As the holidays draw to a close, I would like to reflect once more on a commercial related to the passing season. I felt that this ad by Acura would be the perfect way to do that. The bit of media depicts a Christmas parade in the middle of a desert. The members of this parade are cheerful, shouting, "There are deals!" Cue the line of Acura cars racing by, promoting the company's "Season of Reason", in which apparently "attractive offers" are present for the new Acura MDX. As for the parade, this is explained by the voiceover, which remarks that, "The best deals don't beg for attention."
The reason this ad stood out to me was because of the whole isolation aspect in the beginning of the commercial. As is clearly obvious by the resulting voiceover, the parade in the middle of the desert is meant to represent the various car companies and dealerships, clamoring for attention. The stark, empty white desert background is therefore meant to show that these individuals, even with all their glitz and glamour and holiday spirit, end up having their pleas and persuasion fall on deaf ears. They are the "clutter" from The Persuaders, trying to get our attention with various advertisements and pictures of Santa Claus and reindeer, but inevitably having to compete with each other for just a moment's glance. It is only the ads with fresh, new material that we the audience pay attention to, and Acura understands this. The company even highlights how mundane and ineffective the other companies are by having the announcers within the parade pronounce their messages in a tone that is reminiscent of a cheesy voice in an old 1950s sitcom.
The next thing that got my attention were of course what the commercial wants us to focus on, the cars. Their appearance in the ad is sudden. Where once there was a calm, barren landscape is suddenly disturbed by their arrival. They are the fresh, new item, the one that stands out, as the voiceover says, "not begging for attention." Even the parade members are stunned, stopping their smiles and shouts to gaze in awe at the passing vehicles. The cars look sleek, all in a silver color that both helps them to blend with the background, as well as appeal to the need for prominence. And. with the stares of the crowd, the need for attention is addressed too.
Along with these needs, the ad uses the snob appeal and avante garde technique as well, seeing that these new cars, and therefore the young male audience that will potentially drive them, are implied to be in the elite, far superior to that of any other brand or company. Even the voiceover states at the end that, "Smarter vehicles deserve a smarter event," referring to the aforementioned "Season of Reason." However, in promoting this event in such a manner, the ad also invites a bit of hypocrisy in its message, as on one hand they ridicule their competition for their desperation for our attention, and on the other, they are asking for it themselves.
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