the perfect pitch: car commercials in the environment
TRANSCRIPT
Student Publications Student Scholarship
Fall 2014
The Perfect Pitch: Car Commercials in theEnvironmentAlyssa P. BeyerGettysburg College
Sara MoyerGettysburg College
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Beyer, Alyssa P. and Moyer, Sara, "The Perfect Pitch: Car Commercials in the Environment" (2014). Student Publications. 275.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/275
The Perfect Pitch: Car Commercials in the Environment
AbstractCar commercials, like many advertisements, tempt its viewers with comfort, capability, or safety features, aswell as being well‐engineered, affordable, attractive, large or compact sized, or fuel efficient. This studyexamines the pitches in YouTube car commercial video clips from the 1960s until 2014. We coded a total of263 total car commercials based on pitch, setting, narrator, decade, and country of origin. The analysisrevealed that most car commercials were presented in rural settings and capability was pitched mostfrequently overall. Fuel efficiency was ranked third overall; however, within urban settings, fuel efficiency hadthe highest frequency. During the 1990s, there was no presence of commercials alluding to fuel efficiency andinstead safety was pitched more frequently compared to other decades. We discuss the other pitches that werefound to be significantly different between the settings, narrators, decades, and countries of origin. Over time,pitches in car commercials have changed, perhaps because advertising is influenced by consumer demands,interests, and concerns.
Keywordscars, commercials, pitch, environment
DisciplinesEnvironmental Education | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Sciences | Oil,Gas, and Energy
CommentsEnvironmental Studies Thesis
This student research paper is available at The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/275
ThePerfectPitch:CarCommercialsandtheEnvironment
AlyssaBeyerSaraMoyer
ES400SeniorSeminar:TheImpactoftheAutomobileonCultureandEnvironment
EnvironmentalStudiesGettysburgCollege
December20,2014
BeyerandMoyer2
Abstract
Carcommercials,likemanyadvertisements,temptitsviewerswithcomfort,
capability,orsafetyfeatures,aswellasbeingwell‐engineered,affordable,attractive,largeor
compactsized,orfuelefficient.ThisstudyexaminesthepitchesinYouTubecarcommercial
videoclipsfromthe1960suntil2014.Wecodedatotalof263totalcarcommercialsbased
onpitch,setting,narrator,decade,andcountryoforigin.Theanalysisrevealedthatmostcar
commercialswerepresentedinruralsettingsandcapabilitywaspitchedmostfrequently
overall.Fuelefficiencywasrankedthirdoverall;however,withinurbansettings,fuel
efficiencyhadthehighestfrequency.Duringthe1990s,therewasnopresenceof
commercialsalludingtofuelefficiencyandinsteadsafetywaspitchedmorefrequently
comparedtootherdecades.Wediscusstheotherpitchesthatwerefoundtobesignificantly
differentbetweenthesettings,narrators,decades,andcountriesoforigin.Overtime,pitches
incarcommercialshavechanged,perhapsbecauseadvertisingisinfluencedbyconsumer
demands,interests,andconcerns.
Introduction
Theautomobilesectorisalarge,successfulindustry,partlyduetoitseffective
advertisingstrategytomarketitsproducts(Greuneretal.2000).Alladvertisements,
significantlyautomobileones,containandsendamessage;amessageinwhichsometimesis
clearandaccurate,whileothertimestheviewermustidentifythemessagethemselvesoften
beingmislead(Burnsetal.2005).Forinstance,commercialsforautomobilesoftenpromote
propagandathatexaggeratesandassociatesunrelatedaspectsandcharacteristicstothe
vehicles,inwhichismuchdifferentthanthepitch(Burnsetal.2005).Othertimes,
automakerschoosetoavoidmentioningfeaturescompletely,insteadfocusingonfeatures
BeyerandMoyer3
thataremoreimportanttomaketheautomobileattractivepotentiallycausingtheviewerto
purchasethevehicle(Burnsetal.2005).Ultimately,advertisingreflectswhattheadvertiser
believestheconsumerwantsandwhatitiscapableofproviding(Fergusonetal.2003).
Mostofthetime,weashumanbeings,areattractedtoandacceptthefallaciesand
falseandmisleadingnotionsofthecarcompanies’commercials(Burnsetal.2005).Through
theuseofamultitudeoftacticsofcraftinessandskillfulwork,carcompaniesusetheir
commercialstoappealtoouremotions,takingadvantageofinstinctivehabitssuchas
desiringaperfectimageandplayingoffofcustomers’desires(Burnsetal.2005).InAmerica,
specificallyCorporateAmerica,imageiseverything,determiningsuccessorfailureof
corporations;hence,favorableimagestothepublic,consumer,employees,andtheinvestor
throughadvertisingarekey(Burns1999).Inthepresentwithaprofit‐drivencorporate
culture,automotivecorporationshavebeenresponsibleforlarge‐scaleimageshaping
(Burns1999).Thisconstructionoftheautomaker’simageisspecificallysignificantduetoits
effectonthedecisionmakingofconsumersregardingautomobiles,sinceincorrectimages
arelikelytoleadtoincorrectdecisionsbyconsumers(Burns1999).
Likemanyadvertisements,carcommercialstemptuswithfeatures,suchashighgas
mileage,savingmoney,comfortfeatures,roadhandling,orwithusingcarstomakeaperson
seemwealthy,economic,beautiful,etc.whichareappealingtohumans.Safetyisoften
emphasizedbyhighlightingfeaturesthatthevehicleincludes,whileotherautomakersmay
insteadfocusonperformancebyhighlightingthevehicle’saccelerationandspeed(Burnset
al.2005).Thisstrategyismostapparentintheautomobileindustrywheremanufacturers
competeextensivelyinthemarketplace,andthereforeneedtodistinguishtheirvehicles
fromothers(Burnsetal.2005).
