From a very young age, everyone is constantly besieged with a multitude of different ways to spend money in hopes that it will help them solve a problem or climb the social ladder. In “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising,” Jack Solomon argues that advertisers manipulate their audience members by “exploit[ing] the discontentments fostered by the American dream” (49) and offering some sort of material solution. The advertising industry manipulates its audience by appealing to their deepest, subconscious desires planted in them by societal expectation. This particular Toyota Corolla commercial, The
Cat and the Vet, achieves this through the use of symbolic characters, colors, and cinematic techniques. This
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Throughout the commercial one can almost follow the thought process of the cat, or the “child,” who has a one track mind. His only goal is to spend as much time in the car as possible. Although he can’t talk, it is easy to tell when he is plotting his next stunt that will ultimately land him at the vet. Another way the cinematography is used to sell the car is the cuts to the car. In each scene of the commercial the car is in a slightly different spot, and it cuts back to the car many different times within the advertisement. Although the life of this family is pretty chaotic, the car seems to be the one constant in every scene. This outlines the reliability of the vehicle. Above all, the implied reliability of the car really tells the audience that they need it, because how else would they be able to keep up with the fast pace of everyday life without a vehicle that can withstand a lot? The commercial is almost suggesting that they can’t get things done successfully without the car or that they at least be less successful without it. This subconscious implication is one of the strongest driving forces behind this