As I walk towards the sale barn, I look around me and see rugged, dirty trucks and trailers. I smile, as I notice a majority of them are one brand: Chevrolet. As I notice this, I feel a sense of pride. This is my favorite brand of pickup, and apparently, many other individual’s as well. All the things that represent Chevy are being put to use, right here in front of me.
As a working, blue-collar individual, the qualities and attributes I look for in a pickup are simple: power to get things done, reliability that I know this truck will perform to my expectations, and
style so I can show it off on a Saturday night. Since I was a boy, that pickup has been Chevrolet. I have the confidence that the engine will supply enough power for me to tackle any job I throw at it, and also the quality that I will use it over and over again, knowing it will last me a long time.To me, the classic ‘bowtie’ symbol represents quality. With the experience I have, I know that Chevrolet has a long history of quality. Through three generations of blue-collar type families, I know that my Chevy truck will be there a long time for me to use. Ever since I was a child, nothing was more American than a Chevy pickup.
In this commercial promoting Chevrolet trucks, all three styles of rhetorical appeals are being used. The main points of this commercial is to use the credibility of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in order to persuade the consumer that Chevrolet trucks are the best made, most dependable line of trucks on the road today. The commercial is based as an interview with Dale Jr., starting with him giving the audience his background and experiences with the Chevrolet brand company. Earnhardt explains no other brand of truck was more enjoyable to work on than Chevy.
As the commercial begins, the rhetorical strategy “ethos” is used as Earnhardt, Jr. explains to the audience about his past experiences with working on Chevrolet as a mechanic. Now as a professional racecar driver, as most people know him, the audience is to rely on his ‘professionalism’ and know-how in order to gain a sense of trust in his judgment on his brand of cars. Earnhardt, Jr. emphasizes that he enjoys working on this particular brand, so as a result, one without experience would think to themselves, “well, if Dale, Jr. likes workin’ on this brand, then I probably will, too.” This thinking goes hand-in-hand with the trust factor on Earnhardt’s credibility.
Now as the commercial goes on, the audience can observe an obvious change of pace not only in the voice of Earnhardt, Jr., but in the strategy of the commercial itself. It begins to turn to the rhetorical strategy “logos.” Earnhardt, Jr. begins to give information about the line of Chevy trucks that makes them ‘better’ than the competition, such as a ‘fully boxed frame in order to give a much smoother ride’ and ‘a trailer hitch that tows twice as much as the competition’ in order to achieve more goals you might throw at this truck. Earnhardt also tells the audience about the ‘legendary’ Vortec engine put in the Chevrolet pickup that in his opinion ‘the right balances of efficiency and power.’ Also, Earnhardt explains that Chevy continues to topple the competition with constant upgrades to excel the needs of today’s working class citizen. Every few years, new challenges are met and exceeded by the Chevy company such as fuel economy, frame stabilization, and safety standards.
Towards the end of the commercial, Earnhardt uses “pathos” to appeal to his audience. He explains that ‘his grandfather raced Chevy’s, and his father raced Chevy’s, and as long as he’s racing, he’ll be racing Chevy’s too.’ If you’re a NASCAR fan, then you can’t help but feel emotion when he explains that his family raced Chevy’s. If you’re not a NASCAR fan, you don’t know the legendary Dale Earnhardt, a man that was known as ‘The Intimidator’ and died on the racetrack. A man with a blue-collar reputation and long history of growing up, making a name for himself in the racing world. Now knowing this, you can’t help but feel these emotions pulling at your heartstrings.
The argumentation used in this commercial is mainly comparison-contrast. This tactic is generally used with all car brands. They’re telling us all the benefits to buying their product, from quality to performance. They’re constantly showing the viewers how their product is better than the competition with the things most people want out of a pickup. In this specific commercial, the ‘example’ argumentation is used as well. Earnhardt tells us the benefits of this brand of pickup and how simple jobs are when using this brand of pickup. Definition is used; clarifying that Chevrolet pickups can be used as a rugged work truck, as well as a good quality ‘Sunday driver.’ There’s one scene where ‘process’ is used as you watch the blue Chevy pickup pull a rather large boat out of the water. In another instance, you watch as a Chevy pickup plows through a muddy road, as well as driving smoothly down a highway.