BeyerandMoyer4
Therehavebeenfewstudiesperformedonadvertising,specificallypertainingto
vehicles,andthusmanyquestionsremainunanswered.Whilepreviousresearchstudiedthe
trendsofadvertisingontheInternetinAmericathroughouttime(Chung2006),ourstudy
furtherfocusedontheevolutionofadvertisingspecificallylookingintocarcommercials.
Today,forinstance,theautomobileadvertisinghorizonisverydifferent.Whenaskedabout
thethreemostimportantfactorsthatledconsumerstopurchaseaparticularvehicle,
appearance,vehiclecost,manufacturerreputation,andperformance/handlingwereplaced
aheadofsafetyinonestudy(Fergusonetal.2003).Therehasbeenanupwardtrendofusing
luxuryandpleasureappealsinadvertisementsandadownwardtrendofemploying
practicalityandfunctionalityappealsintheUnitedStates(Chung2006).Eventsamongst
otherfactorscouldhavecausedthesechangesinappealsandwantsofU.S.consumers
(Greuneretal.2000).Inthisstudy,weaimtohighlightavarietyoftheseinstancesin
relativelyrecentAmericancarculturethatmayhaveaffectedthewaysinwhichautomobile
manufacturerspitchedtheircommercials.
Onewaythatadvertisersselltheirmessagesandproductsisbyattachingmeaningto
thequalitiesandfeaturesofthenon‐humannaturalworldandourrelationshipstothem
(MeisterandJapp2002).MeisterandJappconcludethat:“Nature‐as‐backdropads,
therefore,provideanimportantrecordofthepositionofthenaturalworldinourcultural
environment”(2002).CommercialsthusoftenalludetoaspecificcarbeingonewithEarth,
incompleteharmonywithitssurroundingsetting.Ultimately,“natureactsasarhetorically
usefulbackdroporstage”inautomobileadsandcontinuetobeafeatureeventoday(Meister
andJapp2002).Thesebasicallyruralsettingsarenottheonlyplacesthatcarsarefeatured
inadvertisements;suburbanandurbansettingsalsoareevidentinads.Often,carsare
BeyerandMoyer5
placedwithinthesesettings,butthepitchthatispresentedbythenarratorismuchdifferent
thanwhatisdisplayed,providingmisleadingnotionstotheviewersandconsumers.
Inthisstudy,weusedasampleofcommercialsfromYouTubetoanswerthefollowing
questions:Dopitchesinautomobilecommercialsreflectthecountryoforigin,setting,and
narrator?Havepitcheschangedovertime?
Methods
Toanswertheresearchquestions,wesampledandcodedcarcommercialsfrom
YouTube,apopularvideo‐sharingwebsite,fromthe1960suntil2014.Accordingto
Alexa.com,YouTubeisthefourthmostvisitedsitebypeopleintheUnitedStates
(youtube.com.:Howpopularisyoutube.com2014).FoundedinFebruary2005,YouTube
nowhasmorethan1billionuniqueusersthatvisiteachmonth,andmorethansixbillion
hoursofvideoareviewedpermonth(YouTube2014).ConsideringYouTube’srapidgrowth
andpopularityasarelativelynewermultimediachannel,thisstudyisinterestingand
importanttoinvestigatequestionsandtrendsrelatingtocaradvertisementcommercials.
YooandKim’s2012YouTubecontentanalysisandChung’s2006analysiswereused
astoolstoaidinthedevelopmentofourstudy.TheYouTubewebsitewassearchedwiththe
carmake(Ford,Toyota,Nissan,Mazda,Mercedes,Volkswagen,BMW,Honda,Renault,
Peugeot,Chrysler,andVolvo)followedbythekeywords“carcommercials”andthen
proceedingtheyears.AnalysesoccurredfromOctober25toNovember18,2014.The
selectedyearswereeveryotherwithinthespecificdecade(forexample,forthe1960s
decade‐1960,1962,1964,1966,and1968).Onevideoperyearforeachcarmakewas
analyzed.Weincorporatedthe1960s,1970s,1980s,1990s,and2000sdecadesandalsothe
2010swiththeyears,2010,2012,and2014.Twenty‐eightvideospercarmakewere
BeyerandMoyer6
analyzedforatotalof263videosonYouTube.Foreachcarmakeandspecificyear,we
selectedthefirstrelevantvideointhelist;thevideosweresolelyfromandcreatedinthe
UnitedStatesandclipswithlanguagesotherthanEnglishwereexcluded.Accesstotelevision
advertisingintheearlyyearsismorescarceandcouldnotbelocated(n=73).Videosthat
couldnotbelocatedwerenotedinthedataandexcludedintheanalyses.Thebasic
informationaboutthevideoincludingthetitleofthevideoandthewebpagelinkwere
recordedintheExcelspreadsheetinstrument.
Theunitofanalysisforeachvideo’scontentwastheentirecommercial,includingthe
video’svisual,audio,andtextpresentation.Eachvideowasexaminedbytwostudentswhom
weretrainedwithcoding;thetwoexaminerspracticedwiththefirsttenvideosandany
disagreementswiththetestedvideoswereresolvedafterfurtherdiscussionstoeliminate
furthererrorinthestudy.Sincethestudymainlyfocusesonthepitchandthesettingofthe
carinautomobilecommercials,weanalyzedandrecordedfeaturesinallofthecommercials.
Aspectsofthecarsthemselves,suchascarmakeandmodel,typeofcar(coupe,sedan,truck,
SUV,minivan,stationwagon,convertible,hatchback,sportscar,electric,andhybridcars),
andcountryoforiginwererecordedintheExcelspreadsheetinstrument.Additionally,the
settingwasanalyzedforeachcommercialandwascategorizedbyathree‐tiersystemas
eitherrural,suburban,orurbanalongwithamorespecificsetting(thelistisincludedinthe
Appendix)andasecondarysettingwithitsmorespecificsetting.Furthermore,themain
pitchandspecificpitchofthecommercialwaschosenfromthecategories:affordability,
attractivestyling,capability(performance/power/speed/acceleration/technology),comfort
(luxury/prestige),compactsize,fuelefficiency,largesize,safety,well‐engineered
(quality/reliability/durability),andsafety.Asecondarypitchanditsmorespecificpitchand
BeyerandMoyer7
otherkeyaspectsofthepitchwererecordedaswell.Additionally,thenarrator’sgender
and/oraspects(male,female,kids,singer)andagewererecorded(young,old).Morethan
onefeaturewithineachcategorywaspermitted.
