With red letters one and a half inches tall, this advertisement screams Couch for sale. In this advertisement, the advertisers want the consumer to sell their couch. It is an automobile they are trying to sell me. Why would I need to get rid of the furniture in my house? In smaller white text across the bottom of the two pages, the ad goes on to explain that the only enemy of the Nissan Xterra sports utility vehicle is the fluffy cushions of a sofa. How could an automobile maker get consumers to believe that two inanimate objects are natural enemies? Moreover, is that really what Nissan wants consumers to believe so consumers will buy the Xterra truck?This advertisement is in the October, 2000 Backpacker magazine and takes up two full pages.
The advertisement is for the new Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle. This advertisement consists of four colors red, black, silver and white. Red is used for most of the words in the advertisement. The red text is used to describe how this product can improve the consumers way of life, and some of the features the Xterra has. The white text is meant to tell the consumer the draw back of the Xterra. The only draw back the advertisement lists is a couch.
So the consumers eyes are not distracted, black is used as the background color. Silver is the color of the Xterra. The only text in the advertisement that is easy to read is Couch for Sale, which is on the left hand page, and Nissan Xterra which is in the lower right corner of the second page. Along with the black background, all of the pictures are also dark. The pictures have fog or some kind of mystical looking clouds in them. Also, all of the people in the pictures are dressed in dark clothing.
All of the lighting appears to be natural; it is just that the pictures were taken on gloomy days and in the wilderness. The overall appearance of the advertisement is dark. The choice of colors and the way the pictures appear give the advertisement a look of danger. For instance, the way the trees are blurred as the Xterra speeds down the dirt road. The large picture of the Xterra shows the truck zooming down a dirt road on its way to another adventure.
In this advertisement, the color silver has been chosen for the Xterra. So, I wonder why Nissan picked boring silver instead of bright yellow? I think it is because Nissan feels the Xterra does not need to be flashy. Nissan is trying to convince the consumer that the Xterra is not just for show. There are plenty of pretty sport utility vehicles out there; the Xterra is a rugged truck. In addition, it could also be because silver is one of the top selling colors of automobiles.
The Xterra is shown zooming down a dirt road and heading to the mountains. The advertisers are showing the consumer the rear of the Xterra. Could this be because the advertisers want the consumer to inquire what is the protrusion for? I am surprised the advertisers left out that little tidbit of information because the Xterra is the only sports utility vehicle to provide the onboard first-aid kit. It is located in that protrusion. The Xterra is barreling by the trees and the clouds are rolling in over the mountains in the distance. The windows are tinted so the consumer cannot see inside.
However, the consumer can almost imagine that the driver is a rugged person wearing a flannel shirt, blue jeans and hiking boots. The person driving the Xterra is not some yuppie Marinite who has a sport utility vehicle just to say, I drive a SUV. There are five smaller pictures in the advertisement. Each picture portrays a different use for the Xterra. In all of these pictures, the rugged outdoors people are shown pushing themselves to the limit while engaged in a strenuous activity.
For example, there is a mountain biker carefully maneuvering his mountain bike across a tree that has fallen across a river. In the picture below the first picture, the mountain biker is stowing his bike on the interior bike rack located in the cargo area of the Xterra. In addition, the third picture shows four skiers trekking their way up a steep and rocky mountain slop. All four skiers are dressed in sub-zero degree weather gear and, the skiers are carrying backpack and their skies.
In the forth picture, a man is running in the rain along a wooded muddy mountain path. The fifth picture is of the runner putting his cruddy stuff in the exterior gear basket located above the front seats on the roof in the middle of the roof rack of the Xterra. In this advertisement, Nissan would like the consumer to believe that if he or she owns this vehicle there is no limit to what the consumer can do. There is no adventure too large or too small for this sports utility vehicle.
If the consumer can image doing something outdoors, the Xterra will take the consumer there. This advertisement promises to take the consumer to where the trees live. These advertisers know they have to motivate Americans to put down the remote and take a test drive. Nissan really does not care what the consumer does with the Xterra after he or she buys it, just as long as Nissan makes money. This advertisement motivates the consumers by making them feel that they can do anything.
With the Nissan Xterra, I can go anywhere. In America, the trend is toward sitting in front of a computer or television and gaining weight. Nissan is a company that is attempting to tell consumers the only thing that can hold back the Xterra sports utility vehicle is the consumers couch. However through closer examination, the consumers couch is not the Xterras enemy. The true enemy of the Xterra is the consumer. The potential consumer that is too lazy to get off their couch and seek an adventure is the true enemy of the Xterra.
There is no prejudice in marketing. Companies will market to anyone as long as it can make the company money. Moreover, advertisers will stop at nothing as long as their tactics get consumers to by their product. For instance, Camel cigarettes used a cartoon camel named Joe Cool as a marketing ploy. Cartoons appeal mostly to children. With this advertisement, the advertiser uses both reverse psychology and guilt.
The reverse psychology is blaming the couch instead of coming right out and saying the consumer is lazy. The guilt comes into play when the consumer becomes aware of the fact that they may be lazy. However regardless of who or what is causing the problem, if a person is going to buy a sports utility vehicle, make it the Nissan Xterra. Nothing can stop the Nissan Xterra.
This is no wimpy truck advertisement. This advertisement is for the new Nissan Xterra sports utility vehicle! Mud, rivers, mountains, trees, sub-zero temperatures or blizzard conditions, there is no limit to what this truck can stand. Get off your butt, get off your couch and do something is what this advertisement is screaming.Bibliography:
