Luxurious, sleek, and sporty are some words that come to mind when I think of a BMW. I picture a speedy automobile with an aggressive look and the performance that backs it up. I do not think of is a person that has lost their leg due to a drunk driving crash. Every two minutes someone is injured in a drunk driving accident (MADD). BMW wants to do their part to try to decrease the number of drunk drivers on the road. BMW takes a serious tone with this ad; a change from their usual ads that strictly showcase their cars. This advertisement from BMW uses rhetorical appeals such as, emotional appeal, logical appeal, and ethical appeal, to persuade against drinking and driving.
The ad catches the viewer’s attention instantaneously with a vivid picture of a person with a prosthetic leg and the words, “Don’t Drink and Drive.” (Fig 1) BMW plays off the idea that the amputee will catch and keep the viewer’s attention. The ad uses emotional appeals by making the viewer see the consequences of driving under the influence. A car accident where someone is seriously injured, like the person in the ad, invokes many emotions. Most of the viewers cannot say that this scenario could never happen to them because it could. Think about all the people that travel on the roads each day; whether they are the passenger or the driver they can still be involved in a drunk driving crash. The point is, drunk drivers affect much more than just themselves. The enormous target audience is a strength of this ad. Also, BMW does a great job of picking colors that appeal to the viewer’s emotions. The background colors are soft and plain to really draw the attention to the black prostatic leg. It is also interesting that they chose a person with only one prosthetic leg rather than two. Again, they did this to make the prosthetic leg stand out. I also believe they want to show how fast a person’s life can change when being involved in a drunk driving crash.
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After the viewer sees the ad, they are hooked. Next, they read the text to find out what the message is. The ad says, “Spare parts for humans are not as original as those for cars. Don’t Drink and Drive.” (Fig 1) This statement uses a logical appeal by saying that human limbs are not as easy to replace as a part on a car. Most people in this world know, and agree, that drinking and driving is dangerous and should be avoided. BMW puts this statement out knowing that everyone will agree with it. This creates a sense of teamwork with the audience to fight against a common problem. The design of this ad is also simple and logical with the picture on the left and words on the right. Wisely, BMW did not try to do anything glamorous or fancy in this ad. By putting out this ad BMW is conveying that they are a company that cares about the people, and they are doing their part to prevent drunk driving. This ad indirectly tries to sell cars by showing the consumer that BMW is a trustworthy and caring company that wants to keep the population safe. Another thing the viewer recognizes right away is the logo. This induces a sense of trust from the viewer.
The famous BMW logo puts credibility in this ad. BMW is a German company that was founded in 1916 (BMW Group). The fact that BMW has been around for more than one hundred years is all the credit this ad needs. BMW is using their credibility in a good way by trying to prevent drunk driving. In 2011, BMW also started an ad campaign to combat the problem of texting and driving (Boeriu). With these types of ad campaigns, BMW shows that they do not only focus on creating better cars and increasing sales; they also focus on creating a better society where people are safer on the roads. In turn, these ads have pushed BMW to have record sales for the past five years (BMW Group).
With the perfect storm of the latest innovations in the automobile industry, and masterfully crafted advertisements, it is no shock to see BMW’s sales sky rocketing. This shows what using rhetorical appeals in advertisements can do for a company’s success, and in this case help prevent drunk driving. Rhetorical appeals are everywhere - just look around.
Works Cited
- BMW. Don't Drink and Drive. N.d. Mad Over Marketing. Web. .
- 'BMW Group - Company - History.' BMW Group. BMW, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. .
- 'BMW Group Achieves Fifth Consecutive Record Sales Year.' BMW Group. BMW, 1 Nov. 2016. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. .
- Boeriu, Horatiu. 'BMW Launches 'Don't Text and Drive' Campaign.' BMW BLOG. BMW BLOG, 02 June 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. .
- 'Drunk Driving Statistics.' MADD. MADD, 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. .
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