MSExcelwasusedtocreatefigures.Piechartsdisplayingthepercentageofvideos
displayingpitches,settings,andnarratorswereproduced.Stackedbargraphswerecreated
comparingthepitcheswiththesettings,decades,genderofnarrators,andcountriesof
origins.Inallcases,themainandsecondarypitchesweresummedtogetherforanalysis
purposes.Percentageswereusedintheanalyses.SPSSwasusedtoanalyzethedatausing
thePearsonChi‐Squaretest;thealphais0.05.Ifthe“Asymp.Sig.(2‐sided)”fortheChi‐
Squarestatisticislessthan0.05,thereisarelationshipbetweenthevariablesbasedonthe
levelofconfidence;thenullhypothesisisrejected,andthealternatewasaccepted(thereisa
significantdifference).Ifp>0.05thenthenullhypothesiswasaccepted(thereisno
significantdifference).
Results
Commercialcharacteristics
Outofallthecommercials,capabilitywaspitchedthemostat29%.Comfortwas
pitchedin18%followedbyfuelefficiencyin14%andattractivestylingin11%(Figure1).A
largemajorityofthenarratorsinthecommercialsweremales(77%),whileonly5%were
females(Figure2).Aruralmainsettingwaspresentin40%ofthetotalcommercials,26%
hadanurbansetting,and21%,asuburbansetting(Figure3).
Comparisontopitch
Inthe1970s,1980s,1990s,2000s,and2010s,capabilitywaspitchedhighestand
greaterthan25%ofcommercialsintherespectivedecades.Comfort,however,waspitched
BeyerandMoyer8
highest(25%)incommercialsduringthe1960sandcapabilitywaspitchedsecondmost.
Comfortwaspitchedsecondmostinthe1970s,1980s,1990s,and2010s.Inthe2000s,
attractivestylingwaspitchedsecondmost.Inthe1960s,safetywasnotevidentinanyofthe
commercials.Inthe1970s,compactsizeaswellasfuelefficiencywerepitchedmoreoften
comparedtotheotherdecades,whilesafetywasminimallypitched.Inthe1990s,fuel
efficiencywasnotpitched,whilesafetywaspitchedmoreoftenthanintheotherdecades.As
well,inthe2010s,fuelefficiencywaspitchedmoreoftencomparedtotheotherdecades
(Figure4).P=0.0001betweendecadeandpitch(Table2).
AlthoughcarsoriginatingfromSwedenpitchedcapabilitythehighestat30%,safety
waspitchedmorefrequentlythanintheothercountries.Germanoriginatedcarsfeatured
thehighestpitchrelatingtocapability(42%),butpromotedsafetyprominentlycomparedto
theothercountries.CarsthatoriginatedinFrancepitchedcapabilityhighestat46%and
safetywasnotpitched.Japaneseoriginatedcarsincommercialspitchedcapabilitythe
highestat31%andfuelefficiencywaspitchedmorefrequentlythanintheothercountries.
UnitedStatesautomakers’commercialsfeaturedcomfortmostat37%(Figure5).P=0.000
betweencountryoforiginandpitch(Table3).
Capabilitywashighestpitchedincommercialswithruralsettings(38%)and
suburbansettings(21%).Commercialswithanurbansettinghadthehighestpitchwithfuel
efficiencyat31%.Commercialswithaninsidesettinghadthehighestpitchwithcomfortat
35%(Figure6).P=0.004betweensettingandpitch(Table4).
Femaleandmalenarrators’pitchesdisplayedrelativelythesametrend.Females
pitchedcomfortandcapabilitythehighest(bothat24%)inthecommercials,whilemales
BeyerandMoyer9
pitchedcapability(28%)highestfollowedbycomfort(22%)(Figure7).P=0.045between
genderofnarratorandpitch(Table5).
Discussion
Overalltrendsinpitchesandnarrators
Sincecorporateimageshaveprofoundandinfluentialeffectstotheconsumers,
automakersoftenprovidevaguetermstopromotetheirproductsanddirectthepublic’s
focusawayfromthenegativetothepositiveaspects(Burns1999).Commercialadvertising
requiresidentifyingtheneeds,wants,andvaluesofconsumerstoconvincethemthatthe
producthaswhattheydesireandthuspitchesinadvertisementsarethebestwaythatthisis
achieved.Wefoundthatcapabilitywaspitchedmostinallofthecommercials.Invehicle
advertisingpitches,themesrelatingtoperformanceattributes,whichweregroupedunder
capabilityinthisstudy,havebeencommon(Donovanetal.2011).Forinstance,inFerguson
etal.’s2003study,thethemeofperformancewasidentifiedin50%ofall1998TVaired
advertisementsandasthedominantthemein17%oftheseads(Donovanetal.2011).
Conversely,safetywaspitchedinonly4%ofthetotalcommercialsinourstudy.
Burnsassertsthateventhoughnumerousstudiesranksafetyashighamongstconsumer
concerns,safetymaynotrankasevenhigherinimportancesinceconsumersmaytakesafety
forgranted(1999).ForinstanceaparticipantinaNHTSAgroup,stated:“Safetyisnotgoing
tobemyprimeconcernbecauseIknowthatbyfederallawtherearecertainfeatureswhich
mustbeonallvehicles.Itrustthosefeatures”(Humphrey1996).Insteadofsafetybeinga
concernbyconsumers,manyoftenplacetheirtrustinthefederalregulationsand
corporations(Burns1999).Thisislikelythecaseforcommercialsinourstudyaswell,in
BeyerandMoyer10
whichaudienceshavebecomemoreawareofthevehiclesafetyfeaturesandalreadyhavea
certaintrustespeciallyinthemorerecentyears.