As the commercial begins, the rhetorical strategy “ethos” is used as Earnhardt, Jr. explains to the audience about his past experiences with working on Chevrolet as a mechanic. Now as a professional racecar driver, as most people know him, the audience is to rely on his ‘professionalism’ and know-how in order to gain a sense of trust in his judgment on his brand of cars. Earnhardt, Jr. emphasizes that he enjoys working on this particular brand, so as a result, one without experience would think to themselves, “well, if Dale, Jr. likes workin’ on this brand, then I probably will, too.” This thinking goes hand-in-hand with the trust factor on Earnhardt’s credibility.
Now as the commercial goes on, the audience can observe an obvious change of pace not only in the voice of Earnhardt, Jr., but in the strategy of the commercial itself. It begins to turn to the rhetorical strategy “logos.” Earnhardt, Jr. begins to give information about the line of Chevy trucks that makes them ‘better’ than the competition, such as a ‘fully boxed frame in order to give a much smoother ride’ and ‘a trailer hitch that tows twice as much as the competition’ in order to achieve more goals you might throw at this truck. Earnhardt also tells the audience about the ‘legendary’ Vortec engine put in the Chevrolet pickup that in his opinion ‘the right balances of efficiency and power.’ Also, Earnhardt explains that Chevy continues to topple the competition with constant upgrades to excel the needs of today’s working class citizen. Every few years, new challenges are met and exceeded by the Chevy company such as fuel economy, frame stabilization, and safety standards.
Towards the end of the commercial, Earnhardt uses “pathos” to appeal to his audience. He explains that ‘his grandfather raced Chevy’s, and his father raced Chevy’s, and as long as he’s racing, he’ll be racing Chevy’s too.’ If you’re a NASCAR fan, then you can’t help but feel emotion when he explains that his family raced Chevy’s. If you’re not a NASCAR fan, you don’t know the legendary Dale Earnhardt, a man that was known as ‘The Intimidator’ and died on the racetrack. A man with a blue-collar reputation and long history of growing up, making a name for himself in the racing world. Now knowing this, you can’t help but feel these emotions pulling at your heartstrings.
The argumentation used in this commercial is mainly comparison-contrast. This tactic is generally used with all car brands. They’re telling us all the benefits to buying their product, from quality to performance. They’re constantly showing the viewers how their product is better than the competition with the things most people want out of a pickup. In this specific commercial, the ‘example’ argumentation is used as well. Earnhardt tells us the benefits of this brand of pickup and how simple jobs are when using this brand of pickup. Definition is used; clarifying that Chevrolet pickups can be used as a rugged work truck, as well as a good quality ‘Sunday driver.’ There’s one scene where ‘process’ is used as you watch the blue Chevy pickup pull a rather large boat out of the water. In another instance, you watch as a Chevy pickup plows through a muddy road, as well as driving smoothly down a highway.
In this other commercial, you watch more working class citizens using the Chevrolet product. You watch, as the truck is used in the most extreme conditions, and still performing to the highest standards. As you listen, you hear the old classic theme song from Bob Seger “Like a Rock” which tells the audience their brand is a good quality, solid product, like a rock.
To sum up the purpose of commercials like these, the Chevrolet company is trying to persuade the consumer that Chevy is the best made truck on the market today. They show everyday working class people using their product with much success over and over. Generally, they show that Chevy can handle the extremes that life throws at it, and still run at the same quality it was at when it rolled off the assembly line.
As an avid supporter of Chevy, I cannot imagine myself being content with any other brand of vehicle. I have experienced the quality of the Chevrolet brand, as well as my father and his father. The Chevy brand has been embedded in my family for generations, therefore, in my eyes, there is no other brand that exceeds expectations like Chevy. They’ve always held true to their legendary slogan: Like a Rock.
To sum up the purpose of commercials like these, the Chevrolet company is trying to persuade the consumer that Chevy is the best made truck on the market today. They show everyday working class people using their product with much success over and over. Generally, they show that Chevy can handle the extremes that life throws at it, and still run at the same quality it was at when it rolled off the assembly line.
As an avid supporter of Chevy, I cannot imagine myself being content with any other brand of vehicle. I have experienced the quality of the Chevrolet brand, as well as my father and his father. The Chevy brand has been embedded in my family for generations, therefore, in my eyes, there is no other brand that exceeds expectations like Chevy. They’ve always held true to their legendary slogan: Like a Rock.
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