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Media Analysis Project
last week you selected a topic and began conducting research for your Media Analysis Project. Now it is time to use that research to formalize your thesis and create an outline for you paper. If you put in a good effort here, the act of actually writing the paper will be much easier.
Even though this paper is an analysis using a specific approach, it needs to have a thesis. This thesis should…
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Elaboration Likelihood Model - Star Wars in Volkswagen’s Commercial
In this ad, a little kid is dressed as Darth Vader as he goes around his house trying to use the force on anything he can. He’s unsuccessful and looks pretty down on himself until he tries the car as a last result. Unbeknownst to him, his dad is in the kitchen and uses a remote start on his key fob, making it seem like the little kid just started the car using the force. While this commercial is cute and really tugs at your heart strings, it doesn’t exactly sell the car to you. This is a form of the Elaboration Likelihood Model because they use a familiar theme (Star Wars) to convey a story in a minute and thirty seconds. You can relate to the commercial because kids and adults of all ages know Star Wars and know exactly what the kid is doing. It takes a popular T.V. show/movie and relates it to a product, which helps in Volkswagen’s favor.
This commercial not only uses the central route, but also uses the peripheral, one, if not more. It takes a familiar character and a kid, two things that are sure to be good “hooks” to bring people’s attention to the T.V. This commercial aired during the Superbowl, which is, in my opinion, a time where the best commercials are aired. Volkswagen really tailored to their audience, knowing that 90% of the people watching would know exactly what the kid was and what he was doing. When the car starts, you see the wonder in the kid through his movements, and it makes us nostalgic to a time where being a kid was the best thing in the world because you had an imagination with no limits. This commercial uses the central route by dropping the feature of remote start, while using the peripheral route of “The Force.”
In the ad, they drive home the idea that this specific car has the ability to spark a child’s imagination, completely diverting us from learning more about the car. They don’t explain the gas milage or any specifics, only that it’s “coming soon.” Lewis Donohew described it as a distraction, something thrown in our faces so that we’re more compelled to buy it due to what we saw instead of what we learned about it (Donohew, Sypher, & Higgins, 1988). If they show us something familiar or something we can relate to, it’s easier to be distracted by that rather than actually listen. We’re distracted by the little boy and go along with him on his adventure of trying to use the force. Parents are able to associate themselves in the role of parents at the end who helped him “use the force” on the car, and young adults think that the commercial is cute or witty.
No matter which way you look at this ad though, you can definitely tell that Volkswagen is using a perfect example of the ELM Model. They display many of the signs of the framework, like by using both central and peripheral routes and distracting you with Darth Vader, an familiar pop culture icon. There are so many more ads that use this model, too, like shampoo commercials with celebrities or tugging-at-your-heart-strings puppy mill commercials.
EDIT:
This commercial only uses the peripherial route, by showing you a familiar icon and cute little story without showing the audience what the commercial is really about. It’s about a car, but the car only has maybe 15 seconds of screen time out of the minute and a half ad. Even when the car is on screen, we don’t really learn anything other than you can remote start it and that it’s a Volkswagen. They mostly focus on diverting your attention to how cute the kid is and you’re on the journey with him as he uses the force.
Another way to think of this model is whether or not the commercial elaborates on what they’re selling. If they do, they’re using the central route. If they don’t, they’re using peripheral. Forret also described the central route as a more thoughtful way of thinking abotu the commercial and perceiving it, while the peripherial one is more about distractions, glamor, and “sparkly” things. They distract you and give you a different impression than what central route messages do (Forret 1996).
References:
Donohew, L., Sypher, E. H., Higgins, T. (1988). Communication, Social Cognition, and Affect. An Overview, 2-8.
Forret, M., & Turban, D. (1996). Implications of the Elaboration Likelihood Model for Interviewer Decision Processes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 10(4), 415-428. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ac.ezproxy.switchinc.org/stable/25092520