Ourstudydisplayedaconsiderableamountofmalenarrators;infact,77%ofthe
narratorsinthecommercialsweremales,whileonly5%werefemales.InAllanand
Coltrane’sstudy,anevengreaterpercentage,93%ofthecommercials,hadmalenarrators
while7%werefemaleinthe1950sandearly1960scommercials,whileinthe1980s,91%
weremaleand6%werefemalenarrators(1996).
Havepitcheschangedovertime?
Carcommercialsdisplayedasignificantdifferencebetweendecades(1960sto2010s)
andpitches.Thus,theremustbefactorsand/oreventsthathavecausedpitchestovary
betweendecades.
Ourstudyconcludesthatcomfortwaspitchedhighestfollowedcloselybycapability,
whilesafetywasnotpitchedinanyofthe1960scommercials.Carsinthisdecadewere
powerful(capability)andrepresentedfreedom,independence,love,popularity,andthe
ultimatestatussymbolforpeople,teensespecially(Imam2014).Songs,furthermore,
romanticizedtheAmericancarandmoviesoftenemphasizedthepowerandspeedofcars
(bothfeaturesofcapabilityinourstudy)duringthistime.By1964,almost20%ofAmerican
familieshadsecondcars,whichwerebecomingnecessitiesespeciallytothoseinthesuburbs
(Ingrassia2011).Manyfamilieslivedinthesuburbsandcarswereawaytoescapethislife
thatwasreferredbymanyasdreary(Imam2014).Hence,comfortfortheselongrideswas
important.SafetymayhavenotbeenpitchedduetotheMotorVehicleSafetyActof1966,
whichwaspassedbyCongressandrequiredcarcompaniestopubliclydiscloseanyrecallsof
vehicles(Ingrassia2011).Carsmadebeforethelate60sdidnotcomewithsafetybeltsas
BeyerandMoyer11
well.
Duringthe1970s,wefoundthatcompactsizeaswellasfuelefficiencywerepitched
moreoftencomparedtotheotherdecades.Thisdecadeisrecognizedastheadventof
ecologicalconcerns,aconsequenceofallsortsofenvironmentalcatastrophes,the
environmentalmovementandenvironmentalismintheU.S.andalongwithit,arosethe
creationofmanypreservationsocietiesandenvironmentalprotectionregulationsthat
requiredcompliancebyautomakers(Brown2001).Forinstance,automakersneededto
followthe1970CleanAirAct,whichorderedDetroittodecreaseemissionsby90%overthe
nextsixyears,leadingtodevelopmentsofunleadedgasolineandthecatalyticconverter(A
HistoryofReducingTailpipeEmissions2011).Inaddition,automakerswererequiredto
reacha“fleet‐wideaverage”of27.5milesagallonby1985duetothe1975Corporate
AverageFuelEconomy(CAFE)law(Ingrassia2011).ThesereasonscausedAmericansto
demandsmaller,moreefficient,andhigh‐mileagevehicles(Ingrassia2011).Fuelefficiency
waspitchedoftenduringthe1980sinourstudyaswell,possiblyduetotheeffectsofthese
regulationsandimplementations.
Furthermore,inthe1970s,additionaleventsoccurredwhichcouldhavecontributed
tothecompactsizeandfuelefficiencypitchespresentinthecommercials.Duringthis
decade,automakerswereforcedtoadapttothegascrisisof1973,inwhichtheoil‐rich
countriesoftheMiddleEastdeclaredanembargoagainstIsraelanditsallies,includingthe
UnitedStates,causingashocktoAmericanmotorists(Ingrassia2011).Asaresult,American
motoristswereforcedtowaitinlonglinesandcouldonlypurchaseacertainamountof
gasolinewithhighcosts(Ingrassia2011).Aswell,in1974,Congressimplementeda
nationwide55‐mphspeedlimittoconservegasoline,causingAmericanstofurtherdemand
BeyerandMoyer12
smaller,morefuelefficient,andreliableforeignimports(Ingrassia2011).
Additionally,wefoundthatsafetywasminimallypitchedduringthe1970s.Consumer
advocacygroupsandRalphNader’sconsumermovementinthe1970scontinuedthe
campaignforsaferautomobilesinAmerica,whichresultedintheintroductionofshoulder‐
harnessseatbeltsandlapbelts,paddeddashboards,andimprovedbrakingsystems,butdid
notbecomeimplementeduntillater(Ingrassia2011).Likewise,vehiclecrashtestscores
didn’tbeginuntil1979andthegreatestimprovementsdidnotcomeaboutuntiltheearly
1980modelyears(Humphrey1996).
Wefoundthatfuelefficiencywaspitchedfourthhighestinthe1980scommercials.
The1979oilembargoonIranianoilplacedbytheU.S.inresponsetoIran’shostage‐takingof
AmericanembassypersonnelinIrancreatedlonglinesandhighpricesatthegaspump
(Greuneretal.2000).Asaresultofthisoilcrisisamongmanyotherevents,U.S.consumers
begantovaluefuelefficiencyaswellascost(affordability)oversizeandstyle(Greuneretal.
2000).Thiswasdisplayedinourstudy.Duetothis,Americansbegantodiscoverthat
Hondas,Nissans,andToyotas,allJapaneseimports,werefuelefficientandalsomechanically
sound(Ingrassia2011).
Duringthe1990sdecade,ourstudyfoundthatcapabilitywaspitchedthehighest,
followedbycomfort,andaffordability.The1990swasatimeofmanyevents.TheBigThree
recoveredastheJapanesewentdownhill,causedbythedevaluationoftheyen,thusdriving
thepriceofJapanesecarsupward,whileAmericancarsbecameaffordable(Ingrassia2011).
HondaandToyotaclosedfactoriesandlaidoffworkers,whereasDetroitproducedsomeof
thebestcarsinitshistory;Americanautomobilesofthe90sruledthedecade(Ingrassia
2011).Fergusonetal.’sstudyfoundduring1998andthroughoutthepreviousdecadeanda
BeyerandMoyer13
half,performance(capability)andsalesincentives(affordability)werethepredominant
themesincarandpassengervanadvertisingontelevision(2003),similartoourstudy.
Whentheenvironmentalmovementandenvironmentalismbecameamainstream
goalintheUnitedStatesinthe1970s,advertisersdiscoveredandtookgreatadvantageof
themarketbycapitalizingoffofgreenconsumers(MeisterandJapp2002).Thesemarketers
creatednewproducts,butalsorepositionedexistingonestoappearmoreenvironmentally
friendly,evenintheiradvertisementsoftenwithwildanimals,mountainvistas,orclear,
flowingwaters(MeisterandJapp2002).Asaresult,alargenumberofadsbegantofocuson
greenproductfeatures,makingclaimsthattheyarebothenvironmentallygoodandsafe
(MeisterandJapp2002).Infact,between1989and1990thesetypeofgreenadsincreased
367percent(MeisterandJapp2002).
However,bythelate1990s,advertisersannouncedtheendofenvironmentalperiod
duetolackofconcernforbeing‘green’(MeisterandJapp2002).Debateoveranti‐green
productsincludinggas‐guzzlingSUVsdecreasedandgainedpopularity(MeisterandJapp
2002).Aswell,aboomingeconomy,agrowingmiddleclass,andlowgaspricesinthelate
1990screatedmanyconsumersthatweren’tconcernedandinterestedinfuel‐efficient
vehicles(Matulka2014).ThiswasdisplayedbyDavisandTruett’sstudy,inwhichSUVs
becamethefastestgrowingsegmentoftheautoindustrywithsalesreachingalmost19%of
thetotallightvehiclemarketin1999(n.d.).Ourstudydisplayedasimilartrendwithfuel
efficiencynotbeingpitchedinthe1990s.Similarly,asurveyconductedbyAutoPacificin
1998showedonly30%ofallnewcarbuyersconsideredfueleconomytobe“extremely
important”;while,18%ofsportutilityvehiclebuyersconsideredfueleconomyas
“extremelyimportant,”andonly10%ratedthefueleconomyoftheirnewSUVas“excellent”
BeyerandMoyer14
(DavisandTruettn.d.).
Wefoundthatsafetywaspitchedmoreofteninthe1990sthanintheotherdecades.
The1996TransportationResearchBoardmarketsurveysfoundthattherewasasafety‐
consciousmarketfornewcarpurchasersduringthistime(Humphrey1996),largelyaging
babyboomerswhowantedtoprotecttheirchildren.DatacollectedbyGMin1994indicated
thatconsumersrankedsafety6thoutof38reasonsforchoosingandpurchasinganewcar
andJ.D.PowerandAssociates(1993)likewisestatedthatprospectivecarpurchasersin
1993ratedsafetythirdinimportancewhenselectinganewcar.Additionally,safetywas
ratedfourthinpurchaseimportancebyFordMotorCompanybytheNHTSAin1994(Burns
1999).Ourstudydisplayedsafetyinthe1990sasthefourthhighestpitch.
Reasonsforthehighnumberofpitchesrelatingtosafetyincommercialsduringthe
1990sarenumerous.TheDirectorofPublicRelationsforGeneralMotorsofCanada,Stew
Low,reasonedthatinthe1990s:“Consumersbecamemoreawareofsafetyasanissue,
whetheritwaspersonalsafetyorsafetyontheroadorthewholechangeinthetideof
opinionondrinkinganddriving”(Burnsetal.2005).Lowsimilarlystated:“Allthesethings
startedtobringautomotivesafetytotheforefrontofconsumers’minds.Theystartedasking
fornewtechnologiesandwerewillingtopaythepriceinthecostofthevehicleforthose
features”(Burnsetal.2005).Additionally,Lahey(1997)stated:“Largernumberofyoung
familiesandoldercarbuyerswithsafetyconcerns,improvedsafetytechnology,andthe
growingneedtofindwaystodifferentiatemodelsfromtheircompetitors”asreasonsfor
safetyasautomakers’primarymarketingtool(Burnsetal.2005).Inonestudy,safetywas
mentionedrarelyinpastyears,exceptin1993,atimewhenmanufacturerswerecompeting
toinstallairbagsintheirvehicles(Fergusonetal.2003).Inthelaterpartsofthe1990s,
BeyerandMoyer15
Lahey(1997)stated:“WhileBMWisadvertisingitsimprovementsindealingwithside‐
impactcollisions,Saabispromotingasystemthatwillprotectagainstwhiplashinrear
collisions.Chrysleristalkingmoreaboutitsantilockbrakesystems,andFordispositioning
itsWindstarastheonlyminivantoearnfivestars‐‐thehighestpossibleU.S.government
front‐endcrashtestratingforbothdriverandfrontpassenger”(Burnsetal.2005).
Inourstudy,wefoundthatpitchesrelatingtocapabilitywashighlyevidentinthe
2010scommercials,butitisimportanttonotethenumberofcommercialsthatpitchedfuel
efficiencycomparedtotheotherdecades.Gaspriceshavecomedownrecently,butcar
companiesarestillemphasizingfuelefficiencyasawaytosavebothmoneyandtheplanet
(Deutsch2006).Therevivaloftheelectricvehicleoccurredaroundthestartofthe21st
centurywiththeturningpointinpartduetotheintroductionoftheToyotaPrius,the
world’sfirstmass‐producedhybridelectricvehicle,releasedin1997(Matulka2014).Later,
in2000,thePriuswasreleasedworldwide,becominganinstantsuccesswithcelebrities,
raisinginterestinthecaralongwithconcernaboutcarbonpollution(Matulka2014).Inlate
2010,theNissanLEAF,atotallyelectricvehicle,wasreleasedintheU.S.market(Matulka
2014).ThroughtheRecoveryAct,theEnergyDepartmentinvestedinbuildinganation‐wide
charginginfrastructureacrossthecountryandnewbatterytechnologyhelpingtoimprovea
plug‐inelectricvehicle’srange(Matulka2014).
