duplicate’s the original 426 cubic inch Hemi. Both have the same 425 horsepower. These cars try to appeal to the Baby-Boomers who are looking for their mid-life crisis. The muscle car image of the ad tries to evoke the memories of the audience of the muscle car era of the 1960’s and Early 70’s.
The quote near the end of the commercial has the only spoken words in the length of the advertisement. The rest of the ad quietly plays soft violin music that reminds you of the Revolutionary war era. The commercial wanted to accentuate the sounds of the cars engines in the background. The roaring sounds of the HEMI engines are being used to show the power of the Challengers, and to strike fear into their competition. The ad wants to aim towards the consumers who care about the performance of a car, and not necessarily the gas mileage that would appeal to the smaller import car buyers. The ad focuses on the power of the car, and fails to mention the thirteen miles to the gallon fuel economy.
The quote itself says, “Here’s a couple things America got right: Cars…. and freedom.” This tries to finally tie in the themes of patriotism and the ideas of buying American products such as the Dodge Challenger. It attempts to make the audience feel that the American cars are special and connect it with the pride the audience has toward their country. Dodge was trying to play on the people’s feeling of pride in American automobiles. The people in the muscle car era grew up driving domestic cars, and Dodge is hoping that with this commercial, people will not want to change from driving their American car. They also want to appeal to the people who have been driving foreign cars, but feel that their performance is lacking. Dodge is hoping to sell the Challenger to the widest array of people in America possible.
At the very end of the commercial, a black flag with two red stripes is shown in the background, along with the words “Dodge Challenger.” This simple ending seems to show how they feel nothing more needs said. They don’t give any specs about the car, don’t show a price for their product, and don’t say where you can buy it. They expect the audience to already know. As the audience, they want you to be left with a feeling of incompleteness, and make you want to go out on your own to find out more about their car, and hopefully walk into a Dodge dealership.
The timing of this commercial was also very thought out. It premiered during the world cup soccer match between the U.S. and the U.K. It was used to try and appeal to the American crowd who would be watching the game. In this way, it tries to establish a sense of patriotism beyond the obvious theme of the Revolutionary war. The ad wants to bring pride back into American car companies. They use images of one of the most recognizable people in American history, George Washington. The commercial says nothing about exactly who is driving the car, but the audience can instantly know who he is. He acts as the “celebrity testimony” in this ad by the images of him standing and looking proud next to the American cars. By him looking proud of the car, Dodge is trying to sell people on the idea that this kind of car is what George Washington would have wanted people driving. He would have been proud of the American ingenuity and design of this American car.
This T.V. advertisement is a good example of how rhetoric is used to persuade the audience in multiple ways. The Dodge commercial is trying to sell the Challenger cars, but also tries to sell its audience on the idea of “buying American.” The commercial doesn’t show this directly, but through analyzing it, a message can be interpreted. The focus of the commercial is on the raw power provided by the car, and the sense of patriotism throughout the ad. It is a strong instance of the way the Dodge wants its company to be looked upon, showing their strong performance and the respect given to fellow car enthusiasts.
Sources
Link to the Advertisement video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezk0e1VL80o
"Dodge - 2010 - Challenger - Muscle Car, Performance Car, Sedan." Official Dodge Site. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.dodge.com/en/2010/challenger/>.
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