RAV4 Commercial

The RAV4 commercial, endorsed by Toyota, is a humorous ad to emphasize how important having the newest model is. In the commercial, a man and a woman who each want to own the car for his/herself fight and put one another in danger in order to better their own chances of attaining the vehicle. Being that the commercial takes place within an upper class suburban neighborhood and two middle aged adults play the main characters, Toyota is clearly targeting a particular audience: somewhat young, but established, middle to upper class adults. The commercial uses a pathos appeal by making the ad funny, but the goal of the advertisement is clearly to convince viewers that the car is worth having and they should consider buying. Aside from convincing an audience, Toyota is also trying to inform viewers that the model is available. The advertisement is credible being that Toyota, a well known and trusted company, endorsed the ad and has made several others.

Questions:

Who created this visual text? Who distributed it?

Toyota created and distributed the commercial.

What role is played by the words that accompany the visual text? How do they clarify, reinforce, blur, or contradict the image’s message?

The words “RAV4. A car to make your own.” are displayed across the screen at the commercial’s end. The role of the words is to convey a message of owning the vehicle. They clarify the actual commercial by indicating that the characters are going above and beyond to make the car their own. Ultimately, the message of the words is to illustrate how important actually owning the car is. They help the commercial to convince the audience.

What does the visual text assume about its viewers and about what they know and agree with?

Toyota clearly assumes that viewers are more attracted to a powerful, affordable, shiny, decent sized vehicle. Based off of previous sales of older models of the RAV4, they most likely used buyer reports and feedback to create a commercial that emphasized the clean and new look of the model, the size and power that could be exerted from such a car, and the affordability.

What argumentative purpose does the visual text convey? What is it designed to convey?

The commercial conveys informative and convincing arguments. The whole point of the ad is to inform the audience that the new RAV4 is available for purchase and it is worth having.

Is any information (such as a name, face, or scene) highlighted or stressed to attract your attention?

Yes, the very first glimpse of the commercial focuses on a beautiful RAV4 sitting on the drive way outside of a large house. It’s shining and is clearly brand new. Throughout the minute long commercial the camera focuses back in on the model periodically, clearly indicating a positive image of the car and showing how Toyota is trying to encourage drill the image into viewers’ minds.