Dopitchesinautomobilecommercialsreflectthecountryoforigin?
Thisstudydisplayedasignificantdifferencebetweenthepitchandcountryoforigin
oftheautomobilesinthecommercialsaswell.CarsoriginatinginSweden,pitchedsafety
moreoftencomparedtotheothercountries.SafetyisalargepartofSweden’scultureand
heritageandisplacedaboveallelsebyautomakers(Mooij2013).Volvo(Sweden)has
BeyerandMoyer16
alwayshadafocusonsafetyandwasoneofafewautomakers,whichstressedsafetyintheir
advertisingpriortothe1990s(Burnsetal.2005).Bydoingso,safetyhasbeenanother
dimensiontodifferentiatethemselvesfromotherautomakersaswellasawaytoprovide
revenueandasafety‐consciouscorporateimagetoadvertisementviewers(Burns1999).
Germanoriginatedcarspromotedsafetyprominentlyaswellamongstthecountries.
Mercedes(Germany)hasbeenfocusingonandpromotingsafetyforsometime,unlikethe
UnitedStates’automakers(Burns1999).InBurnsetal.’sstudy,severalJapanese
automakers,includingHondaandToyotaearnedaboveaveragecrashtestscores,yetfailed
tostresstheiraccomplishmentsintheiradvertising(2005).Ourstudylikewisedisplays
safetybeingtheleastpitchedinFrenchcommercialsfollowedcloselybyJapaneseoriginated
carcommercials.
Japanesemanufacturedvehiclespitchedfuelefficiencymoreoftenthantheother
countriesinthisstudy.Japaneseimportshavealwayshadgreatengineeringinnovations.For
instance,inthe1970s,Japanesecarfeatures,suchasfront‐mountedenginesandfront‐wheel
driveleadtogreaterfuelefficiencyandsafervehicles(Ingrassia2011),afeaturethatwas
alsopitchedinourstudyforJapan.Additionally,DeutschassertsthatSubaru’s(Japan)ads
stressfuelefficiency,notenvironmentalcorrectness;sinceall‐wheeldrivehasbecome
commoninSUVs,theyfeardriverswillassociateall‐wheeldrivewithgasguzzlers(2006).
TheJapanesemanufacturers,Toyota,producedtheworld’sfirstmass‐producedhybrid,
whileNissanreleasedall‐electricvehicles.
UnitedStatesautomakers’commercialsfeaturedcomfortmostoftenwithinand
amongsttheothercountriesinourstudy.BelkandPollay’s1985studyfoundanupward
trendofusingluxuryandpleasureappeals,ultimatelycomfortpitches,andadownward
BeyerandMoyer17
trendofemployingpracticalityandfunctionalityappealsintheU.S.(Chung2006).Inthe
U.S.,theautomobileservesasanecessity,inexpensivegoodsthatarecommonand
affordableforthemasses(Chung2006).Therewere133,438,000registeredprivatecarsin
theU.S.in2009andthemedianhouseholdincomeoftheU.S.was$49,777(Statistical
AbstractoftheUnitedStates2012).Thelowestpriceofanewcarisonlyabout$10,000,
makingcarsaffordableandratherinexpensiveforAmericans(Chung2006).Thus,
necessities’primaryfunctionistohelpconsumersachieveastateofcomfortandtendto
resultinadvertisementswhichaddressthesevalues(Chung2006).
Dopitchesinautomobilecommercialsreflectthesetting?
Wefoundasignificantdifferencebetweenthesettingsandpitchesinthe
commercials.Withregardstopitches,commercialswitharuralsettinghadthehighestpitch
withcapability.Americanpopularcultureincludesroadmoviesthathighlightthepopularity
ofautomobiles,oftenwithhigh‐speedcarchasesoverhighwaysandbackroads.Thiswas
portrayedasasourceoffreedomandexcitement.Thereisanostalgiafortheexperienceof
motoringonslower,narrower,andscenichighwaysofthepast,aruralsetting.Inthe19th
centuryandintothe20thcentury,theriseofurbanisminmuchofthewesternworldledto
anitineranturbansocietycomparedtoaoncesettledagrarianone(Brown2001).Thisledto
alossofcommunity,senseofplace,andruralrootedness(Brown2001).Peoplehence
turnedtotheopen,rural,roadsforadventure,fun,discovery,andindependence.Itcanbe
seenthathumansnowadayshaveaninfatuationwith“natural”settings,whichiswhythey
mayspendalotofmoneyeachyeargoingtoNationalParksandNatureReserves.Thismay
alsocontributetowhyweseesomanycommercialsintheruralsetting.Seeinganatural
setting,suchasanopendirtroadoropenland,romanticizesthecar,thushavingapositive
BeyerandMoyer18
effectontheconsumerswatchingit.
Wefoundthatcommercialswithanurbansettinghadthehighestpitchwithfuel
efficiency.Urbandrivinginvolvesstop‐and‐gotrafficandwasonceconsideredthebiggest
challengetomaximizingfuel‐efficiencyinvehicles.Modernfuel‐efficienttechnologieshave
beendevelopedtominimizetheimpactstoppingandgoinghadonfuelconsumption.Tonget
al.reportedthattransientdrivingmodes,suchasaccelerationanddecelerationweremore
pollutingtotheatmospherethansteady‐speeddrivingmodes,suchascruisingandidling
(2011).
Dopitchesinautomobilecommercialsreflectthenarrator?
