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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