Satire About Advertising

Oh, What An Ad! Either we like them or we don’t. That’s the simple truth. And if we’re perfectly honest, most of the time we don’t. Advertising has always been a daring game in the 21st century, though. Facts, figures, weasel words, and magic ingredients: whatever the strategy, ads are everywhere, and with the opportunity to sway even a small fraction of 7 billion people, companies will stop at nothing to win us over.
In the atmosphere of repetitive and often unwanted effort, however, the best ads, ultimately, are the ones that stand out, and experienced mega corporations like Toyota will risk everything to do it.
Imagine for a second, a group of stupendously masochistic, rough-shaven men. Now, picture each of them undertaking a series of senseless, painful, repulsive and weird but altogether ‘manly tasks’, all for the sake of a shiny
Can you survive the winter blizzard, cope with the pains of hot coals and flaming pies, electrocution even? Well, real men can—according to this ad at least. From start to finish, this kind of macho visual representation, coupled with selective narration such as ‘Are you good enough’ and ‘They’re not for everyone’ keep playing in our minds long after the ad’s over, daring us towards one question: are you man enough to own our product? Ultimately, it’s this subtle manipulation of emotion throughout the ad that’s really key.
In promoting a seemingly tough and enduring identity for their product, they also make owning a Hilux appear almost, prestigious; ‘a worthy buy for the worthy man’ as Toyota would say.
Put two and two together, and what the ad really sells, you’ll find, is an identity. That is- from Toyota’s perspective: ‘but our product and you’ll be just as good,’ and, what male wouldn’t want something if it promised to make him (appear, at least) better than everyone else. Can someone say, snob