Inourstudy,therewasasignificantdifferencebetweengenderofnarratorandthe
pitches.Malesandfemales,however,displayedsimilartrendsinthepitchespresentedinthe
commercials.AllanandColtrane’sstudyfoundthatmalesincommercialsaretheruleandfar
outnumberwomen,butareshownindifferentsettings,performingdifferentactivities,and
displayingdifferentcharactertraits(1996).Malespitchedcapabilityslightlyhigherthan
femalesinthisstudy.Cars,oftenusedincarracing,haveservedasobjectsformento
positionthemselvesintermsofmasculinityforalongtime,providinganarenatodisplay
theirmasculinepower;malesinvestinfastcarsasawaytodisplaymasculinityasparodied
andsatirizedinpopularmedia(Best2006).Asaresult,malesseekcarswithhigh
horsepower,speed,andaccelerationcapabilities.Ontheotherhand,femalespitched
comfortandcapabilitybothatthesamepercentagesinourstudy.Womenaremorelikelyto
usecarsforwork,childcare,andshoppingandthusasPennyWark,themotoringeditorof
Women’sJournal,states:Women“seek...comfort,economy‐‐andaplacetoputtheir
handbag”(Lees‐Maffei2002).Ourstudyaffirmsthisfinding.
BeyerandMoyer19
Improvementsandfuturestudies
Withanyresearch,thereisalwayspotentialforimprovement.Whenlookingatthe
dataset,itisimportanttonotethatwecouldnotfindeverysinglecarcommercialineachof
theyearsthatwewishedtoanalyze.Wecanseemorecommercialsmissingespeciallyinthe
earlierdecades,sinceYouTubeprobablyhasnotacquiredsomeofthosecommercials.As
well,inourstudy,wewishedtoanalyzesolelycommercialsthatwerecreatedintheU.S.,
meaningthatmanufacturersfromothercountrieshadmanyoftheircommercialsin
differentlanguages.Inthatsense,withtheabsenceofsomecommercials,apotential
improvementcouldbeconductingmoretrials,possiblynotinthespecificyear,todevelopa
largeroveralldataset.Aswell,insteadoffindingthoseinaspecificyear,wecouldhave
chosenmorewithinthedecades.
Intheareaofouractualdatacollection,therecouldalsobeimprovement.Inmostof
thecommercials,therewasnotonespecificsettingportrayed.Manyhadtwoormaybethree
settingsthroughoutthecommercial.Inthisway,itwasdifficulttodeterminethemain
settingineachofthecommercials,sincethereweresomanydepicted,thus,ouruseof
‘primary’and‘secondary’settingsinthedataset.Alongthosesamelines,itwasalsodifficult
todetermineurbanvs.suburbanandsuburbanvs.ruralinafewofthecommercials,since
theremaywerefastturnoversatsomepointsinthecommercialmakingitchallengingto
differentiatebetweensettings.Similarly,inafewofthecommercials,thereweremorethan
twopitchesbesidesthemainandsecondarypitchesthatweusedinouranalyses.Toaccount
forthis,werecordedallpitchespresentedinthecommercials,butsomeaccountedformore
thantwo,sometimesuptofourtotalpitches.Lastly,sincebothtesterswerenot
simultaneouslyanalyzingthecommercialstogether,therecouldbepotentialdifferencesin
BeyerandMoyer20
howeachtesteranalyzedthecommercials;however,thisisconsideredaminorerrorinthe
study,sincethefirsttencommercialswereconductedtogethertogetasenseofwhattolook
foranddiscussionsoccurredwithanycontroversialinstances.Additionally,futurestudies
maywanttolookatothercarmanufacturersbothwithintheUnitedStatesandother
countries.Thisstudyaimedtoincludeadiversegroupingofmanufacturers,butthereis
roomforimprovement.Inthestudy,weincludedtwomanufacturersfromtheU.S.,fourfrom
Japan,threefromGermany,twofromFrance,andonefromSweden.
Conclusion
Itdoesseemthatthepitchesincommercialsreflectthecountryoforigin.Ourstudy
showedthatthepitchesspecificallyinJapanese,U.S.,andSwedenoriginatedcar
commercialsarelikelylinkedtothecultureofthecountryaswellastotheautomakers’
aims.However,interestingresultswereevidentbetweenthepitchesandsettings.Inurban
settingsfuelefficiencywaspitchedhighest,whileinruralsettings,capabilitywas,inwhich
wefoundsurprisingsinceenvironmentalaspectswerenotfeatured.Inthecommercials,we
sawthatmalesandfemalesrelativelyhavethesametrendinpitches.Additionally,itwas
shownthatpitcheshaveindeedchangedovertime.Overthedecades,ourstudydisplayed
thatvaryingpitcheswereprominentlydisplayedincommercials,includingfuelefficiencyin
the1970sand2010s,andsafetyinthe1990s.
Evenwithsomelimitations,thisstudyoffersvaluableinformation.Thechangesin
pitchesovertimeaspresentedinourstudyareperhapsbecauseadvertisingisinfluencedby
consumerdemands,interests,andconcerns.Presently,corporatecultureisprofit‐drivenand
automotivecorporationshaveusedlarge‐scaleimage‐shapingtoappealtotheconsumerand
affecttheirdecisionmaking.Anincorrectimagepresentedtothepublicislikelytocause
BeyerandMoyer21
incorrectconsumerdecisionsandthusisofgreatimportancetoautomakersindetermining
theapproachestakentoconstructtheirimage.Becauseofthis,thepitchesthatthese
automakersshareinsomeinstancesdifferfromthesettingportrayedintheircommercial
advertisements.
Thus,mediahasastrongeffectonshapingindividuals’understandingandattitudes
towardcarsandthisstudyalongwithfuturestudiescanbeusedforevaluationpurposes.
