Designers of commercial adverts strive to develop a message that connects with the target audience. The message is designed in a way that it will provoke emotional appeal among the target audience. As such, the audience will feel certain kind of connection with the advert prompting them to heed the message of the advert. Consequently, designers of the advert have to include in the advert, certain features or personalities that the target audience respect or identify with. These features or personalities possess particular kind of influence among the audience, such that the audience will most likely respond by subscribing to the content of the message. This realization has enabled the designers to frame adverts which are tailored to provoke certain kind of behavior from the target audience (Machin, 2016). This paper aims at analyzing the George Washington Dodge Challenger commercial which has features such as an American flag and former great president George Washington.
The George Washington dodge challenger advert is aimed at persuading the target audience that the dodge challenger is the best in the market and they should buy it. The commercial shows a spy briefing his army about the mightiness of invading army. The opposition aligns itself in readiness for the battle. However, on seeing the mightiness of invading army led by George Washington, the opposition disintegrates and runs for their lives without even engaging in battle. Washington had mounted an American flag on his dodge challenger. The commercial ends with its slogan that, “Here’s a couple of things America got right; Cars and Freedom.” The advert aims at provoking the emotional appeal among the audience by using the respected and integral part of American history (Machin, 2016).
Usage of Revolution
George Washington
American Revolution remains to be an essential part of American history. The ultimate outcome of the revolution culminated in gaining the independence of America. Americans led by George Washington as the commander in chief of the continental army in 1775 to 1783. In the scramble for North America, Britain had just defeated France and this victory led to the emergence of conflicts involving the Americans, North America colonists, and the British government. This battle culminated in the emergence of a new country, the United States. George Washington was the commander of the army that fought off the colonists and gained American independence (Tilly, 2017). As such, he gained immeasurable respect among the Americans who he grew fond of him even in the present times. He was easily elected as the American president in 1789 to 1797 as an independent candidate.
The designers of the advert understand that the usage of George Washington in the commercial would elicit such fond memories among the audience. The advert aimed at provoking the audience to think that if George Washington would drove back during the revolution, he would be driving a dodge challenger. It would only be the dodge challenger that would enable Washington to scare redcoats off and effectively win American Revolution (Cunliffe, 2017). The advert intends to show the audience that dodge challenger is the most suitable for any terrain and that if Washington would use the dodge challenger to conquer the revolution, why wouldn’t the target audience also try it out. As such, the presence of Washington in the commercial would motivate the Americans to develop certain kind of admiration for the dodge challenger. This admiration would eventually lead the audience to make a purchase of the product.
American Flag
When North America was under colonization, Americans were forced to tolerate seeing the flags of colonists in their land. The flag is a symbol of national spirit; it is like a fabric that weaves all citizens together. Flag gives citizens a sense of pride and belonging with which they identify themselves with over the globe. In the commercial, Washington has mounted an American flag on his dodge challenger which shows the restoration of Americanization. The oppression which Americans had suffered at the hands of colonists, as well as the suppression of their national spirit, had just been conquered as signified by the mounted flag. The values held by the American flag had motivated Washington to rise above the seeds of colonization and win the war for America (Tilly, 2017).
The flag gives credibility to the claims being made by the advert. The visual representation puts dodge challenger on the same level as America because if it helped Washington win the revolutionary war, then dodge ought to be regarded as a major contributor too (Washington " Army, 2014). The commercial implies that dodge helped in the restoration of fundamental Americans are enjoying today. As such, if one is not willing to own a car that enabled Washington to conquer the colonists then what type of American citizen one is. The advert arouses the personal ethos to regard dodge cars highly than other cars. If an American is to own a car, it should be from dodge challenger. The advert tends to connect the Americans to their roots as well as their struggle; dodge has been there for America. The effectiveness of this strategy cannot be undermined because it is true that humans tend to associate themselves with that what or who stood out for them.
Historical Accuracy
The historical significance of George Washington toward the betterment of America either as the commander of continental army or as the president, will remain to influence all generations of the U.S. Even though he had his own weaknesses such as opposing abolishment of slavery during his presidency, Washington’s contribution to reclaiming America’s independence will forever earn a place in books of America’s history (Cunliffe, 2017). The usage of Washington’s image in the dodge challenger accurately represents the historical events. Although Washington did not win revolutionary war riding in dodge challenger cars, his win is neither an exaggeration nor misrepresentation.
The struggle that Americans underwent during the revolutionary war was aiming at restoring the dignity of the American flag (Washington " Army, 2014). Americans fought to ensure that they bring down the flags of colonists and hoist the American flag. An eventual win would restore the pride and national spirit in the United States as symbolized by the flag. The inclusion of the American flag in the commercial represents the historical events because it was the main cause of revolutionary war. Americans wanted to see the flag which they would identify with hoisted around as opposed to the flag of colonists. The essence of the commercial supporting the country makes the audience to feel that they should own a challenger, thereby outlining the effectiveness of the commercial.
References
Cunliffe, M. (2017). George Washington: man and monument. Pickle Partners Publishing.
Machin, D. (2016). Introduction to multimodal analysis. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Tilly, C. (2017). From mobilization to revolution. In Collective Violence, Contentious Politics, and Social Change (pp. 71-91). Routledge.
Washington, G., " Army, C. (2014). The American Revolution: 1775-1783. Vol. II. Boston: Little, Brown.
Original George Washington Challenger commercial HD. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-3HEyR-c3M
