Advertising: More than Meets the Eye

Ad Link: http://www.bowtiebrigade.net/chevy%20ad.jpg

What attracted me to this ad was the symbiotic relationship between the two products advertised. In fact, it is difficult to discern whether this is an ad primarily meant for the Transformers motion picture or a Chevy Corvette. The uncertainty lies in the relationship the two have to one another. Transformers turned out to be huge success at the box office, to no one's surprise. The filmmakers knew that this movie would be a blockbuster not only because of the promise of guns, explosions, and Megan Fox, but also because they were filming under a title many people recognized either from their childhood or their children's toy-hoarding years. Since the appeal of robots transforming into cars was so tremendous, it was only logical that automobile companies sought to advertise along with the movie by allowing their car models to be used in the film. This ad exhibits this relationship of mutual benefit that Solomon referenced in his article. He says that when companies, like Pepsi and the maker of the film Top Gun, use each other as advertising vehicles it creates a relationship that is "a parasitical one, with the ad taking its life from the creative body of the film" (Hall, 153). Chevy is therefore able to feed off of the success of Transformers by being associated with the cars used in the film. Similarly, the filmmakers are paid by Chevy for this product placement, and the film is also advertised alongside the Chevy cars. Both parties benefit in the end through this brilliant means of advertising.