Overall,thisstudyprovidesanexploratorygroundforstudiesinvolvingadvertisement
commercialsonYouTube,specificallyautomobilesandtheirpitches,andcallsforfuture
researchtobuildupontheseexploratoryfindings.
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BeyerandMoyer23
YouTube.2014.<https://www.youtube.com/>AccessedSeptember23,2014.FiguresandTables
Figure1.Percentageofthespecifiedpitchinthecarcommercials.n=263videos.
Figure2.Percentageofnarratorsspeakingpitchesinthecarcommercials.n=263videos.
10%
11%
29%
18%
1%
14%
4%4% 9%
Affordability
Attractivestyling
Capability
Comfort
Compactsize
Fuelefficiency
Largesize
Safety
Well‐engineered
5%
77%
0%
1% 11%
6%
Female
Male
Kids
Maleandfemale
None
Singer
BeyerandMoyer24
Figure3.Percentageofthespecifiedsettinginthecarcommercials.n=263videos.
Figure4.Percentageofcommercialswiththespecifiedpitchforeachdecade.n=263videos.
13%
26%
40%
21%
Inside
Urban
Rural
Suburban
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
%ofCom
mercials
Decade
Well‐engineered
Safety
Largesize
Fuelefficiency
Compactsize
Comfort
Capability
Attractivestyling
Affordability
BeyerandMoyer25
Figure5.Percentageofcommercialswiththespecifiedpitchforeachcountryoforiginofthevehicles.n=263videos.
Figure6.Percentageofcommercialswiththespecifiedpitchforeachsetting.n=263videos.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
France Germany Japan Sweden UnitedStates
%ofCom
mercials
CountryofOrigin
Well‐engineered
Safety
Largesize
Fuelefficiency
Compactsize
Comfort
Capability
Attractivestyling
Affordability
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Inside Rural Suburban Urban
%ofCom
mercials
Setting
Well‐engineered
Safety
Largesize
Fuelefficiency
Compactsize
Comfort
Capability
Attractivestyling
Affordability
BeyerandMoyer26
Figure7.Percentageofcommercialswiththespecifiedpitchforeachnarratortype.n=263videos.Table1.Percentagesofcommercialswiththespecifiedpitchforeachsetting.n=263videos.Pitch Inside Rural Suburban UrbanAffordability 11% 10% 11% 8%Attractivestyling 5% 10% 16% 10%Capability 21% 38% 21% 27%Comfort 35% 20% 18% 7%Compactsize 3% 1% 3% 1%Fuelefficiency 6% 8% 8% 31%Largesize 6% 2% 8% 2%Safety 6% 4% 0% 6%Well‐engineered 6% 8% 14% 8%Table2.Chi‐SquaretestforDecadevs.Pitch.
Chi‐SquareTests
Value dfAsymp.Sig.(2‐sided)
PearsonChi‐Square
75.716a 40 .001
LikelihoodRatio 80.005 40 .000NofValidCases 452
a.21cells(38.9%)haveexpectedcountlessthan5.Theminimumexpectedcountis.81.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Female Male Kids Maleand
female
None Singer
%ofCom
mercials
Narrator
Well‐engineered
Safety
Largesize
Fuelefficiency
Compactsize
Comfort
Capability
Attractivestyling
Affordability
BeyerandMoyer27
Table3.Chi‐SquaretestforCountryofOriginvs.Pitch.Chi‐SquareTests
Value dfAsymp.Sig.(2‐sided)
PearsonChi‐Square
82.272a 32 .000
LikelihoodRatio 83.807 32 .000NofValidCases 451
a.20cells(44.4%)haveexpectedcountlessthan5.Theminimumexpectedcountis.43.Table4.Chi‐SquaretestforSettingvs.Pitch.
Chi‐SquareTests
Value dfAsymp.Sig.(2‐sided)
PearsonChi‐Square
46.338a 24 .004
LikelihoodRatio 48.744 24 .002NofValidCases 452
a.11cells(30.6%)haveexpectedcountlessthan5.Theminimumexpectedcountis.98.Table5.Chi‐SquaretestforNarratorvs.Pitch.
Chi‐SquareTests
Value dfAsymp.Sig.(2‐sided)
PearsonChi‐Square
56.301a 40 .045
LikelihoodRatio 52.764 40 .085NofValidCases 451
a.38cells(70.4%)haveexpectedcountlessthan5.Theminimumexpectedcountis.03.
BeyerandMoyer28
AppendixYouTubeCarCommercialsSpecifics:Decade:1960s,1970s,1980s,1990s,2000s,2010sCarmake:Ford,Toyota,Nissan,Mazda,Mercedes,Volkswagen,BMW,Honda,Renault,Peugeot,Chrysler,VolvoTypeofcar:Minivan,electric,hybrid,sportscar,SUV,stationwagon,truck,sedan,andhatchbackCountryoforigin:Ford(US),Toyota(Japan),Nissan(Japan),Mazda(Japan),Mercedes(Germany),Volkswagen(Germany),BMW(Germany),Honda(Japan),Renault(France),Peugeot(France),Chrysler(US),Volvo(Sweden)Setting:Inside,urban,rural,suburbanSpecificsetting:FromlistbelowPitch:Affordability,attractivestyling,capability(performance/power/speed/acceleration/technology),comfort(luxury/prestige),compactsize,fuelefficiency,largesize,safety,andwell‐engineered(quality/reliability/durability)Narrator:Gender‐Female,male,kids,maleactor,maleandfemale,none,andsinger
Age‐young,oldSpecificsettings:SuburbanSchoolsSinglehomes(privateresidences)ParksStoresNeighborhoodsLargeyardsGaragesUrbanOfficesSportsparksCityhallStoresSchoolsHomesApartments/TownhousesSkyscrapersMuseumsHotelsBusinessesStreetsAmongbus,trains,taxisLotsofpeople
BeyerandMoyer29
SidewalksRooftopRuralCountryFarmsOpenlandWoodsTownhallHighwaysCampingOpenroadsNature