Throughout the ad, “Born of Fire”, Chrysler aims to appeal to their audience of American consumers. In order to capture and motivate their viewers they use a few different techniques. Chrysler focuses on both pathos and ethos, to persuade their audience to purchase their cars, as well as the context of their economy to emphasize why to buy an “Imported from Detroit” car. Some of these themes are also applied in another ad created by Chrysler titled “It’s Halftime America”
In order to sell the idea that their product is a luxurious product of hard work, and one that buyers can be proud of, Chrysler includes an appeal to pathos through determination and hope. To invoke a feeling of determination within the viewers, Chrysler includes a strong statement in the beginning of the narrative. This narrative is paired with a clip of a street sign passing by that says Detroit on it and is portrayed by a strong male narrator who asks the rhetorical question, “What does this city know about luxury?” followed by the answer, “More than most.” The narrator enforces the determination of the city with the quote, “You see, it’s the hottest fires that create the hardest steel.” This forces the audience to come to the conclusion that Detroit is producing something astounding due to the harrowing events that have overtaken the city in the past years. This determination expresses that although the city has faced hardships, it is capable of bouncing back from anything thrown at it. The narrator again displays determination by showing images of great things found within Detroit, such as: an ice skater, a team of men running, and men in business suits. These images connect to audiences emotions by defining Detroit natives as hard working people who have to put in astounding measures of effort and perseverance to succeed; something nearly all Americans can admire. Hope is also an example of the pathos used within the ad. Towards the end of the ad, the city of Detroit is illuminated by its multitude of lights during the night. This is used as an allusion to the common thought that brightness is perceived as good and righteous, whereas darkness is perceived as bad or evil. By lighting up downtown, Chrysler is showing that Detroit is not a lost city of darkness, but instead it has the hope of being a place that is exceptional and sought after.
Chrysler appealing to the audience’s ethics plays a momentous role in attempting to relate the audience to the meaning of the ad. Chrysler implements a popular rap artist, Eminem, in order to provide a sense of ethos within their ad. When Chrysler includes Eminem driving one of their cars, it makes a statement to the people of America. It tells them that no matter how poor they grew up or how hard their life was, through hard work, luxury can be achieved. Eminem is considered the poster boy for coming from very little and achieving great feats by many. This is something nearly all Americans can relate to. When citizens see this famous artist from their country driving a Chrysler car, it creates a desire for them to purchase a such a car. Later in the video, Eminem enters a church where a choir is singing. The choir’s voice imposes a wakening effect on the audience, making them realize that despite the turndowns, the motor city is still surviving. This insinuates a more hopeful tone of Detroit. Finally, in the ending scene Eminem says, “This is the Motor City and this is what we do.” The notion that Detroit is never down is confirmed and it foreshadows hope for further flourishment.
In addition to Eminem’s significant presence in the ad, Chrysler also sheds the light on Detroit’s remarkable landmarks to reflect upon Detroit’s vibrant culture and history. The film highlights a few of the most memorable monuments as symbols of the city’s values; these places include the Joe Louis monument and the Spirit of Detroit statue. The Joe Louis fist represents the power and determination the city emerged from after barbarism and social injustice. Besides the Joe Louis monument, Chrysler captured a brief overview of the Spirit of Detroit’s statue. The strong personification presented in the bronze statue symbolizes Detroit as a city that holds the value of God and family. The plaque in front of the statue reads “The artist expresses the concept that God, through the spirit of man is manifested in the family, the noblest human relationship.” This summarizes the values of the city where Detroiters have strived to spread God’s equality in every corner of the city.
Advertising a campaign requires far more than just the content of the ad they are trying to market. In order for an ad to be as effective as possible, the ad needs to show people not just what the product is, but where it’s from. Corporations also take into consideration the time frame of when they sell their products. In this ad, Chrysler is trying to sell a very dreary, downtrodden Detroit. This makes sense because of the political scandals and subsequent economic downturn. This ad was produced during the middle of Kwame Kilpatrick’s scandals as the mayor of Detroit, and was aired only two years before the city officially declared Chapter 9 Bankruptcy after years and years of political neglect over city finances. This ad was also produced after the notorious Big Three auto company bailouts by the government - indicating that such an ad may have been made in order to tell America that the company is on back on track.
Chrysler intended to sell their product to young to middle-aged American adults and this is evident through the way the ad was released. To ensure their targeted audience would see the ad, it was released during the 2011 Superbowl. Chrysler understood that millions of Americans watch the Superbowl and that releasing it then would ensure their ad would be seen. Chrysler also used the presence of famous rapper Eminem who at time appealed primarily to twenty to early forty year olds. Eminem’s presence gained the attention of potential buyers and widened the age spectrum of consumers.
Another Chrysler ad, “It’s Halftime America”, uses very similar techniques as the first ad. It was aired during the 2012 Superbowl and narrated by famous actor, Clint Eastwood. It begins with Eastwood giving a sports analogy to creating a game plan during halftime and then relates it to America, repeating the line “It’s halftime, America” throughout the ad. This tells the viewer that now is the time to come back stronger than ever. A series of images and videos play, showing scenes of vast farmlands, the New York skyline, people waking up and getting ready for work, people working with power tools in a car factory and various flags. By using these images Chrysler shows that no matter what the viewers profession is or where they’re from, they can relate to the message being sent in their ad. As these images are being flashed across the screen, Eastwood gives a powerful monologue, that gives Americans the inspiration to come together to do amazing things. Eastwood says things such as, “It seems like we’ve lost our heart at times [...] but after those trials we all rallied around what was right and acted as one.” The series of images and narration comes to an end with Eastwood making the comparison of “Yeah, it’s halftime America, and our second half is about to begin”, fading to a black screen with the words “IMPORTED FROM DETROIT” written in white. The stark contrast instills itself it the audience’s mind and makes the slogan more memorable.
The two ads are so similar that they even include the same images. The pictures of abandoned factories in Detroit can be found in both, as well as the Michigan flag waving in the wind. The Clint Eastwood ad mentions the same idea that the Eminem’s ad portrayed; that Detroit fought back against great economic decline and still managed to come back from it and produce astounding products. Eastwood says, “The people of Detroit know a little something about [fighting back]. They almost lost everything but we all pulled together. Now Motor City is fighting again” While Eastwood doesn’t establish as much ethos as Eminem does because he is not a Detroit native, he is still a highly known actor which leads the audience to value his opinion.
Overall, the Chrysler ad, “Born of Fire”, displays numerous examples of pathos and ethos. The ad subliminally shows the viewer that Chrysler cars are built on the backs of workers who know what it’s like to struggle. This tells the viewer that buying a Chrysler is buying a car that has a purpose. Chrysler also uses their specific contexts of audience and economic factors to display that although the “Motor City” has had many downfalls in the past few years, it is coming back to be something possibly even greater than before.
Citations
“Encyclopedia Of Detroit.” Detroit Historical Society - Where the past is present, Detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/spirit-detroit.
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