Persuasive Essay On The Prius 4

Toyota released a new commercial, “The Chase,” during Super Bowl L about their new car, the Prius 4. The advertisement immediately reaches an audience of over one hundred million people. The humorous ad immediately gains the attention of many people, as it starts with four guys from the 2000’s show “The Wire” robbing a bank. Throughout the commercial they face many problems that they escape from because of the Prius. The Toyota advertisement for the Prius 4, “The Chase,” is effective because of it persuasive emotions and facts, despite its weak endorsements.
Toyota uses humor to persuade the audience into buying the new Prius 4. When the four guys come out of the bank that they just robbed, they pull up their face masks, hear sirens in the distance, and see their car get-away being towed. Frantic, they start running down the street, dragging all of the bags of money with them. As they sirens get closer they stumble upon a car rental place, and see the Prius 4. When they see it they immediately know that it is the car they need, so they hop in. Eventually the cops begin chasing them through the city, and they make it onto the news. As the commercial goes on, the people in the advertisement fall in love with
the Prius, which is just what Toyota want the audience to do. They show many different features that would influence anyone looking for a new car to buy the Prius 4. They are trying to sell their new Prius through the humor and excitement of the commercial. The slogan for Toyota is “Let’s Go Places,” and this commercial displays that motto very well. The Prius makes its way across the country as they are running away from the cops. Toyota is showing that the new Prius 4 can “go places” through the humor of the commercial, and they are saying that is why the audience should buy the Prius.
The positive emotions throughout the commercial would make anyone fall in love with the Prius 4, just as all of the people in the advertisement do. The commercial has humor, action, excitement and adrenaline, which make it even more persuasive. There are people cheering on the Prius from the side of the highway with signs, posters and banners saying “We Love Prius.” At a young boy’s birthday, he opens a present to find out that it is a toy Prius and he, along with the kids around him, gets excited. On a talk show, the host asks, “What are Prius owners feeling right now?” To which the guest replies, “Proud.” The news is calling the chase the “chase of the century” and a “global phenomenon.” They show a game show in another country and the answer to one of the questions is “Prius 4.” All of these show how exciting the Prius 4 is, and why it is the best car on the market. Toyota also makes the Prius the only red car in the whole commercial, so it stands out and catches the eye of the audience. Red is the color for desire, power and energy, they want the audience to associate these emotions with the Prius. When reaching an audience of over one hundred million, these are all emotions that most people can relate to. The commercial plays with many of the watcher’s emotions, making them want to purchase the new Toyota Prius 4.
Another way the sell the Prius 4 is through all the facts throughout the advertisement that make the car reliable. When the guys first get into the car they make a comment about how spacious the car is; it fits all of them with space left over to possibly fit another person. As the four guys are running away from the cops, not only do they have a faster car, but they also do not run out of gas. While all of the cops are running out of gas on the side of the highway, the Prius just keeps going, showing off its great fuel economy. The driver ends up falling asleep at the wheel because he has been driving for so long, and as he approaches a stationary car the Prius breaks for him. This is a great safety feature and will prevent a lot of the accidents were someone gets rear-ended. A parent buying a car for their teen would look for all of these things so that they know their child is safe on the road. These features make the car credible and safe, which is what people look for whenever they are buying a car.
Although Toyota makes the Prius credible, they could have gone further with the endorsements in the commercial.
Comparatively, the endorsements fall short in an advertisement with overflowing emotion and a generous amount of facts. They do have four people from the cast of “The Wire” in the car who are endorsing the products. However, people do not watch that show anymore and since few know what it is, it portrays a lack of endorsements. The only people in the audience that the four guys would appeal to are the ones who watched the show between 2002 and 2008 when it was on air, and are able to recognize them eight years later. So while there were some endorsements in the advertisement, the overall amount falls short of what is desired in an effective
commercial.
“The Chase” makes a persuasive argument throughout the commercial about why people should buy the new Prius 4. Toyota convinces the audience by using a large amount of effective emotion and facts, and even an endorsement in the advertisement. If they would have had more well-known celebrities, there would have been stronger endorsements in the commercial and it would have appealed to a larger audience. Another improvement in the commercial could have been some statistics about the Prius. The combination of humor, credibility, safety, and excitement make the Prius a great choice in a new car for anyone looking to buy one.